The Sussex Kelp Recovery Project (SKRP), the UK’s largest marine rewilding project, celebrates three years of seabed protection in Sussex today on the International Day of Biological Diversity.
To celebrate, SKRP partners have published their annual report highlighting research and projects aimed at bringing back our lost sea forests. It is hoped that, in time, marine habitats off the coast of Sussex may once again be able to support a diverse range of marine life, bringing huge benefits for nature, fisheries and coastal communities.
In Sussex, an extensive kelp forest - a group of large brown seaweeds that grow together to form magnificent underwater forests - once stretched along more than 40km of the coastline between Shoreham-by-Sea and Selsey Bill. Tragically, by the start of the 21st Century, over 96 percent of this kelp had disappeared. Despite having survived huge storms for centuries, the kelp didn’t return after the storm of 1987, due to the increase in trawling in the area which completely transformed the seabed, preventing the return of the once abundant kelp forests.
Three years ago, in March 2021, a landmark fisheries management byelaw was passed locally, stopping the fishing method of towing trawls along the seafloor. The Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) Nearshore Trawling Byelaw excluded trawling from over 300km2 of Sussex seabed, to protect essential marine habitats and support sustainable inshore fisheries.
Signs of recovery are now slowly but clearly emerging. Mussel beds, some the size of football pitches have been reported by divers; fishermen have reported increased diversity of fish species in their catches and research indicates gradual increases in Black Sea Bream and Lobster populations.
George Short, Kelp Recovery Co-ordinator said – those involved in the project are always spurred on by the words of Sir David Attenborough who celebrated the successful implementation of the Byelaw three years ago. He said, ‘Sussex’s remarkable kelp forests will now have a chance to regenerate and provide a home for hundreds of species, creating an oasis of life off the coast, enhancing fisheries and sequestering carbon in our fight against climate change.’
George added – after years of damaging impacts on our local marine ecosystem, recovery will take time, but we are now starting to see glimmers of hope for the type of recovery ourselves and Sir David Attenborough envisioned.