WWF’s Todd Paige on growing up around seaweed and restoring kelp forests

Digging in the sand and watching the action in a tidal pool at Reid State Park in Georgetown, Maine, are vivid memories from my childhood. So many creatures in such a small ecosystem made me wonder if they looked forward to the tide washing them out to freedom, or if they would rather end up in a different tide pool.

Plus, seaweed was everywhere: washed up on the beach, covering rocks, and flowing in currents off the shoreline. At the time, I was unaware of the critical role seaweed beds and kelp forests play in our oceans to provide by creating habitat for a wide variety of marine life, including fish, lobster, other invertebrates, and mammals.

To me, seaweed was a terrific way to heckle my brothers. I threw more than one handful of seaweed at them! Seaweed was also my nemesis when trying to fish—I probably caught more seaweed than striped bass when fishing with our father, a trend that continues today!

Yet, as a young boy, I knew seaweed had some value because I would help my parents lug it onto the garden beds to mulch and fertilize our vegetable and flower gardens.

Seaweed and kelp are critical for life on Earth. Forests and beds filter excess nutrients and sequester carbon through photosynthesis. 70% of our oxygen comes from the ocean, with kelp forests an important contributor.

Sadly, kelp forests are declining worldwide due to factors including overfishing, pollution, excess urchins, and warming waters.

Kelp reforestation is a promising approach to restoring and protecting kelp forests.

In my role with the WWF-US Seaweed Team, I have been fortunate to spend time with the team at SeaForester, a group of passionate marine biologists and conservationists working hard to improve marine coastal areas with the vision of increasing marine habitat and filtering our oceans from runoff pollution and carbon sequestration.

What is kelp reforestation?

Kelp reforestation is the process of restoring or planting kelp forests. This can be done in several ways, including:

• Transplanting kelp from healthy forests to degraded forests.
• Seeding kelp spores onto surfaces like rocks to create new forests.
• Cultivating kelp in nurseries and then transplanting it to the ocean
• Removing stressors leading to kelp's decline, such as urchin removal activities

SeaForester focuses on the “green gravel” technique. That means they grow kelp seeds on small rocks in a controlled nursery setting and then translocate the seed rocks to areas in critical need of restoration.

Why is kelp reforestation important?

• Speed to impact: A kelp forest will grow to maturity more quickly compared to a terrestrial forest, which may take years to provide a similar ecosystem services impact.
• Biodiversity: Kelp forests are home to a wide variety of marine life, including fish, invertebrates, and mammals. Kelp reforestation restores and protects this biodiversity.
• Coastal protection: Kelp forests act as a natural barrier against storms and waves, protecting coastal communities from erosion and flooding. Kelp reforestation enhances this coastal protection.
• Carbon sequestration: Kelp forests absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to mitigate climate change. Kelp reforestation increases this carbon sequestration.
• Economic benefits: Kelp forests support several economic activities, including fishing, tourism, and recreation. Kelp reforestation sustains these economic benefits.

Support the science

There is more research to be done to demonstrate the value of these projects, but I’m grateful for the work WWF does to support restoration and seaweed farming, and am hopeful these reforested areas can provide one small path out of our current climate challenges.

Todd Paige is the director of aquaculture social license programs and measurement at WWF-US.