Kelp Rescue Initiative

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Kelp Rescue Initiative

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We develop science-backed solutions for kelp forest restoration and resilience in Barkley Sound & the North Salish Sea. Follow along to learn about kelp!

We work closely with First Nations, local communities & partners to protect these vital ecosystems.

10/08/2026

If you’ve seen us posting over the course of our end of season clean-up, you might have wondered how we’re getting these big, awkwardly shaped ARKEVs out of the water.

This is how we retrieve the ARKEVs from our restoration sites >

Photos: Nikkey Dawn | Photographer

Our scuba divers attach a rope and float to each ARKEV, marking its position for the boat crew above.

Once the divers are back aboard, the crew uses a boat hook to retrieve each float.

The rope is fed into a prawn pot puller, which lifts the ARKEV out of the water.

Then, we pull the ARKEV into the boat, along with any kelp still attached.

With all the ARKEVs aboard, we head back to the dock.

Lastly, we measure the kelp to record how much it grew!

09/30/2026

Today, on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we honour Survivors, their families and communities, and remember the children who never returned home.

The Kelp Rescue Initiative is based at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, within the traditional territory of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, a Nuu-chah-nulth Nation and member of the Maa-nulth Treaty Society.

We acknowledge the profound and ongoing impacts of colonialism and the residential school system, including the disruption of relationships with land and water, language, culture, knowledge and stewardship across generations.

We are grateful for the Indigenous stewardship that continues across the coastal places where we live and work, and for the knowledge, leadership, relationships and responsibilities that have long shaped care for marine ecosystems.

We are guests in this work, and we are grateful for the trust, guidance and space to contribute.

09/25/2026

New Publication: Identifying Thermally Tolerant Bull Kelp for Restoration

New research explores how bull kelp from different northern Salish Sea populations grows and persists in warmer waters.

Lead Author: Lauren N. Dykman

Photos: Rebecca Benjamin-Carey Nikkey Dawn | Photographer Fernando Lessa 🇧🇷🇨🇦

To help guide bull kelp restoration in warming waters, KRI researchers compared kelp produced from warmer and
cooler source populations.

For this study, spores were collected from five populations along a temperature gradient in the northern Salish Sea. The spores were released and the gametophytes cultured under the same conditions before the kelp was outplanted and monitored at Maude Reef.

Map showing mean summer sea surface temperatures (June to August) throughout the Salish Sea with the source populations (1: Brown’s Bay, 2: Oyster River, 3: Vancouver, 4: Gabriola Island, 5: Victoria) and outplant site (star) overlaid. Temperature values were summarized from LiveOcean model runs for the years 2017–2022.

The kelp was grown on several lines for easy tracking and monitoring

MAUDE REEF,
HORNBY ISLAND, BC

The populations each expressed different strenghts. For example:

BROWN’S BAY (COOL)

Kelp from this nearby cool site grew the longest stipes and produced the most reproductive tissue.

OYSTER RIVER (WARM)

Kelp from this nearby warm site grew more blade tissue during the summer and persisted longer as temperatures rose.

Brown’s Bay stipes were 175% longer than Oyster River stipes by late May.

Oyster River blade growth was 87% greater than Brown’s Bay during the measured warm period.

Heat resilience may take more than one form.

Some kelp grew quickly and reproduced before peak summer temperatures. Other kelp continued growing and persisted longer in warmer water.

Using nearby populations with complementary traits could support restoration across the growing season, although mixing populations requires further study.

Recruitment

While some kelp produced reproductive tissue, no natural recruitment was observed the following year at Maude Reef.

The results show how source selection could improve restoration wh

09/23/2026

Have you ever wondered where bull kelp grows from?

Its growth regions, called meristems, are found at the base of the blades and near the top of the stipe, just below the pneumatocyst (gas-filled float).

New blade tissue forms at the base, pushing older tissue toward the tips. That lets the blades keep growing as their exposed ends wear away with wave action and abrasion. (If you’re harvesting bull kelp blades, it’s important to cut well away from where they attach to the pneumatocyst so the growing region stays intact.)

The stipe lengthens near its upper end. Early in its development, bull kelp puts much of its growth into extending the stipe toward the surface to reach more sunlight.

Photo: Nikkey Dawn | Photographer

09/20/2026

Under the bull kelp canopy 🐟

Perch often hangout just beneath the blades, where they can find both shelter and an opportunity to forage for prey like small crustaceans and benthic invertebrates.

Photos: Nikkey Dawn | Photographer

09/18/2026

Last week, The Kelp Rescue Initiative headed out on paddleboards with Project Watershed to collect bull kelp sori (reproductive tissue) from the Oyster River region. The conditions were on our side, and we were happy to find plenty of sori to collect.

Spores released from the sori will germinate into microscopic gametophytes. After the gametophytes reproduce and fertilization occurs, the resulting sporophytes will then grow in the nursery over winter, with the goal of outplanting them at this new restoration site next season.

It was a great start to an exciting collaboration!

Address

100 Pachena Road
Bamfield, BC
V0R1B0

Website

https://www.kelprescue.org/

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