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Dr. Alexandra Gulizia (left) and Patsakorn Jeenchuay (right) test prototype biodegradable seagrass seed pods ahead of a full field trial in Satun Province. 

Walailak University (WU) and Murdoch University (MU) have begun testing a biodegradable, 3D-printed pod designed to help restore seagrass meadows around Koh Lidi, a pair of islands inside Mu Ko Phetra National Park in Satun Province. The project is led by two WU PhD students, Patsakorn Jeenchuay and Leoniel Jude Giray, with support from Dr. Alexandra Gulizia and Professor Andrew Macrae of MU's Bioplastics Innovation Hub (BIH). Both students work under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Krisanadej Jaroensutasinee, director of WU's Center of Excellence for Ecoinformatics.

The pod is designed to address a persistent problem in seagrass restoration: young transplants often fail to survive being moved, are washed away or buried in sediment, or are eaten by marine life before their roots can establish. Shaped like a small dome with a pointed base, the pod is planted directly into the seabed with a seagrass shoot inside; roots grow out through slots in its sides, while the shielding dome protects the shoot from crabs, fish, and turtles. It is made from polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a bioplastic produced through bacterial fermentation, and is designed to biodegrade fully once the plant is established.

"If the density isn't right, a wave or a layer of sediment can wipe out an entire planting in one go," said Patsakorn, who originated the project after noticing that past Thai restoration efforts had no standard planting density. Clustering pods closely together, he said, allows surrounding plants to help sustain any that are disturbed.

Professor Macrae, BIH's deputy director, said seagrass restoration efforts generally fail for a mix of reasons, including unhealthy transplants, wave and water energy, and fishing in habitat areas. "You need seagrass to have fish," he said. "If you remove the seagrass, there's no way for the small fish to grow."

Patsakorn said the project is also motivated by Thailand's declining dugong population, which relies on seagrass as its primary food source. Seagrass meadows additionally serve as a nursery ground for shrimp, crabs, and fish. "If there's more seagrass, there are more fish," he said. "That means more income for local fishermen."

Dr. Gulizia, a polymer chemist at BIH, is responsible for developing the bioplastic material. "We make the bioplastic from bacterial fermentation," she said, noting that the bacteria used were isolated locally in Western Australia. Her work involves adjusting the polymer's properties for the task: "We input different waste products to make the process more circular economy. Here we want a seed pod that's strong and biodegradable, and I make the polymer, the PHA, with those properties."

Giray's portion of the project focuses on the fishing communities near Koh Lidi. He is developing a questionnaire to assess local fishermen's socioeconomic circumstances and plans to hold workshops on the importance of seagrass conservation. "If we get to instill in them the values of having good seagrass meadows, then the problems in terms of the population of the fish that they could catch every year will eventually stabilize or might probably increase," Giray explained, noting that seagrass serves as a crucial nursery for marine life.

The visit to Koh Lidi on Saturday (18 July) was a scouting trip rather than a planting expedition, the team said, aimed at selecting a seagrass species and surveying the site. The pods remain in prototype stage — 3D-printed and undergoing safety and packaging testing — with a full field trial planned once that testing is complete.

On the Thai side, Dr. Krisanadej secured the project's research grant from the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT); Patsakorn is a scholar under the Development and Promotion of Science and Technology Talents Project (DPST), while Giray holds a WU PhD Excellence Scholarship. On the Australian side, BIH is supported by a joint multi-million-dollar investment from Murdoch University and the Australian government research agency, CSIRO. While most of the Hub's technologies are licensed commercially, Professor Macrae said this seed pod blueprint is being made freely available. "If you make something like this expensive, nobody will use it," he said. "If it's free, there's at least a chance."

 
Field testing of the prototype seagrass seed pods


The research team conducts a percent-cover estimation of the seagrass meadow.

 
Left: Seagrass species distribution map for the waters surrounding Koh Lidi Right: A close-up view of a seagrass bed growing in the shallow water at Koh Lidi.


The joint WU and MU research team at Koh Lidi. Pictured are Patsakorn (second from right), Giray (fourth from right), Dr. Gulizia (fifth from right), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mullica Jaroensutasinee (third from left), and Samantha Viljoen (fourth from left).


The research team met with Mr. Weerasak Srisajjang, Head of Mu Ko Phetra National Park, on July 18, 2026, to discuss the collaborative seagrass restoration project. Dr. Krisanadej is pictured in the front right. 

Photos courtesy of the WU and MU research team
Written by Settaboot Onphakdee, Division of Corporate Communications