Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Kelp Restoration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Local pilots show early kelp recovery after urchin removal and spore enhancement
Summary
Community, tribal and agency pilots reported rapid juvenile kelp recruitment at treated sites after large urchin removals and spore enhancement; Oregon Kelp Alliance and partners removed hundreds of thousands of urchins and deployed kelp platforms and spore bags at pilot locations.
Community groups, commercial divers and agency partners described early, promising results from kelp restoration pilots at several Oregon sites presented to OPAC on April 29.
Tom Caldanese of the Oregon Kelp Alliance summarized work at pilot sites (Nellie's Cove, Macklin Cove, Cape Lookout and others): tens of thousands of urchins were removed at individual sites and the alliance reported more than 363,000 urchins removed across three sites in 2025. The group used two kelp enhancement tactics — small juvenile kelp spliced onto submerged platforms and deployable spore bags — and paired removals with reintroduction trials for the sunflower sea star (Pycnopodia). "Between and amongst all of them at those 3 sites, we removed or culled over 363,000 sea urchins," Caldanese said.
Speakers showed drone and diver footage of juvenile bull kelp recruiting in treated areas within days to weeks of activities and highlighted partnerships with tribes, ReefCheck volunteers and university researchers. Presenters emphasized this is an early, experimental phase: teams plan to repeat culling and enhancement, scale pilot sites and pursue captive breeding for the sunflower sea star; costs, long‑term maintenance and ecological risks remain under study.
