Two Advanced Mooring System (AMS) marker buoys have been installed in Falmouth Harbour to mark a voluntary no-anchor zone as part of efforts to protect the seagrass and maerl beds.

The new Port Notice Advanced Mooring System (PNAMS) markers buoys have been laid off Trefusis Head in Carrick Roads.

The Advanced Mooring System (AMS) marker buoys have been designed, developed and installed by Mylor Mooring Services Ltd.

Two new Port Notice Advanced Mooring System (PNAMS) markers buoys have been installed off Trefusis Head. Credit: Mylor Mooring Services Ltd

They work by keeping the buoy’s mooring risers off the seabed without the need for floats just under the surface of the water, a system which was trialled with some old Advanced Mooring Systems (AMS).

The new-generation AMS buoys are already used for the St Mawes Harbour 8-knot speed markers and in the Helford River to protect seagrass beds.

To date, Falmouth Harbour and Bay have 26 markers in place to mark and protect around 30 hectares seagrass habitat.

The new marker buoys were delivered through a partnership between Falmouth Harbour and the Ocean Conservation Trust, Mylor Mooring Services Ltd and Cornwall Council, which funded the buoys.

It is hoped the same design will be used for other marks over sensitive seabeds as soon as possible.

A seagrass bed off Falmouth. Seagrass captures carbon and provides a host of other ‘ecosystem services’ including providing a nursery for juvenile species and minimising the impacts of extreme weather events by dampening the force of waves and keeping sediments in place. Credit: Ocean Conservation Trust – Paul Naylor

Ollie Hill of Mylor Mooring Services Ltd said more buoys have been identified for upgrading.

“We are acutely aware of the impacts we all have on the environment and we are really proud to be able to add these buoys to our growing portfolio in this precious part of the world.

“We have identified a significant number of port notice buoys and other marine marks in the Fal and Helford areas all of which could be safely converted to our Port Notice AMS, and we look forward to future collaborations to support this environmental initiative,” he added.

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