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Giant Kelp forests are the world’s tallest underwater forests, reaching up to 20 metres high. Photos: Jarrod Boord, Streamline Media
GIANT Kelp can grow up to 20 metres high. They provide food and shelter for marine life including penguins, seals and rock lobster and support healthy coastal fisheries.
These underwater forests once thrived along Victoria’s coastline. Today, they are listed as critically endangered in Australia. A marine heat wave predicted to hit Victoria this summer could wipe out most of what’s left.
A community-led project launched last month is working to stop that happening.
Dr Chris Gillies, CEO of Offshore Biotechnologies, said the Island Kelp Recovery project was about turning hope into action in the face of climate change.
It will combine marine restoration science, aquaculture expertise, Traditional Owner knowledge and community action to develop a practical approach to restoring Giant Kelp in local waters, with the potential to contribute to recovery efforts elsewhere in Australia.
Learn more
Island Kelp Recovery is holding two events to inform the community about the project and recruit volunteers.
- Sunday October 11, 5.45pm Berninneit, Cowes,
- Monday October 12, 5.45pm, Bass Coast Council Chambers, Wonthaggi.
Visit www.islandkelprecovery.org for more information about the project and community information sessions.
“Giant Kelp forests once thrived at locations including the Nobbies, Cape Woolamai, and Pyramid Rock on the Island, Cape Paterson and likely Kilcunda.
“We know they can recover, and now we have an opportunity to help make that happen. This is about bringing the right science, skills and people together, and giving nature a helping hand.”
In Tasmania the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies has restored giant kelp at 23 locations across Tasmania. Successful projects have also occurred in California, and Dr Gillies is confident it can work in Gippsland too.
Giant Kelp forests provide food and shelter for marine life including
Weedy Sea Dragons.
An immediate goal of the Bass Coast project is to collect seedstock ahead of the predicted heat wave and use it to restore kelp forests after the heat wave has passed.
The forecast is for a strong El Niño to bring warm, nutrient-poor water from Queensland through New South Wales and toward Gippsland between November and January.
“We’ve seen what happens to kelp forests and other ecosystems like coral reefs when heat waves strike,” Dr Gillies said. “It’s absolutely devastating for marine life.”
Individual divers and dive clubs including Victoria’s oldest – the Victorian Sub Aqua Group – are being engaged to help search the coast for remnant Giant Kelp colonies.
“With immediate action, we know we can preserve the genetic structure of the remaining Giant Kelp and use this to re-seed kelp forests.”
“Nature has an amazing process where it actually releases the spores as a bit of a last hurrah, as if they were washed up on the beach, and then we capture those spores.
SeaGen Aquaculture, a shellfish hatchery at Newhaven, is supporting the work. It has assisted The Nature Conservancy with golden-kelp restoration in Port Phillip Bay using the same general process.
Spores can be held in water under red light as a seedbank for years; switching to white light triggers germination and growth.
The kelp plants can then be settled on rocks wedged into crevices, cotton twine, or artificial reefs. At that stage, the kelp is only a few millimetres high. But it grows quickly after that and can reach the surface within 12 months.
Dr Chris Gillies: "We can reseed Giant Kelp forests."
Rotary Phillip Island and San Remo, a founding partner in the project, is funding the project, with other local businesses providing financial or in-kind support. The long-term aim is to get government funding for an ongoing recovery project, including a mobile nursery.
Rotary’s volunteer co-ordinator Gea Lovell said the response from the community has been inspiring.
“From local artists to tourism operators and local tradies, the community is really rallying around the project to help get it started. There is a role for everyone who wants to be involved in helping to bring back the world’s tallest underwater forests.”
“People want to be part of something positive – something that will still be here for the next generation. We’re seeing people put their hands up with their time, their skills and their resources. That generosity is what makes this project so exciting.”