Restoring kelp forests one plant at a time
The story of the loss of giant kelp in Tasmania is a tragic one. More than 95% of the once-abundant forests on Tasmania’s seafloor have disappeared due to rising ocean temperatures and grazing sea urchins. However, in the midst of that tragedy, there are people choosing another path: a path of hope, proactiveness and fighting to restore some of this crucial habitat, one kelp plant at a time.
The Eaglehawk Dive Centre is a legendary spot located on a hill overlooking the thin neck that connects the Forestier Peninsula to the Tasman Peninsula. The dive centre has been run by Mick Baron and Karen Gowlett-Holmes since 1991.
Having grown up in Tasmania and dived in these waters since he was a little kid, Mick has seen the loss of the kelp with his own eyes.
“When we started here, there was kelp on every little alcove, it was on the corner, it was everywhere. And we sort of took it for granted, of course, as you do when it's there.” says Mick.
In the summer of 15/16, a heatwave swept over Tasmania, causing ocean temperatures to rise dramatically in a short period of time. According to Mick, this was when one of the last large kelp forests, in Munro Bight, disappeared.
Pauline Nuttens, chief instructor at the Eaglehawk Neck Dive Center, remembers this summer very well, as it was the first summer she ever worked with Mick and Karen.
As an ocean lover and diver, she had left France to travel around Australia with her partner. They fell in love with Tasmania’s marine world and the Eaglehawk Dive Center, and have been working there ever since.
When they were taking divers to the Munro Bight kelp forests during the summer of 15/16, Mick and Karen were telling all their customers that it might be the last chance to ever dive in the Munro Bight kelp forest. But Pauline had a hard time believing that it could actually disappear.
“I understand that the kelp forests were decreasing, but this forest that I was taking divers into was massive. It was big, dense, and it was looking healthy. [...] It was just massive, and it was covering a huge area”, she says.
But the next summer, Mick’s predictions had come true, and the whole Munro Bight forest was gone.
Mick felt devastated having seen such a big loss with his own eyes.
But in the midst of that, an old friend from his university days reached out with a proposal. The friend, a marine botanist, had been involved with a program to try and grow kelp on fish farms.
“He rang me one day and said, ‘I've got a few of these strings left over that we're planting, what say we try and have a go, see if this thing can grow’”, Mick recalls.
To the two friends’ joy, the kelp grew. When they realised this had the potential to work on a larger scale, things started taking off. IMAS got involved, stepping up the kelp restoration to the next level and undertaking advanced scientific experiments to develop the best method for kelp restoration. Over the years, the kelp restoration process has become more and more established, with multiple actors involved.
At the Eaglehawk Dive Centre, Pauline Nuttens has spent the last couple of years developing a PADI speciality course that invites recreational divers to participate in kelp restoration.
Together with two IMAS students, Pauline’s task has been to use the scientifically developed IMAS techniques and translate them into accessible tasks for volunteer divers.
“The idea of this course is to create a network of trained recreational divers, and whenever we organise a restoration dive, we can just send an email to them, and whoever is available comes and does the work in the field”, Pauline explains.
The first course was taught in January 2025, and already 127 divers have been trained in the restoration techniques. Pauline divides the restoration into three different parts: outplanting, clearing and urchin control.
Outplanting, which is perhaps the most self-explanatory part, is when they take lab-grown kelp spores and plant them at the restoration site on the ocean floor.
Pauline continues to explain the clearing. “We clear the competing seaweed to allow the giant kelp to take over, or to help an existing forest augment its size, to take up more room and grow bigger.”
Lastly, urchin control refers to the removal of the invasive long-spined urchin, which eats the kelp and has been a significant factor in the disappearance of kelp forests along the Great Southern Reef.
Some restoration sites planted by other actors are already showing signs of recovery, with new kelp reaching several metres high.
Giant Kelp is the fastest-growing marine plant in the world; it can grow up to 10 metres or more in 12 months.
While Pauline is sceptical that the kelp could ever be restored to its former glory, she is hopeful about the benefits new kelp forests can bring to the marine environment.
Resources to check out:
Eaglehawk Dive Centre: Giant Kelp Restoration Specialty - How to become a kelp restoration diver.
Great Southern Reef Foundation: Kelp Forests - Learn more about Kelp Forests.
Reviving Giants - A beautiful short film about restoring Tasmania’s Giant Kelp Forests.
Tilde Bergström
Conservation Stories Editor
The story of the loss of giant kelp in Tasmania is a tragic one. More than 95% of the once-abundant forests on Tasmania’s seafloor have disappeared due to rising ocean temperatures and grazing sea urchins. However, in the midst of that tragedy, there are people choosing another path: a path of hope, proactiveness and fighting to restore some of this crucial habitat, one kelp plant at a time.
The Eaglehawk Dive Centre is a legendary spot located on a hill overlooking the thin neck that connects the Forestier Peninsula to the Tasman Peninsula. The dive centre has been run by Mick Baron and Karen Gowlett-Holmes since 1991.
Having grown up in Tasmania and dived in these waters since he was a little kid, Mick has seen the loss of the kelp with his own eyes.
“When we started here, there was kelp on every little alcove, it was on the corner, it was everywhere. And we sort of took it for granted, of course, as you do when it's there.” says Mick.
In the summer of 15/16, a heatwave swept over Tasmania, causing ocean temperatures to rise dramatically in a short period of time. According to Mick, this was when one of the last large kelp forests, in Munro Bight, disappeared.
Pauline Nuttens, chief instructor at the Eaglehawk Neck Dive Center, remembers this summer very well, as it was the first summer she ever worked with Mick and Karen.
As an ocean lover and diver, she had left France to travel around Australia with her partner. They fell in love with Tasmania’s marine world and the Eaglehawk Dive Center, and have been working there ever since.
When they were taking divers to the Munro Bight kelp forests during the summer of 15/16, Mick and Karen were telling all their customers that it might be the last chance to ever dive in the Munro Bight kelp forest. But Pauline had a hard time believing that it could actually disappear.
“I understand that the kelp forests were decreasing, but this forest that I was taking divers into was massive. It was big, dense, and it was looking healthy. [...] It was just massive, and it was covering a huge area”, she says.
But the next summer, Mick’s predictions had come true, and the whole Munro Bight forest was gone.
Mick felt devastated having seen such a big loss with his own eyes.
But in the midst of that, an old friend from his university days reached out with a proposal. The friend, a marine botanist, had been involved with a program to try and grow kelp on fish farms.
“He rang me one day and said, ‘I've got a few of these strings left over that we're planting, what say we try and have a go, see if this thing can grow’”, Mick recalls.
To the two friends’ joy, the kelp grew. When they realised this had the potential to work on a larger scale, things started taking off. IMAS got involved, stepping up the kelp restoration to the next level and undertaking advanced scientific experiments to develop the best method for kelp restoration. Over the years, the kelp restoration process has become more and more established, with multiple actors involved.
At the Eaglehawk Dive Centre, Pauline Nuttens has spent the last couple of years developing a PADI speciality course that invites recreational divers to participate in kelp restoration.
Together with two IMAS students, Pauline’s task has been to use the scientifically developed IMAS techniques and translate them into accessible tasks for volunteer divers.
“The idea of this course is to create a network of trained recreational divers, and whenever we organise a restoration dive, we can just send an email to them, and whoever is available comes and does the work in the field”, Pauline explains.
The first course was taught in January 2025, and already 127 divers have been trained in the restoration techniques. Pauline divides the restoration into three different parts: outplanting, clearing and urchin control.
Outplanting, which is perhaps the most self-explanatory part, is when they take lab-grown kelp spores and plant them at the restoration site on the ocean floor.
Pauline continues to explain the clearing. “We clear the competing seaweed to allow the giant kelp to take over, or to help an existing forest augment its size, to take up more room and grow bigger.”
Lastly, urchin control refers to the removal of the invasive long-spined urchin, which eats the kelp and has been a significant factor in the disappearance of kelp forests along the Great Southern Reef.
Some restoration sites planted by other actors are already showing signs of recovery, with new kelp reaching several metres high.
Giant Kelp is the fastest-growing marine plant in the world; it can grow up to 10 metres or more in 12 months.
While Pauline is sceptical that the kelp could ever be restored to its former glory, she is hopeful about the benefits new kelp forests can bring to the marine environment.
Resources to check out:
Eaglehawk Dive Centre: Giant Kelp Restoration Specialty - How to become a kelp restoration diver.
Great Southern Reef Foundation: Kelp Forests - Learn more about Kelp Forests.
Reviving Giants - A beautiful short film about restoring Tasmania’s Giant Kelp Forests.
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