SKRP hosts 'Kelp Summit 2025' alongside the launch of a new report

The Kelp Summit 2025: ‘Progress Beyond Protection’ took place at the Attenborough Centre, University of Sussex from 2-3 April 2025. The pioneering event was hosted by Sussex Kelp Recovery Project (SKRP) and supported by the Environment Agency, bringing together more than 200 national scientists, conservationists and policy makers to share knowledge to conserve our underwater forests.

Henri Brocklebank, Director of Conservation at Sussex Wildlife Trust and Chair of SKRP commented “Sussex has put rewilding on the map – starting with the epic Knepp rewilding project and now with the largest marine rewilding initiative in the UK. We are thrilled to welcome participants for the UK’s first national kelp ecology conference to progress marine research, monitoring and recovery at scale.”

Kelp forests are considered among the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems on Earth – each individual kelp hosting as many as 80,000 individual organisms. Yet despite their importance, they are threatened by interacting global and local scale pressures, including climate change. This can be seen in the form of rising sea temperatures and increases in the frequency, intensity and duration of extreme weather events. In addition, human activities such as pollution, trawling, increased sediment and invasive species have resulted in the degradation and loss of kelp forests in many regions around the world.

In the UK, kelp beds of large brown seaweeds are estimated to occur along ~60% of the coastline, from the East coast of Scotland to the Isles of Scilly, where there is rocky substrate kelp can attach to and suitable water quality.

In Sussex, kelp forests once covered vast areas from Selsey to Shoreham, but by 2019, 96% of kelp forests had been destroyed. This was largely due to The Great Storm of 1987 followed by ensuing destructive fishing practices known as bottom-trawling, which devastated the seabed and the wildlife which inhabited these underwater havens. As kelp forests provide crucial nursery habitats for fish and invertebrates, their loss significantly impacted local fisheries and marine biodiversity.

In support of the summit, Blue Marine Foundation, a SKRP partner, launched their report, ‘UK Kelp Recovery: Barriers and Optimum Conditions’ which identifies the factors effecting kelp growth and recovery. The report suggests that reducing pollution, disturbance and sedimentation from dredging and trawling are crucial to allow natural kelp recovery and prevent decline of healthy kelp beds.

Pippa Moore, Professor of Marine Science at Newcastle University and co-author of the report commented: “Kelp forests are some of the most productive on earth and provide a wealth of goods and services to human society. At the same time, they are at risk from human activities such as climate change, destructive fishing practices and pollution.”

Sam Fanshawe, Senior UK Projects Manager from Blue Marine Foundation and report co-author said: “The landmark Sussex IFCA Nearshore Trawling Byelaw was the first vital action to remove the main cause of disturbance to the seabed and create the conditions needed for kelp to resettle and grow.  Sadly, other impacts such as increased levels of sediment, nutrients and pollution could impede natural recovery of kelp habitats and the wider marine ecosystem.  The report on UK Kelp Recovery: Barriers and Optimum Conditions draws together our knowledge of the key factors needed to allow kelp growth and the return of the once abundant kelp beds in Sussex and avoid declines in other regions.”

The outcomes of the Kelp Summit 2025 and the conclusions of the report will provide invaluable insights and help drive meaningful progress towards a wider understanding of kelp ecosystems and marine recovery in Sussex and beyond.

Pippa concluded: “Having a sound understanding of the conditions that encourage or hinder kelp recovery when it is disturbed is vital before making informed management decisions on whether passive or active approaches to kelp recovery are required. This report provides the context for UK waters”.

Watch the BBC SE News report on the Kelp Summit 2025 and the launch of the report: