Nature recovery in action!

I have been contacted again by Sussex Wildlife Trust to inform me that it’s now been "over three years since a 300km2 area of Sussex seabed was protected from bottom trawling and signs of recovery are starting to be seen. Black Sea Bream and (large) Mussel beds... have been sighted in this protected area, demonstrating nature recovery in action. At the start of the century, 96% of the Sussex Kelp Forest, and the marine life it supported, had disappeared, so it is truly wonderful to see the Sussex Kelp Recovery Project bringing wildlife back to Sussex" (blog).

To find out more about Kelp and Kelp Ecosystem Benefits, including providing spawning and nursery grounds, acting as a carbon conveyor, and providing a natural coastal defence, go to the Sussex Kelp Recovery Project website. Nice one!

Sussex Kelp Recovery Project

Earlier this year I wrote a blog about the Hastings Kelp Project, and I keep on receiving more information about kelp and the Sussex Coastline, most recently in the Autumn/Winter 2024 edition of the Sussex Wildlife Trust's magazine Wildlife. This pointed out that the longer running Sussex Kelp Recovery Project suggests there have been 'glimmers of hope' during the last 3 years in Sussex Coastline's kelp, including the recovery of mussel beds, a greater diversity of fish species being caught by the fishing industry, and increases in Black Sea Bream and Lobster populations (website). For more information, go to the Hastings Kelp Project website and the Sussex Kelp Recovery Project website. Good News!

Hastings Kelp Project

Good luck and best wishes for this project! I'll cut & paste below their message to the Hastings in Focus facebook page, explaining the project, and share here the Hastings Kelp Project website and their Crowdfunding page:

'An exciting new nonprofit-making organisation project is starting in Hastings! The aim of the organisation is to 'rewild' the coastline from Hastings to Pett Level beach with kelp seaweed forests for the wildlife, the oceans, the planet and the future and put Hastings on the map as a green hotspot in the UK!

We'd love to kick it off with local funding and support and are offering all local businesses the chance to advertise and show their care and devotion to the planet with just £100 to promote their business on our website and social media top 250! Do you care about the planet? The oceans? The wildlife? The future for your children?

Research has shown that seaweed can produce 70% more oxygen and absorbs carbon more effectively than trees with estimations up to 175 million tonnes of C02 stored each year. Through photosynthesis it absorbs this huge amount of carbon and it disposes this to the bottom of the ocean, storing it forever, helping us, helping the planet, helping the future.

Kelp forests provide an environment and habitat for a wide range of fish, mammals, birds and invertebrates from starfish and anemones to seals and dolphins through to shrimps and lobsters. Kelp forests provide a nursery for juvenile animals to grow and stay safe, protected from storms and predators as well as being an essential part of the food chain. They are a natural buffet for many birds like the gulls, egrets and terns and which feed on the small and abundant crustaceans. The safety and nutrition from the kelp forests help wildlife flourish.'