– There is a lot of life. It’s really sick when you think that there was nothing here last year, says Ida Søhol. Wearing a wetsuit, snorkel and flippers, she hardly knows the Arctic Ocean, where she snorkels on the north side of Tromsøya. Beneath her doves a lush kelp forest. It didn’t look like this a year ago. Then you only saw sea urchins. The problem began in the 70s. Then overfishing along the Norwegian coast caused the ecosystem to collapse. The sea urchins lost their enemies, when species such as cod, catfish, lobster and crab disappeared. Juni Bjørneset and Ida Søhol, co-leaders of Tarevoktere, have spent a lot of time picking and crushing sea urchins. Photo: David Gonzalez They were allowed to eat and reproduce without hindrance. And eat they did. Large areas of kelp forests disappeared. – We are facing one of Europe’s biggest ecosystem crises in Norway. And no one is aware that it is happening. Nobody is aware that most of the fjords we have around us in northern Norway are dead, says Juni Bjørneset, co-leader of Tarevoktere, about the kelp forest. In many places, the seabed has become a “sea urchin desert”. According to senior researcher at Niva, Hartvig Christie, it was estimated ten years ago that 10 million tonnes of kelp forest had disappeared. In this area by Tromsøya, the Kelp Guardians and many volunteers have worked to restore the kelp forest. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news In Finnmark, Troms and parts of Nordland, approximately 20,000 kilometers of coastline are affected, but Christie says it is difficult to calculate precisely. – Sometimes you can find a small patch of kelp, but otherwise there are sea urchins all over the place, he says. As a result, large and small marine animals have also lost important areas. – The kelp forest is the sea’s nursery. It is there that many animals seek shelter, find food and grow up. Without the kelp forest, these organisms lack a place to belong, says Bjørneset. The kelp forest is coming back But now there have been other bowls. The kelp keepers and volunteer divers have been at it for two years. Every month they have gone out into the sea on the north side of Tromsøya, armed with hammers and nets. The divers have laboriously worked their way through the area, crushing the sea urchins one by one. The nutrients from the sea urchins went back to the sea, enabling the kelp to re-establish itself. The kelp keepers have managed to rehabilitate approximately 2,000 square meters of seabed from the “sea urchin desert” to a kelp forest. The result is visible. Today, several different kelp species, such as sugar kelp and finger kelp, have once again settled on the knolls by the lighthouse. In an area of 2,000 square metres, or a third of a football field, fish fry, like roe crackers, have found shelter among the large leaves. Where there used to be only seabeds and sea urchins, there is now a bustling wildlife that has found its home in the kelp forest. – By removing the sea urchins, the kelp forest will return by itself, says Søhol. The leaders of the Tar Guardians are aware that it would not have been possible without volunteer divers. From the “sea urchin desert” to bustling wildlife in the kelp forest. The results impress the UN’s senior adviser on oceans, Vincent Doumeizel. He is with the Tar Guardians to look at the work they have done. – It is very impressive. It is unique. You can really see life coming back with the kelp. I think it gives a lot of hope for the future, says Doumeizel. – The sea is on fire. It is not just in the north that the kelp is disappearing. – Kelp forests all over the world are disappearing due to disruption of ecosystems. It is very serious, because we are losing a lot of carbon storage and biodiversity, says Doumeizel. The UN’s senior advisor for oceans, Vincent Doumeizel, joined the Tar Guardians out into the sea gap. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news – The sea is on fire, but nobody cares because there are no pictures to show it. The kelp forest is in danger, and we must save it. Otherwise, the kelp, and we, will disappear. Hartvig Christie is also aware that the kelp forest is important. – It has many ecosystem services that are very important throughout the coast, both for wildlife and for us humans, he says. Want to inspire others Juni Bjørneset says they want to inspire others to do the same. – We are restoring the kelp forest to show that it is possible to do this. And in the hope that more people will contribute, so that we can save the Norwegian coast on a large scale. Juni Bjørneset hopes to inspire others to restore the kelp forest in several places along the coast. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news The senior researcher at Niva believes that the rehabilitation at Tromsø is exciting. He believes that the work in the north can have a very large signaling effect. – It shows that as soon as you remove the sea urchin, the kelp comes back straight away. According to Christie, research is being done on methods that make it possible to remove sea urchins on a larger scale. But for now, the Seaweed Guardians have found that the easiest way is to crush the sea urchins. – When will you be satisfied? – Never! Or, we will be satisfied when the entire coast of Norway flowers again, says Bjørneset.
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This is how they save the kelp forest in the north – from the “sea urchin desert” to the ocean’s nursery – news Troms and Finnmark
