A story of hope - recovery of Sussex underwater forests
In Sussex, just a few hundred metres from busy coastal towns like Shoreham-by Sea, Worthing and Bognor Regis, a story of hope is emerging, as historic kelp forests lost for decades are beginning to flourish, demonstrating the ocean’s ability to recover when it’s protected from destructive fishing activity such as trawling.
On the UN International Day of Forests (21 March 2023), the Sussex Kelp Recovery Project, a coalition of seven local and national organisations, celebrates its second anniversary with first-hand accounts of “unbelievable changes in fish and bottom structure,” with sightings of Electric Rays and Trigger Fish, unseen in the area for decades. The project has been championed by local communities, academics, NGOs and statutory bodies all coming together with the same aim - the recovery of Sussex’s kelp forest.
Kelp forms beautiful underwater forests which are some of the most productive and biodiverse habitats on the planet. In northern Scotland, they are home to seals and, as documented in the first episode of David Attenborough’s Wild Isles, the largest predator native to UK waters – Orcas (Killer Whales).
In Sussex, an extensive kelp forest 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 per cent of the kelp bed had disappeared, bar a few small patches. Having survived huge storms for centuries, the kelp didn’t return after the storm of 1987, following years of trawling and other human pressures decimating the seabed, which kelp depends on to colonise.
Two years ago, a local fisheries management byelaw was passed, stopping the fishing method of towing trawls along the seafloor. The Sussex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA)’s Nearshore Trawling Byelaw now excludes trawling from 304km2 of Sussex seabed to protect essential fish and marine habitats and support sustainable inshore fisheries.
Sir David Attenborough welcomed the Byelaw at the time: “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. This large-scale protection of over 300 square kilometres of seabed is a vital win in the fight against the biodiversity and climate crises.”
Early signs of regeneration are positive. Local diver Eric Smith, part of the Sussex Underwater team, notes, “Vast Mussel beds are binding the seabed back together with large plaice feeding on them. The kelp is holding its own and many other things are coming back, like soft and hard corals and anemones. The inshore rockpools are teeming with life such as Hermit Crabs that have been almost nonexistent in the last ten years, with blennies and many more creatures for the kids to find and wonder over. As for the fish life, I filmed the first Electric Ray I had seen for 40 years, and Trigger Fish have turned up in several spots. Also, large Sting Rays are back in numbers from Selsey to Worthing.”
He continued, “Lobsters are coming back to their old haunts in numbers. Small bass are being filmed by people just off the beach with Undulated Rays being spotted by paddle boarders 400 metres out. The sea is teeming with White Bait, going around like a murmuration of Starlings. As Howard Carter said when first looking into Tutankhamun’s tomb, ‘I see wonderful things.’”
This message of hope is gleaned from information shared by the active Sussex diving community, by local fishers and is also starting to be reflected by a comprehensive programme of scientific research, which is being undertaken to benchmark and monitor change.
Universities, NGOs and fishermen are coming together, employing multiple techniques to assess changes in abundance and diversity of species, while local communities work together to understand if there is more that can be done to support the recovering kelp. Recovery efforts such as this are vital in the current biodiversity crisis and time of climatic change.
Henri Brocklebank of Sussex Wildlife Trust, who chairs the Sussex Kelp Recovery Project said “The past two years have been a rollercoaster bringing together a sophisticated programme to monitor kelp recovery, and ensuring that the recovery of the Sussex kelp is a shared ambition of many individuals and organisations. This is a story that needs to be told by many different voices, as the passion for its success runs deep here in Sussex. The excitement for kelp recovery has been unprecedented, and we will continue to work together to do everything we can to support the recovery of our marine ecosystem in Sussex.”
Removing the impact of trawling is expected to have a profound effect on the ability of the kelp habitats and ecosystems to recover to their former healthy state. The Sussex Kelp Recovery Project is leading a collective journey, bringing together a wide network of people and organisations, all with a common vision for nature recovery on a grand and pioneering scale.
Find out more
The Sussex Kelp Recovery Project Progress and Impact Report 2021-2022 can be downloaded from: https://sussexkelp.org.uk
Further information is currently hosted on the Sussex Wildlife Trust website at: https://sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/sussexkelp
Comments
How very heartening. It is amazing how it has only taken two years to recover itself. I thought that it was going to be replanted. I think that it is healthier for it to grow back from its own family roots so to speak. Well done for the combined work in making this happen. I would have liked a short piece that I could share on my facebook page. Do send me one if available.
23 Mar 2023 11:40:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
Here's a link to the Sussex Kelp story of Facebook
Wonderful news!
23 Mar 2023 11:55:00
I found this very refreshing and wished I could join the divers!
23 Mar 2023 12:09:00
This is fantastic news. It’s amazing how quickly nature can recolonise given a chance.
23 Mar 2023 12:12:00
This is truly a wonderful project. Continuing congratulations!
- Gerry, author of “Rewilding An Urban Garden, An Illustrated Diary of Nature’s Year”
23 Mar 2023 12:20:00
Marvellous.
I should like very much to see this protection and regeneration scheme extended to cover all of those areas where conditions are suitable.
23 Mar 2023 12:53:00
This project shows what can be done and what is being done to reverse the damage done over the years. Keep up the very good work.
David Hurry
[email protected]
23 Mar 2023 13:10:00
this is great news for our local seas. long may it continue and grow into something much bigger as time goes on .
23 Mar 2023 13:46:00
Thanks for that report very positive news looking forward to the next few years and watching the progress.
23 Mar 2023 14:18:00
Thank you so much, Eric Smith, for your heartening report. You and all regular divers are the constant and knowledgeable monitors of our coast. Also, to all those working for kelp forest restoration, grateful thanks.
23 Mar 2023 14:21:00
How wonderful to read something positive and full of hope. Well done to everyone involved in this project . You must be so heartened to see your efforts bearing fruit!
23 Mar 2023 15:39:00
What brilliant news – we need lots more of this in such dire times. Thank you to all of the people who have contributed to this wonderful campaign.
23 Mar 2023 17:50:00
Is there a similar kelp recovery programme for east sussex? I live in Seaford which borders Cuckmere Haven and thought I heard something was going on.
23 Mar 2023 17:59:00
Sussex Wildlife Trust:
Beachy Head East Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ), which includes Cuckmere Haven is currently having a consultation on excluding trawling similar to this area. More details are on Sussex IFCA website
Fantastic work. Are your successes at risk from the sewage spills pumped into the sea these last months?
23 Mar 2023 20:37:38
Such a hopeful and positive report; I hope that even more of our area can benefit from the project so that our seas can become healthy and abundant.
24 Mar 2023 06:29:44
Fantastic news. Really important to have such a good environmental success story – not endless bad news. Would like to know more about carbon capture benefits, protection from flood risk/coastal erosion as well as how the principles of the project can be applied to other parts of the UK coastline. It would be super if the projects biggest legacy was not its actual benefits but as a trail blazer for other projects/ benefits elsewhere.
24 Mar 2023 06:37:12
Fantastic news. I remember the kelp coming ashore after the storms in huge amounts and it’s great that it’s recovering so well and is “out there” again providing for our local ocean life. I hope part of the management plan looking forward includes preparation for the backlash when it does come ashore in previous quantities because the after effect of smell and flies as it rotted was a bit of a blight on seafront life and no doubt the moaners will suddenly appear and demand it is got rid of because it offends that nature is sometimes not sweet and nice.
24 Mar 2023 07:09:00
This is really,truly good news.
How wonderful it would be if a similar area of land in southeast England given a similar level of protection from all the ravages of human activity
24 Mar 2023 08:13:00
I agree with Cheryl. So much better for things to regenerate than to plant. They will grow where they want to grow. So many fish species, fantastic.
24 Mar 2023 10:21:00
Just so good to hear positive news. Life seems very gloomy especially on the nature andwildlife front so it’s very uplifting to hear of such great results. Well done all the people who have made this possible.
24 Mar 2023 11:53:00
So good to hear and see such positive news. Long may it continue.
24 Mar 2023 12:02:00
Wonderful to receive this glad news. Can you advertise what volunteer help is welcomed ; and are you able to produce a speaker with illustrated talk to Chichester Probus Club and others at a lunch meeting on April 13th for example ? Would aid your funds and public support. Best wishes Julian F-R
24 Mar 2023 12:32:00
I agree with Cheryl. So much better for things to regenerate than to plant. They will grow where they want to grow. So many fish species, fantastic.
24 Mar 2023 18:02:00
Excellent new. It shows how resilient the natural environment can be, when given a chance. Let’s hope that there are many more of these projects, enabling the recovery of all kinds of natural environments, to benefit the future.
24 Mar 2023 18:50:00
How wonderful to hear nature’s regeneration in only two years!! It brings hope and joy to my heart. Congratulations and a huge THANK-YOU to everyone involved in this project!!
25 Mar 2023 09:32:00
What excellent news, and it is recovering quickly. It shows what can happen when nature is given a chance. Well done Sussex what with Knepp Castle etc., downland regeneration. Keep up the good work.
27 Mar 2023 08:53:00
Very good news. Congratulations! Anne on behalf of SERA
27 Mar 2023 10:29:00
This article raised my spirits far above the clouds of despair and sorrow. I need to thank all you dedicated people who have breathed new life into this wonderful garden of Eden which has been our heritage. These last three years has found the whole world crying. The last article which cheered me was during lockdown when I read that that the canals in Venice were so clear that you could see to see to the bottom, the fog over Athens Airport lifted and here in Brighton it was so very quiet and the birds were singing instead of coughing. Love light Peace but most of you well done and keep up the good work. sincerely Val Harden Brighton
29 Mar 2023 13:36:00
What is so encouraging is the pace at which recovery can take place and Nature’s remarkable ability to regenerate the habitat that should have been extant all along if we had not interfered with it.
13 Jul 2023 11:30:00
What wonderful news🦭🐟🌊🪸
13 Jul 2023 22:18:00
Wonderful, heartening news! Well done to everyone involved in this program! Thankyou.
16 Jul 2023 13:41:00
So glad to read this article.
26 Jul 2023 07:26:00
When so much reporting of nature, the environment and climate gives real cause to feel pessimistic, this story is one of hope – hope that if humankind pull back from exploitation, nature can recover remarkably quickly. It is also an excellent example of the value of cooperation – academics, Govt agencies, Wildlife organisations – and the good ol’ public, working together.
27 Aug 2024 12:44:00