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    "result": {"data":{"platform":{"page":{"id":"6ad618a702dec18e5e5842b7","slug":"5-0-restoration","path":"/state-of-the-worlds-kelp-26/5-0-restoration","name":"5.0 Restoration","__typename":"Platform_Page","_schema":{"label":"Page","pluralLabel":"Pages"},"title":null,"pretitle":null,"subtitle":null,"titleRich":{"text":""},"subtitleRich":{"text":""},"content":{"text":"## 5.1 Where is restoration happening?\n\nThe state of restoration varies significantly among regions. Some regions have not lost any kelp forests (often at higher latitudes) and therefore require no restoration. When restoration is required, the methods depend on why the kelp forests have declined, what resources are available, and local attitudes towards restoration. The most common forms of restoration are kelp seeding (46% of regions), transplanting adults (31%), and sea urchin removal (29%). Substrate modification and future-proofing techniques are less common, with just 20% of regions reporting activity for either technique. Fifty-one percent of regions have no active restoration, though just six of those (Alaska, Peru, Galapagos, the eastern USA, eastern Canada, and Argentina) require restoration.\n\n<ImageAsset id=\"6ad6147502dec18e5e5842a5\" />\nFigure 5.1. Restoration methods reported across kelp forest regions. The map shows regional activity, and the bars show the percentage of regions reporting each method or no active restoration.\n\n## 5.2 How restoration happens\n\nActive restoration may be needed when reducing threats, improving management, or protecting an area is not sufficient to return a kelp forest to a healthy, self-sustaining state. Before restoration begins, it is essential to understand why the kelp forest declined and whether those pressures are still operating. If the underlying causes, such as poor water quality, excessive grazing, unsuitable substrate, or repeated marine heatwaves, are not addressed, restored kelp may fail to establish or persist.\n\nKelp forest restoration generally uses four main approaches:\n\n**Seeding** introduces kelp spores, microscopic life stages, or juvenile kelp to suitable habitat. Seeded material may be deployed on lines, gravel, tiles, or other attachment surfaces.\n\n**Transplanting** moves juvenile or adult kelp from donor populations or cultivation facilities and attaches them directly to a restoration site.\n\n**Grazer control** reduces or manages overabundant herbivores, particularly sea urchins, so that kelp can recover naturally or so seeded and transplanted kelp have a greater chance of survival.\n\n**Substrate enhancement** adds, restores, or modifies suitable attachment surfaces where the existing seabed does not support kelp recruitment or establishment.\n\n**Future-proofing** is an important consideration that can be incorporated into seeding and transplanting by accounting for the genetic diversity, origin, and environmental suitability of the kelp being introduced. This can include maintaining broad genetic diversity, selecting source populations suited to local conditions, and considering how restored populations may respond to future warming and other environmental change.\n\n<ImageAsset id=\"6ad6169702dec18e5e5842ab\" />\nFigure 5.2. Approaches to kelp forest restoration: seeding, transplanting, grazer control, and substrate enhancement. Future-proofing can be incorporated into these approaches by considering genetic diversity and environmental suitability.\n\nRestoration projects often combine several of these approaches. The most appropriate strategy depends on the cause of decline, the likelihood of natural recovery, local environmental conditions, the species being restored and the ecological, cultural, and social context of the site. Long-term monitoring is then needed to determine whether restored kelp survives, reproduces, and develops into a self-sustaining population.\n\n<ImageAsset id=\"6ad614fb02dec18e5e5842a8\" />\n\n<ImageAsset id=\"6ad616e002dec18e5e5842ae\" />\nFigure 5.3: Cumulative area (hectares) of tracked kelp forest restoration globally since 1960\\.\n\n## 5.3 Tracking global restoration activity\n\nThe Kelp Forest Alliance maintains a global database of kelp forest restoration projects. It allows registered users to upload the outcomes of their restoration projects and contribute to the global tally. As of publication, 285 projects had been uploaded from 15 countries, and these entries were used to generate the reported figures. While the database is inclusive of project types and countries of origin, it is currently only available in English, and this biases the results. The database has tracked 19,071 ha of successful kelp restoration (Figure 5.3). Progress is geographically skewed, with over three-quarters of that restoration occurring in South Korea. There may be more restored area in South Korea than is reported in the database (see Section 5.5).\n\n## 5.4 Japan: Restoring kelp forests through fisheries, carbon finance and coastal partnerships\n\n**Tomohiro Kuwae**\n\nIn Japan, kelp and other macroalgal forests are increasingly restored as working coastal systems that support fisheries, climate action, and regional economies. This reflects the country’s long coastline, its long history of seaweed use, and the dependence of many coastal communities on productive algal habitats. Where *isoyake* barren grounds have expanded, macroalgal loss has therefore become both an ecological problem and a threat to fisheries and livelihoods.\n\nTwo complementary policy mechanisms have helped make restoration more visible and attractive to investors. The voluntary J-Blue Credit scheme, administered by the Japan Blue Economy Association, certifies carbon dioxide removal generated through the creation, restoration, and management of marine vegetated ecosystems. By 2025, it had certified 61 projects and recorded 471 transactions; macroalgal beds represented 49.2% of projects and seaweed farming a further 18.0%. Japan also incorporated removals from seagrass meadows and macroalgal beds into its national greenhouse gas inventory in 2024\\. National accounting recognises macroalgal carbon removal in climate policy, while J-Blue Credit creates a pathway for private finance to support local action.[1](/citation/sowk2-5-1/)\n\n**49.2% of projects certified through Japan’s J-Blue Credit**\n\n **scheme involved macroalgal beds.**\n\nThe fisheries benefits are particularly evident in Shakotan, Hokkaido, where fishers have restored macroalgal beds since 2009 in response to expanding barren grounds and declining sea urchin production. The project combines urchin-density management, deployment of fertile adult algae, and the reuse of discarded sea urchin shells as restoration material. The restored habitat provides food for sea urchins, linking ecological recovery directly to harvest volume and product quality. The project estimated that restored beds could support about 390 kg of additional shucked sea urchin production, valued at approximately JPY 30.6 million, while also generating certified blue-carbon removals and supporting environmental education.[2](/citation/sowk2-5-2/)\n\nThese projects depend on partnerships. Across the J-Blue Credit portfolio, fishers, municipalities, companies, community groups, and academic institutions share responsibility for implementation, finance, monitoring, and long-term continuity.\n\nJapan is also testing hybrid “green–grey” approaches, including steelmaking slag and other recycled or dredged materials as substrates for macroalgal-bed creation. In Hiroshima Bay, steel-slag substrates were used to establish *Sargassum* beds intended to support biodiversity and fishery recovery.[3](/citation/sowk2-5-3/)\n\nThe broader lesson is that restoration may be more durable when carbon is treated as one benefit among many. Fisheries, biodiversity, education, tourism, local identity, and infrastructure performance can be equally important to long-term success.\n\n## 5.5 South Korea: Scaling kelp restoration into a national programme\n\n**Kyungsun Lee, Yejin Hyeon**\n\nSouth Korea has turned kelp restoration from a collection of local projects into a coordinated national programme. Seaweed barrens were first reported around Jeju Island and the southern coast in the 1980s and later spread to the East Sea. By 2025, a national aerial survey by the Korea Fisheries Resources Agency (FIRA) estimated that **34% of surveyed rocky seabed showed signs of seaweed barrens**, creating a strong need for restoration at scale.\n\nThe national response began taking shape in 2009, when the National Institute of Fisheries Science surveyed potential restoration areas. In 2011, FIRA was established as a dedicated organisation under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, giving the country a permanent institution responsible for marine forest restoration. South Korea now aims to create **54,000 hectares of marine forests by 2030**. By 2025, **281 sites covering approximately 37,500 hectares** had been established, supported by annual investment of around **US\\$20 million**.\n\nFIRA manages the restoration process from site selection through implementation and monitoring. Projects generally run for four years before being transferred to local governments for ongoing management. Restoration methods are adapted to local conditions and include controlling sea urchins and other grazers, installing artificial reefs, deploying underwater seed lines and spore bags, and cleaning rocky seabeds to create space for new seaweed to establish.\n\nEarly results suggest these interventions can rebuild more than kelp alone. Across 17 marine forest areas established in 2022, monitoring in 2025 recorded a **138% increase in seaweed biomass**. Recovery of seaweed forests was also associated with increases in the diversity, abundance, and biomass of bottom-dwelling animals.\n\nWhat makes South Korea distinctive is not any single restoration technique, but the infrastructure built around it. Long-term public funding, a dedicated national delivery agency, and standardised monitoring have allowed restoration to move beyond isolated experiments and operate across hundreds of sites.\n\nThe broader lesson is that restoring kelp at national scale requires institutions as much as ecology. South Korea shows how sustained investment, dedicated implementation capacity and consistent monitoring can turn restoration into a long-term component of coastal ecosystem management, supporting biodiversity, fisheries, and climate resilience.\n\n<ImageAsset id=\"6ad617a002dec18e5e5842b1\" />\n\n## 5.6 Norway: Urchin control using quicklime, supported by predation\n\n**Hartvig Christie**\n\nFor more than four decades, large areas of northern Norway’s coast remained trapped in a degraded state. Dense populations of green sea urchins had grazed kelp forests faster than they could recover, creating persistent barren grounds across thousands of square kilometres. In Porsangerfjord alone, around 82 km² of former kelp habitat had been lost. Continued grazing maintained these barrens by consuming new kelp and limiting the recovery of other reef organisms.\n\n***82 km²** of former kelp habitat had been lost*\n\nIn 2013, researchers from the Norwegian Institute for Water Research and the Institute of Marine Research tested whether breaking this feedback could trigger recovery at scale. Around 200 tonnes of quicklime (calcium oxide) were applied across 70 hectares of shallow rocky reef, roughly 100 football pitches, to rapidly reduce sea urchin densities. Quicklime allowed treatment at a scale that would have been difficult through manual removal. Because the quicklime was applied shortly before kelp released spores, it created an opportunity for natural recruitment.\n\n> ***200 tonnes of quicklime** were applied across **70 hectares** of shallow rocky reef, roughly 100 football pitches*\n\nNo kelp was planted or seeded. Instead, removing grazing pressure allowed more than 10 million kelp plants to establish in less than a year, dominated by sugar kelp alongside several other kelp species. The nearest known continuous sugar kelp forest was more than 400 km away, suggesting that small, previously undetected reproductive plants were probably present closer to the restoration site. Similar rapid recovery following urchin removal has occurred in smaller experiments in Norway and elsewhere, although the distance over which surviving kelp can reliably seed restoration remains uncertain.\n\n*Removing grazing pressure allowed **more than 10 million kelp plants** to establish in less than a year*\n\nEcological recovery was substantial. Macroalgal biomass increased from almost zero to approximately 5–10 kg per square metre. By 2016, researchers had recorded 44 macroalgal species, together with an increasingly diverse kelp-associated fauna. Monitoring found no significant short-term decline in non-target bottom-dwelling animals. Instead, these communities increased as kelp habitat and food production developed. Juvenile cod and red king crabs were also frequently observed within the recovering forest. Follow-up observations indicate that the restored kelp forest remained present in 2025, more than 12 years after treatment.\n\nQuicklime can be highly effective and cost-efficient, but it is not a universal solution. Its effectiveness depends partly on seabed structure because urchins can shelter among stones and gravel, and treatment does not prevent future recruitment. In Porsangerfjord, expanding red king crab populations subsequently helped suppress urchins and supported kelp recovery beyond the treated areas.\n\n*Quicklime can be highly effective and cost-efficient, but it is not a universal solution.*\n\nThe broader lesson is that large-scale grazer removal can unlock rapid natural recovery where grazing is the main barrier. Long-term success depends on effective initial treatment, suitable substrate, continued monitoring and grazer control, and enough reproductive kelp within the surrounding ecosystem to support natural recruitment.[4](/citation/sowk2-5-4/)\n\n## **5.7 Tasmania: Urchin control by harvest** \n\n**John P. Keane**\n\nIn eastern Tasmania, commercial harvest of the range-extending long-spined sea urchin, *Centrostephanus rodgersii*, has increasingly been used to protect kelp forests and abalone habitat. Assisted by ocean warming and the strengthening East Australian Current, the species expanded southwards from mainland Australia and was first reported in Tasmania in 1978. By 2017, its population was estimated at approximately 20 million, with barrens covering around 15% of eastern reef habitat and threatening biodiversity and productive abalone fishing grounds.[5](/citation/sowk2-5-5/) \n\nCommercial harvesting began in 2009 but remained below 100 tonnes annually during its first nine years. In response to expanding barrens, the Tasmanian Abalone Council introduced harvest subsidies in 2016–17, initially providing A$0.75 per kilogram to supplement processor payments to commercial divers. State Government involvement expanded through the Abalone Industry Reinvestment Fund (AIRF) in 2018, with an initial A$5.1 million committed over five years to abalone sustainability and productivity initiatives, including urchin control. The programme brought together government, industry, divers, processors and researchers around the objectives of preventing new barrens, limiting expansion of existing barrens and promoting reef recovery.[6](/citation/sowk2-5-6/) [7](/citation/sowk2-5-7/)\n\nA key refinement was the introduction of spatially differentiated payments in 2019. Uniform subsidies had concentrated fishing on dense, accessible northern populations, where returns were highest. Higher payments in priority areas redirected effort towards valuable abalone reefs where urchin densities were lower but increasing. By 2025, five zones offered payments of A\\$0.00 to A\\$3.50 per kilogram, with approximately A\\$300,000 in incentive funding applied across subsidised zones in 2024–257. Rates and boundaries are reviewed annually as ecological priorities, fishing patterns and available funding change.[6](/citation/sowk2-5-6/),[8](/citation/sowk2-5-8/)\n\nTogether with investment in processing facilities and markets for urchin roe, these incentives accelerated development of the fishery. By 2025, approximately 3,760 tonnes had been harvested, including 3,139 tonnes over the previous seven seasons. Modelling estimated that fishing reduced urchin biomass density by approximately 50% around St Helens and 15–30% further south relative to scenarios without fishing, showing that targeted harvest can substantially suppress urchin populations and associated grazing pressure.[8](/citation/sowk2-5-8/)\n\nHowever, population control is not always sufficient to restore established barrens. Commercial divers preferentially harvest larger urchins with marketable roe, while smaller animals can maintain grazing pressure. The 2023–24 Restoration by Harvest Pilot Program at Fortescue Bay therefore tested a ‘take-all’ approach along approximately 5 km of coastline, removing all accessible size classes. Kelp recovered where urchin biomass was reduced below approximately 71 g m⁻², whereas barrens persisted or expanded where biomass remained above this threshold.[6](/citation/sowk2-5-6/)\n\nTasmania illustrates how fisheries policy and ecological restoration can operate together. Commercial harvest can provide sustained population control, differential subsidies can redirect effort towards reefs where ecological benefits are greatest, and intensive take-all removal can be used where recovery requires grazing pressure to fall below a critical threshold. The broader lesson is that profitable harvest and ecological restoration do not necessarily target the same animals or places. Effective programmes therefore need economic incentives linked to ecological objectives, monitoring of habitat outcomes and continued intervention where urchin recruitment persists.\n\n<ImageAsset id=\"6ad6186802dec18e5e5842b4\" />\nFigure 5.4 Commercial diver removing long-spined sea urchins from productive *Ecklonia radiata* (golden kelp) and *Phyllospora comosa* (crayweed) beds in Fortescue Bay, south-eastern Tasmania. Credit: Matt Testoni.\n\n## 5.8 Gwaii Haanas: Collaborative and culturally connected restoration\n**Lynn Lee, Daniel McNeill, Vanessa Bellis**\n\nHaida Gwaii, an archipelago off northern British Columbia, is the traditional territory of the Haida Nation and home to kelp forests, sea urchins, abalone, and other interconnected species. The ecological loss of sea otters during the maritime fur trade disrupted these relationships, contributing to high abundances of kelp-grazing sea urchins and long-term reductions in kelp forests. Since then, kelp distribution has fluctuated in response to urchin grazing, ocean conditions, and other environmental pressures.\n\nThe Chiix̱uu Tll iinasdll—Nurturing Kelp Forests to Grow project was initiated in 2017 and co-led by the Council of the Haida Nation and Parks Canada Gwaii Haanas. Over five years, we aimed to restore kelp habitat, productivity, and biodiversity along approximately 3 km of coastline within Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site. Equally important were cultural goals: strengthening relationships with traditional foods and bringing knowledge of guuding.naay, or red sea urchin, and kelp ecosystems into Haida Gwaii communities and schools.\n\n*Equally important were cultural goals*\n\nWe brought together collaborators from the Council of the Haida Nation, Parks Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Pacific Urchin Harvesters Association and researchers from four universities. After two years of baseline surveys, commercial fishery and Haida Fisheries divers reduced red sea urchin densities by more than 90% through fishing and in situ cracking. No kelp was planted or seeded because natural kelp sources were present and grazing pressure was identified as the main barrier to recovery.\n\nBull kelp canopy area and depth increased rapidly following urchin removal, although kelp abundance and understorey diversity fluctuated in later years, likely in response to renewed grazing and increased ocean temperatures. Annual maintenance and monitoring continued after the initial funding ended in 2022, supported by strong partnerships and shared stewardship goals. Urchins removed during site maintenance and an associated commercial fishery have continued to provide Haida traditional food for local communities, and the commercial fishery contributes an economic dimension to the restoration effort.\n\nThe project shows that restoration can deliver ecological, cultural, and social benefits simultaneously when it is grounded in Indigenous governance and long-term relationships. Its central lesson is that sustained recovery depends not only on reducing grazing pressure, but on cooperative management, continued restoration maintenance and monitoring, local food systems, and the values of the people responsible for caring for the place."},"options":{"text":""},"openGraph":{"title":null,"description":{"plain":"Chapter at a glance\nRestoration is expanding around the world, but progress remains uneven. A small number of larger programmes are showing that kelp forests can be restored at meaningful scales, while many projects remain small, experimental, or difficult to sustain and expand. Here, we highlight the main approaches being used and examine examples where restoration has succeeded at scale, focusing on the methods, partnerships, funding, and long-term management that have helped make recovery possible.\n"},"image":{"url":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/v1792414157/kelp-forest-alliance/page/5-0-restoration_thumbnail__Aaron-Eger-California_4000x2665_n8tybe.webp","url2x":null,"thumbnails":{"card":{"url":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/c_limit,w_480/v1792414157/kelp-forest-alliance/page/5-0-restoration_thumbnail__Aaron-Eger-California_4000x2665_n8tybe.webp","url2x":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/c_limit,w_960/v1792414157/kelp-forest-alliance/page/5-0-restoration_thumbnail__Aaron-Eger-California_4000x2665_n8tybe.webp"},"bubble":{"url":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/c_limit,w_64/v1792414157/kelp-forest-alliance/page/5-0-restoration_thumbnail__Aaron-Eger-California_4000x2665_n8tybe.webp","url2x":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/c_limit,w_128/v1792414157/kelp-forest-alliance/page/5-0-restoration_thumbnail__Aaron-Eger-California_4000x2665_n8tybe.webp"}}}},"intro":{"text":"**Chapter at a glance**\n\nRestoration is expanding around the world, but progress remains uneven. A small number of larger programmes are showing that kelp forests can be restored at meaningful scales, while many projects remain small, experimental, or difficult to sustain and expand. Here, we highlight the main approaches being used and examine examples where restoration has succeeded at scale, focusing on the methods, partnerships, funding, and long-term management that have helped make recovery possible."},"outro":{"text":""},"type":{"id":"671ef8301291fdccdbaa3afd","name":"Report","slug":"report"},"themeMode":null,"bannerThemeMode":null,"orderNumber":6,"layout":{"id":"65d5940a1368b052bf6ff14c","name":"Content","slug":"content","component":"PageLayoutContent"},"authors":[],"files":[],"videos":[],"imageAssets":[],"people":[],"featurePosts":[],"embeds":{"citations":[{"slug":"sowk2-5-1","url":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s44183-026-00213-1","name":"npj Ocean Sustainability Article","authors":[],"authorShowsEtAl":null,"edition":null,"publication":null,"date":null,"accessDate":null,"startPage":null,"volume":null,"footnoteNumber":1,"year":null},{"slug":"sowk2-5-2","url":"https://www.blueeconomy.jp/archives/2024-2-jbc-register/#17","name":"Japan Blue Economy Association - JBC Register","authors":[],"authorShowsEtAl":null,"edition":null,"publication":null,"date":null,"accessDate":null,"startPage":null,"volume":null,"footnoteNumber":2,"year":null},{"slug":"sowk2-5-3","url":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21664250.2021.1935581","name":"Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology / Related Journal Article","authors":[],"authorShowsEtAl":null,"edition":null,"publication":null,"date":null,"accessDate":null,"startPage":null,"volume":null,"footnoteNumber":3,"year":null},{"slug":"sowk2-5-4","url":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00227-024-04540-0","name":"Marine Biology Research Publication","authors":[],"authorShowsEtAl":null,"edition":null,"publication":null,"date":null,"accessDate":null,"startPage":null,"volume":null,"footnoteNumber":4,"year":null},{"slug":"sowk2-5-5","url":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44543-x","name":"Nature Communications Publication","authors":[],"authorShowsEtAl":null,"edition":null,"publication":null,"date":null,"accessDate":null,"startPage":null,"volume":null,"footnoteNumber":5,"year":null},{"slug":"sowk2-5-6","url":"https://doi.org/10.4060/cd1400en","name":"Fisheries responses to invasive species in a changing climate","authors":[],"authorShowsEtAl":null,"edition":null,"publication":null,"date":null,"accessDate":null,"startPage":null,"volume":null,"footnoteNumber":6,"year":null},{"slug":"sowk2-5-7","url":"https://www.utas.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/1944543/Tasmanian-Longspined-sea-urchin-fishery-assessment-2024-25.pdf","name":"Tasmanian Longspined Sea Urchin Fishery Assessment 2024-25","authors":[],"authorShowsEtAl":null,"edition":null,"publication":null,"date":null,"accessDate":null,"startPage":null,"volume":null,"footnoteNumber":7,"year":null},{"slug":"sowk2-5-8","url":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-025-01526-8","name":"Nature Sustainability Article","authors":[],"authorShowsEtAl":null,"edition":null,"publication":null,"date":null,"accessDate":null,"startPage":null,"volume":null,"footnoteNumber":8,"year":null}],"pages":[],"people":[],"imageAssets":[{"id":"6ad6186802dec18e5e5842b4","slug":"20131125-hammer-t-boyd-7360-x-4912-webp-1","name":"20131125_Hammer_TBoyd_7360x4912.webp","image":{"id":"image_kelp-forest-alliance/image-asset/20131125-hammer-t-boyd-7360-x-4912-webp-1_image__20131125_Hammer_TBoyd_7360x4912_ioryfm","url":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/v1792415834/kelp-forest-alliance/image-asset/20131125-hammer-t-boyd-7360-x-4912-webp-1_image__20131125_Hammer_TBoyd_7360x4912_ioryfm.webp","url2x":null}},{"id":"6ad617a002dec18e5e5842b1","slug":"tom-burd-malabar-july-2026-2-5296-x-3535-webp","name":"Tom-Burd-Malabar-July-2026-2_5296x3535.webp","image":{"id":"image_kelp-forest-alliance/image-asset/tom-burd-malabar-july-2026-2-5296-x-3535-webp_image__Tom-Burd-Malabar-July-2026-2_5296x3535_oqypwe","url":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/v1792415636/kelp-forest-alliance/image-asset/tom-burd-malabar-july-2026-2-5296-x-3535-webp_image__Tom-Burd-Malabar-July-2026-2_5296x3535_oqypwe.webp","url2x":null}},{"id":"6ad616e002dec18e5e5842ae","slug":"figure-5-3-global-restoration-progress","name":"Figure 5.3 Global restoration progress. ","image":{"id":"image_kelp-forest-alliance/image-asset/figure-5-3-global-restoration-progress_image__Fig_5.3_k6xtfa","url":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/v1792415431/kelp-forest-alliance/image-asset/figure-5-3-global-restoration-progress_image__Fig_5.3_k6xtfa.png","url2x":null}},{"id":"6ad614fb02dec18e5e5842a8","slug":"kelp-forests-from-baja","name":"Kelp forests from baja","image":{"id":"image_kelp-forest-alliance/image-asset/kelp-forests-from-baja_image__kelp_forests_from_baja_upscaled_6MB_4896x3264_fsyilo","url":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/v1792414959/kelp-forest-alliance/image-asset/kelp-forests-from-baja_image__kelp_forests_from_baja_upscaled_6MB_4896x3264_fsyilo.webp","url2x":null}},{"id":"6ad6169702dec18e5e5842ab","slug":"fig-5-2-methods","name":"Fig 5.2 methods","image":{"id":"image_kelp-forest-alliance/image-asset/fig-5-2-methods_image__Fig_5.2_cavxga","url":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/v1792415373/kelp-forest-alliance/image-asset/fig-5-2-methods_image__Fig_5.2_cavxga.png","url2x":null}},{"id":"6ad6147502dec18e5e5842a5","slug":"fig-5-1-restoration-methods-reported-across-kelp-forest-regions","name":"Fig 5.1 Restoration methods reported across kelp forest regions.","image":{"id":"image_kelp-forest-alliance/image-asset/fig-5-1-restoration-methods-reported-across-kelp-forest-regions_image__5_Fig_5.1_enq33a","url":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/v1792414816/kelp-forest-alliance/image-asset/fig-5-1-restoration-methods-reported-across-kelp-forest-regions_image__5_Fig_5.1_enq33a.png","url2x":null}}]},"parent":{"__typename":"Platform_Page","id":"6acdd00bbdeded6c37dcd41e","name":"State of the World's Kelp 26","path":"/state-of-the-worlds-kelp-26","slug":"state-of-the-worlds-kelp-26","title":"State of the World's Kelp Forests Report 2026","subtitle":null,"pretitle":null,"content":{"text":""},"children":[{"__typename":"Platform_Page","id":"6ad4a34121102692df900752","name":"Forewords","path":"/state-of-the-worlds-kelp-26/forewords","slug":"forewords","title":null,"subtitle":null,"pretitle":null,"openGraph":{"description":{"plain":"\n\nJulianna Sullivan – Port Gamble S’Kallam Tribe\nyaʔyáʔnəŋ̕ u cxʷ?\n(Are you listening?)\nSome of my earliest memories are sitting cross-legged on the floor of my preschool classroom, quietly watching as the grandmothers sang us our songs. In their hands was a rattle made from bull kelp, its rhythm carrying our language, our teachings, and the voices of those who came before us. Though we were taught to listen with respect and intention, there was something about the sound of the kelp rattle and the grandmothers' voices that drew us in. Even as young children, we knew those moments held something sacred.\nYears later, kelp would carry me far beyond my own shoreline.\nKelp introduced me to Indigenous relatives from coastlines I had never walked, whose languages I do not speak, yet whose hearts recognised something familiar in my own. Although our languages, traditions, and coastlines are beautifully distinct, something remarkable happened when we gathered. In every story, every laugh, every song, and every teaching, we found reflections of our own relationships with kelp. What once felt like isolated experiences became part of a much larger story—one that has been unfolding along coastlines around the world since time immemorial.\nEach gathering felt like drawing water from a deep well. Every person arrived carrying teachings from their own homeland, entrusted to them by their ancestors and communities. As those teachings were shared with humility and received with gratitude, the well grew deeper and purer. No one left with less. Somehow, we all left carrying more.\nMi'kmaq Elder Albert Marshall's teaching of Etuaptmumk, or Two-Eyed Seeing, became a guiding light for our journey. One eye recognises the strengths of our Indigenous ways of knowing, the other the strengths of Western science. It is only with both eyes open that we can better understand our kelp forests and find ways to better care for the world around us.\nAs kelp forests face unprecedented challenges, this growing circle of Indigenous kelp stewards reminds us that we are not alone. Across oceans, we are reconnecting to share knowledge, strengthen one another, and remember what the tides have always known—that the ocean connects us all.\nMy hope is that this spirit ripples outward, inspiring us to approach this work with curiosity, humility, and relationships rooted in respect, reciprocity, and care for the living world.\nw̕ yaʔyáʔnəŋ cn.\n(Yes, I am listening.)\n\n\nCraig Foster – Sea Change\nI’m at the tip of Africa in the Great African Seaforest. I watch in awe. A female pyjama shark is attempting to attach one of her eggs to a kelp holdfast by rotating her body around and around to weave the egg case thread into the kelp. Then something happened that I could never have imagined. A male pyjama shark appeared and repeatedly placed his body as protection between the female and any threat. As far as I know, this kind of protective behaviour is unknown in sharks.\nOnce the egg case was safely attached, both sharks moved away. Now the tiny shark would feed on the yolk inside the egg for at least six months before hatching, vulnerable to predation from starfish and whelks. I stared at the newly laid egg and felt a deep vulnerability in myself, because something told me that the survival of this endangered species was woven into my own survival. We feel separate, but that’s not actually the case, as biodiversity health and human health are fundamentally linked.\nOur future survival depends on our relationship with Mother Nature. Nurturing that relationship is the most important single thing we can do to support life and the coming lives of the next generation.\nKelp forests are places on Earth Mother’s body that have great wealth and density of species. They represent reservoirs of hope. They are amongst the most fragile and critical places to look after. Each act of caring and protection is an act of self-care. All our lives, animal and human, rest in her arms.\n"}},"intro":{"text":""},"orderNumber":1,"banner":null},{"__typename":"Platform_Page","id":"6ad4bfee21102692df90075d","name":"1.0 Introduction – Welcome to Kelp Forests","path":"/state-of-the-worlds-kelp-26/1-0-introduction-welcome-to-kelp-forests","slug":"1-0-introduction-welcome-to-kelp-forests","title":null,"subtitle":null,"pretitle":null,"openGraph":{"description":{"plain":"Key takeaways\n1. Kelp forests cover one-third of our world’s coastlines.\n2. Areas within 50 km of a kelp forest are home to 950 million people and account for 18% of global GDP.\n3. 40–60% of these systems have declined in the last 50 years.\n"}},"intro":{"text":"**Key takeaways**\n\n1\\. Kelp forests cover one-third of our world’s coastlines.\n\n2\\. Areas within 50 km of a kelp forest are home to 950 million people and account for 18% of global GDP.\n\n3\\. 40–60% of these systems have declined in the last 50 years."},"orderNumber":2,"banner":null},{"__typename":"Platform_Page","id":"6ad6035902dec18e5e58419b","name":"2.0 Benefits of Kelp Forests","path":"/state-of-the-worlds-kelp-26/2-0-benefits-of-kelp-forests","slug":"2-0-benefits-of-kelp-forests","title":null,"subtitle":null,"pretitle":null,"openGraph":{"description":{"plain":"Key takeaways\n\nKelp forests provide a wide range of economic and cultural services to over 950 million people around the world.\n\nThe potential economic value of ecosystem services in kelp forests is over US$500 billion per year.\n\nKelp forest fisheries (lobster, abalone, fish) generate tens of millions to billions for national economies each year.\n\nNearly 600,000 tonnes of wild kelp are harvested each year.\n\nKelp forests are estimated to sequester approximately 32 million tonnes of CO2 annually.\n\n\n"}},"intro":{"text":"**Key takeaways**\n\n1. Kelp forests provide a wide range of economic and cultural services to over **950 million people around the world.**\n\n2. The potential economic value of ecosystem services in kelp forests is **over US$500 billion per year.**\n\n3. Kelp forest fisheries (lobster, abalone, fish) **generate tens of millions to billions for national economies each year.**\n\n4. Nearly **600,000 tonnes of wild kelp** are harvested each year.\n\n5. Kelp forests are estimated to sequester approximately **32 million tonnes of CO2 annually.**"},"orderNumber":3,"banner":{"name":"Kelp chapter 2","slug":"kelp-chapter-2","alternateText":null,"thumbnail":null}},{"__typename":"Platform_Page","id":"6ad607a102dec18e5e584222","name":"3.0 Conservation Actions and Priorities","path":"/state-of-the-worlds-kelp-26/3-0-conservation-actions-and-priorities","slug":"3-0-conservation-actions-and-priorities","title":null,"subtitle":null,"pretitle":null,"openGraph":{"description":{"plain":"Key takeaways\n1) As the threats facing kelp forests are diverse, so are the methods for conserving, protecting, and managing these ecosystems. There is no universal approach, and conservation must be adapted to the local context.2) Monitoring is the most common type of kelp conservation used across regions.3) Communities are increasingly involved in kelp conservation projects.4) Indigenous stewardship, based on deep connections to local kelp forests, provides a complementary model for kelp conservation.\n"}},"intro":{"text":"## Key takeaways\n\n1) As the **threats facing kelp forests are diverse**, so are the methods for conserving, protecting, and managing these ecosystems. There is no universal approach, and conservation must be adapted to the local context.   \n2) Monitoring is the most common type of kelp conservation used across regions.  \n3) Communities are increasingly involved in kelp conservation projects.  \n4) Indigenous stewardship, based on deep connections to local kelp forests, provides a complementary model for kelp conservation."},"orderNumber":4,"banner":null},{"__typename":"Platform_Page","id":"6ad6116f02dec18e5e584292","name":"4.0 Protected Areas","path":"/state-of-the-worlds-kelp-26/4-0-protected-areas","slug":"4-0-protected-areas","title":null,"subtitle":null,"pretitle":null,"openGraph":{"description":{"plain":"Key Takeaways\n\nAround 23% of the global kelp biome overlaps with a protected area. This is an increase from 16% in 2024.  \nThirteen regions have more than 30% of their kelp biome within protected areas, while 23 regions remain below this level.  \nProtected-area coverage is highest in regions including the Sub-Antarctic Islands, Atlantic France, Japan, South Australia, Atlantic Spain and Portugal, the Mediterranean, California, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Argentina, Western Australia, Washington, and Chile.  \nStrong protection of kelp forest ecosystems is very rare. Only 1.2% of the global kelp biome can currently be confidently identified as highly protected, with an additional 1.86% identified as moderately protected.  \nSeveral regions remain particularly under-protected, including Aotearoa New Zealand, the Russian and Canadian Arctic, eastern Canada, China, and Tasmania.\n\n"}},"intro":{"text":"Key Takeaways\n\n1. Around **23% of the global kelp biome** overlaps with a **protected area. This is an increase from 16%** in 2024.  \n2. **Thirteen regions have more than 30% of their kelp biome within protected areas,** while 23 regions remain below this level.  \n3. Protected-area coverage is highest in regions including the Sub-Antarctic Islands, Atlantic France, Japan, South Australia, Atlantic Spain and Portugal, the Mediterranean, California, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Argentina, Western Australia, Washington, and Chile.  \n4. Strong protection of kelp forest ecosystems is very rare. **Only 1.2% of the global kelp biome** can currently be confidently **identified as highly protected**, with an additional 1.86% identified as moderately protected.  \n5. Several regions remain particularly under-protected, including Aotearoa New Zealand, the Russian and Canadian Arctic, eastern Canada, China, and Tasmania."},"orderNumber":5,"banner":null},{"__typename":"Platform_Page","id":"6ad618a702dec18e5e5842b7","name":"5.0 Restoration","path":"/state-of-the-worlds-kelp-26/5-0-restoration","slug":"5-0-restoration","title":null,"subtitle":null,"pretitle":null,"openGraph":{"description":{"plain":"Chapter at a glance\nRestoration is expanding around the world, but progress remains uneven. A small number of larger programmes are showing that kelp forests can be restored at meaningful scales, while many projects remain small, experimental, or difficult to sustain and expand. Here, we highlight the main approaches being used and examine examples where restoration has succeeded at scale, focusing on the methods, partnerships, funding, and long-term management that have helped make recovery possible.\n"}},"intro":{"text":"**Chapter at a glance**\n\nRestoration is expanding around the world, but progress remains uneven. A small number of larger programmes are showing that kelp forests can be restored at meaningful scales, while many projects remain small, experimental, or difficult to sustain and expand. Here, we highlight the main approaches being used and examine examples where restoration has succeeded at scale, focusing on the methods, partnerships, funding, and long-term management that have helped make recovery possible."},"orderNumber":6,"banner":null},{"__typename":"Platform_Page","id":"6ad61c2202dec18e5e5842d1","name":"6.0 New Technologies","path":"/state-of-the-worlds-kelp-26/6-0-new-technologies","slug":"6-0-new-technologies","title":null,"subtitle":null,"pretitle":null,"openGraph":{"description":{"plain":"Chapter at a glance\nTechnology has an important role to play in making kelp forest conservation more effective and more efficient. While the field has received little dedicated research and development compared to terrestrial and coral systems, we are seeing the emergence of innovative approaches and creative applications of technologies developed for other settings to improve kelp forest health. Here we highlight some emerging and established technologies that will help drive the future of kelp forest conservation.\n"}},"intro":{"text":"**Chapter at a glance**\n\nTechnology has an important role to play in making kelp forest conservation more effective and more efficient. While the field has received little dedicated research and development compared to terrestrial and coral systems, we are seeing the emergence of innovative approaches and creative applications of technologies developed for other settings to improve kelp forest health. Here we highlight some emerging and established technologies that will help drive the future of kelp forest conservation."},"orderNumber":7,"banner":null},{"__typename":"Platform_Page","id":"6ad6202f02dec18e5e584320","name":"7.0 Policy and Funding Advances","path":"/state-of-the-worlds-kelp-26/7-0-policy-and-funding-advances","slug":"7-0-policy-and-funding-advances","title":null,"subtitle":null,"pretitle":null,"openGraph":{"description":{"plain":"Chapter at a glance\nPolicy and funding can determine whether kelp conservation remains a collection of local projects or grows into coordinated, long-term action. Around the world, governments and partners are beginning to set clearer targets, strengthen regulation, build dedicated coordination structures, and invest in restoration and monitoring. Here, we highlight examples of how policy, funding, and governance are creating the conditions needed to support kelp conservation at meaningful scales.\n"}},"intro":{"text":"**Chapter at a glance**\n\nPolicy and funding can determine whether kelp conservation remains a collection of local projects or grows into coordinated, long-term action. Around the world, governments and partners are beginning to set clearer targets, strengthen regulation, build dedicated coordination structures, and invest in restoration and monitoring. Here, we highlight examples of how policy, funding, and governance are creating the conditions needed to support kelp conservation at meaningful scales."},"orderNumber":8,"banner":null},{"__typename":"Platform_Page","id":"6ad629a902dec18e5e5843ac","name":"8.0 Communities and Communications","path":"/state-of-the-worlds-kelp-26/8-0-communities-and-communications","slug":"8-0-communities-and-communications","title":null,"subtitle":null,"pretitle":null,"openGraph":{"description":{"plain":"Chapter at a glance\nProtecting and restoring kelp forests is as much about connecting people to these systems as it is about science and policy. People have expressed their connection to and the importance of kelp forests in many forms, from paint to poetry to podcasts. Here, we highlight some of our favourite examples of artistic expression and communication about kelp forests.\n"}},"intro":{"text":"**Chapter at a glance**\n\nProtecting and restoring kelp forests is as much about connecting people to these systems as it is about science and policy. People have expressed their connection to and the importance of kelp forests in many forms, from paint to poetry to podcasts. Here, we highlight some of our favourite examples of artistic expression and communication about kelp forests."},"orderNumber":9,"banner":null},{"__typename":"Platform_Page","id":"6ad62b9402dec18e5e5843d9","name":"9.0 Methods","path":"/state-of-the-worlds-kelp-26/9-0-methods","slug":"9-0-methods","title":null,"subtitle":null,"pretitle":null,"openGraph":{"description":{"plain":"9.1 Expert opinion survey\nThis assessment draws on a structured global survey of kelp forest experts, practitioners, and managers. Participants provided information only for regions where they had substantial knowledge or experience.\nThe survey assessed four aspects of kelp forest conservation: threats and stressors, current conservation action, capacity to respond, and ecosystem benefits. Sixteen indicators were scored using consistent criteria, allowing broad comparisons among regions.\nResponses were combined to produce regional summaries and to identify places where conservation action and capacity may not be keeping pace with the pressures facing kelp forests.\nThe results represent expert-informed assessments rather than direct measurements of ecological condition or management effectiveness. The number of respondents and the availability of evidence varied among regions, so findings from areas with limited responses should be interpreted cautiously and alongside other available information.\n9.2 Kelp protection analysis\nWe estimated how much of the global kelp biome overlaps with marine protected areas and how strong that protection is likely to be.\nThe kelp biome was represented using a global model of potential kelp distribution1, restricted to waters shallower than 60 metres. This captures the broad environmental range in which kelp forests may occur, but it is not a direct map of observed kelp. It may overestimate habitat because it does not account for the availability of rocky reef, while also underestimating kelp distribution in places that were inaccurately modelled.\nWe overlaid this biome layer with two complementary protected-area datasets. The World Database on Protected Areas was used to estimate the overall area of kelp habitat located within designated protected areas. ProtectedSeas’ Level of Fishing Protection dataset was used to assess the strength of fishing restrictions within those areas, with a focus on moderately and highly protected sites.\nWhere protected areas overlapped, each location was assigned to the highest applicable protection category to avoid double-counting. These results indicate the spatial extent and likely regulatory strength of protection, but they do not directly measure enforcement, management effectiveness, or ecological outcomes.\n\nFigure 9.1 Overview of the kelp protection analysis. Habitat and protected-area layers are overlaid to estimate spatial overlap. See Section 9.2 for the habitat layer and protection datasets used in this report."}},"intro":{"text":""},"orderNumber":10,"banner":null},{"__typename":"Platform_Page","id":"6ad62c4c02dec18e5e5843e8","name":"10.0 Closing","path":"/state-of-the-worlds-kelp-26/10-0-closing","slug":"10-0-closing","title":null,"subtitle":null,"pretitle":null,"openGraph":{"description":{"plain":"The state of the world’s kelp forests remains mixed. Kelp forests continue to be lost, oceans are warming, and overabundant grazers remain a major challenge.\n"}},"intro":{"text":"The state of the world’s kelp forests remains mixed. Kelp forests continue to be lost, oceans are warming, and overabundant grazers remain a major challenge."},"orderNumber":11,"banner":null}]},"featurePages":[],"marqueePages":[],"children":[],"banners":[],"slices":[]}}},"pageContext":{"lang":{"id":"en","path":"","iso":"en","name":"English","label":"English"},"availableEntities":["Event","FeedEntry","Location","Organisation","Page","Post","Region","RestorationProject","Video","Publications","Entity","Citation","Guidebook","ProjectCaseStudy"],"detailEntities":["Event","FeedEntry","Location","Organisation","Page","Post","Region","RestorationProject","Video"],"site":{"id":"65d5942d1368b052bf6ff61d","slug":"kelp-forest-alliance","name":"Kelp Forest Alliance","url":"https://kelpforestalliance.com","title":"Kelp Forest Alliance","twitter":"https://twitter.com/KelpAlliance","threads":null,"facebook":null,"linkedin":null,"instagram":"https://www.instagram.com/kelpforestalliance/","flickr":null,"tiktok":null,"youtube":null,"ownerName":"Kelp Forest Alliance","recaptchaKey":"6Lfl7VwfAAAAAOJxnHRx2kG4qi8tvJrPChLwnBQe","googleSiteVerification":"K1GoJFry3_dyRlU2TBFIQE0nvAqMISP5yB_AKdaXZ2Q","platformName":"The Kelp Forest Alliance Network","platformUrl":"https://community.kelpforestalliance.com","supportEmail":null,"contactEmail":null,"mainMenu":null,"linearMenu":null,"entityViews":[],"entityAppViews":[],"entityOnboardingViews":[],"gptLanguages":[],"gptQuestionTemplate":null,"advertisements":[],"logoVerticalOffset":null,"logoHorizontalOffset":null,"logoVerticalOffsetMobile":null,"logoHorizontalOffsetMobile":null,"logoVerticalOffsetTablet":null,"logoHorizontalOffsetTablet":null,"logoVerticalOffsetDesktop":null,"logoHorizontalOffsetDesktop":null,"logoHeightMobile":null,"logoHeightTablet":null,"logoHeightDesktop":null,"headerHeightMobile":null,"headerHeightTablet":null,"headerHeightDesktop":null,"logo":{"url":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/v1685318951/kelp-forest-alliance/site/kelp-forest-alliance_logo__kelp-forest-alliance_wfwae0.png.png","type":"image/png","width":813,"height":394},"logoInverted":{"url":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/v1685319067/kelp-forest-alliance/site/kelp-forest-alliance_logoInverted__kelp-forest-alliance-inverted_fvrp2g.png.png","type":"image/png","width":446,"height":216},"footerMenu":null,"footerSecondaryMenu":null,"footerContent":{"text":""},"creator":null,"poweredBy":{"id":"65d594011368b052bf6ff083","name":"Shapeable","slug":"shapeable","url":"https://shapeable.ai","logo":{"url":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/v1685320264/kelp-forest-alliance/organisation/shapeable_logo__shapeable_g0irbu.png.png","type":"image/png","width":392,"height":118},"logoInverted":{"url":"https://res.cloudinary.com/shapeable/image/upload/v1685320252/kelp-forest-alliance/organisation/shapeable_logoInverted__shapeable-inverted_jklhmv.png.png","type":"image/png","width":392,"height":118},"logoSubtle":null},"poweredByLabel":null,"poweredByContent":{"text":""},"explorerPage":null,"termsPage":null,"homePage":null,"knowledgeHubPage":null,"privacyPolicyPage":null,"summary":{"text":"Kelp forests cover a third of the world’s coastlines and support hundreds of millions of people, but they are disappearing. 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