A Hopeful Head Start to Kelp Forest Restoration

California’s iconic kelp forests are key to sea otter success. Too many species highly depend on this underwater ecosystem for everyday activities for it to be completely lost, especially Southern sea otters. Without it, they would no longer be able to anchor themselves in one place for napping and eating and would no longer have protection from great white sharks, one of their top predators. 

In recent years, California’s kelp forests which are largely comprised of bull kelp have been in a huge decline. This once thriving underwater ecosystem, home to a wide variety of species, has been lost at an alarming rate due to ecological and oceanographic stressors of climate change, a significant one being the decline of the Southern sea otter population that co-depends on kelp. In Sonoma and Mendocino counties alone, over 96% of bull kelp is reported to have been lost between 2014-2020, which is an exceptionally high statistic for only 7 years. 

One specific stressor on kelp forests includes the Pacific purple sea urchin. These beautiful yet destructive marine invertebrates devour the 30-60 foot kelp, leaving nothing but carpets of urchins on the coastal floor for miles. With the sea otter population being endangered, there is a limited number of otters left to feed on these urchins, resulting in very little protection for the kelp. And without an abundance of these forests, biodiversity of marine life as well as the coastal economy that rely on them significantly suffer. 

According to the Ocean Protection Council, some huge steps toward restoration of these iconic forests have been attempted in Noyo Cove and Albion Cove in Mendocino County as of July 2020 and July 2021. With the goal of eventually there only being about 2 urchins per square meter or around every 22 feet, divers physically harvested almost 50,000 pounds of these urchins with the hopes that this would help encourage kelp growth and recovery. At the end of the project, it was found that within just a year, kelp density in Noyo Cove was already significantly higher and gives a positive outlook on how future restoration projects could potentially go if efforts are continued with care and urgency.

The Otter Project is advocating for funding for future projects to be continued so that we can start to see significant restoration not just in one county but in many. Neither kelp forests nor sea otters can afford to lose more than they already have over the recent years. If you would like to learn about how you can personally take action, visit https://theotterproject.org/take-action or for more information and updates on future projects and funding visit: http://www.opc.ca.gov/.