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Tanker's Reef
Tanker's Reef once supported extensive kelp forests (shown in orange). Monterey's kelp forests suffered devastating declines following the unprecedented marine heatwave, sea star wasting disease, and urchin population explosion that ravaged our coastline from 2013-2016. Tanker's Reef became an urchin barren, along with many other locations along the Monterey peninsula. Farther north, in Sonoma and Mendocino counties, kelp loss reached a catastrophic 96%. Our goal is to preserve and restore our surviving kelp forests.
After years of fighting for permission to restore kelp in Monterey, on April 1, 2021 the CA Fish and Game Commission amended their sportfishing rules. This change allows recreational divers with a California fishing license to cull an unlimited number of purple and red urchins using hammers at Tanker's Reef in Monterey.
The boundary of the Giant Giant Kelp Restoration Project at Tanker's Reef is outlined in red. It is located outside of the Marine Protected Areas that encircle most of the Monterey peninsula. The eastern half of the project will be left alone to serve as a scientific control area to compare with our restoration area.
April, 2021
By April 2021, only a small, sparse kelp forest had managed to survive, surrounded by perhaps millions of voracious purple and red sea urchins.
First year focus
Trained Kelp Restoration Divers began by methodically culling urchins within the 2.5 acre grid shown in yellow. Project divers also cull around the perimeter of small kelp forest areas to create a buffer zone between the urchin barrens and kelp. Starving urchins continuously move toward kelp from the urchin barrens to feed. It takes a year-round effort to prevent the little kelp forests from being devoured by hungry urchins.
First year results
We were able to reduce the urchins within the cable grid to less than 2 per square meter within our first six months. We are now expanding our culling areas outward from the cable grid to give new kelp offspring room to settle and grow.
Second year results
In year two we continued culling urchins to the northwest and all around the treatment grid to stop the urchins from reinvading. The urchins in the treatment grid were well under control and the project became a maintenance project with divers finding very few urchins. Kelp also grew between the cable grid and the shore eventually encompassing 11 acres of kelp forests. We discovered that acid weed played a major factor in kelp survivorship. Invasive species also receive a benefit by removing urchin predators.
Third year results
In year 3 we asked for continuation of the project since we had met the criteria for success. However our governement agency partners asked a new question of "What happens if the divers stop?" by requesting the FGC terminate our project, which they did on Valentine's Day 2024. The unexpected betrayal caused us to stop culling on the grid July 30, 2023 and work to the east where CDFW was recommending we possibly be allowed to continue. The veteran divers became disinterested in the project due to the uncertainty of permission. We also could not get the kelp to grow against the typical NW current so we stopped culling altogether.
We applied for a scientific collection permit and that is being slow-walked by the Department for 2 years. We also petitioned the Fish and Game Commission to obtain broader regulation change.
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