@reefcheckfoundation

The Reef Check team is excited to release the results of our restoration project in Northern California! We partnered with commercial divers to remove urchins and saw a significant increase in bull kelp! Commercial urchin divers removed 45,118 lbs of purple urchins (equal to approximately 7 orca whales!) At Noyo Harbor, removing urchins resulted in a increase in bull kelp to roughly 20% of the historical density. No sustained kelp growth was observed in the nearby control area. These results suggest that a collaborative, community-based approach is an effective strategy to reduce urchin densities and promote kelp growth! Reef Check continues to monitor the testing of kelp forest restoration tools. Thank you to our project parnters @opc_california, @californiadfw , @thenatureconservancy, and @noyocenter www.reefcheck.org/california-program/kelp-restoration/