Beginning in 2014 the Monterey Peninsula and Carmel Bay regions have experienced a rapid rise in purple urchin density. In these areas alone, purple urchin density has risen from one urchin every 25 square meters to 10 urchins every one square meter. This proliferation of purple urchins is an environmental crisis for kelp ecosystems in California. Purple Urchins primarily feed on kelp detritus that has fallen to the ocean floor but when the detritus is exhausted they start eating live kelp. Furthermore, once these urchins take over live kelp forests they are forced into a starved, dormant state, creating urchin barrens where kelp cannot grow.

Lying just offshore of a long stretch of sandy beach in Monterey Bay, Tankers Reef was once home to over 20 acres of thriving giant kelp forest. Kelp forests provide food and protection for over 700 species of algae, invertebrates, and fish. More specifically, Giant Kelp is the fastest growing marine plant on the planet and sequesters more carbon globally than all of the world’s mangrove forests combined. Culling the urchin barrens that have recently taken over and focusing on restoring giant kelp is ultimately a vital step in our efforts towards solving climate change.

SeaTrees has partnered with Reef Check California to train citizen divers to safely and efficiently cull the urchin barrens at Tankers Reef in order to spark the regeneration of kelp forests in Northern California.