Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 2 hrs ago
Divers work to restore Baja California’s threatened underwater kelp forest
Scientists and fishers are transplanting giant algae in the Pacific off Mexico’s Baja California state to help restore an underwater forest.
The forest lost 88% of its area in 2015, when El Niño’s warming waters combined with other pressures, including a rise in kelp-eating purple sea urchins.
The current El Niño is developing intensely, and a marine heat wave has been detected off Baja California.
The team plans to plant algae across about three hectares by year’s end, so they can release spores and regenerate the forest.
These giant algae absorb carbon dioxide and provide shelter and breeding grounds for about 1,000 species.
The forest also supports local fishing communities, whose livelihoods depend on the sea.
The project’s coordinator says the goal is to protect the remaining patches, even if the whole forest cannot be restored.
Divers and fishers are working to expand an underwater kelp forest off Baja California, Mexico.
The project aims to plant fertile kelp across about three hectares by the end of the year.
The forest is threatened by warming linked to El Niño, which damaged it severely in 2015.
The kelp provides habitat for about 1,000 species and supports local fishing communities.
- Who
- Scientists and fishers, including project coordinator Guillermo Torres, are transplanting kelp.
- What
- They are trying to expand and restore an underwater kelp forest threatened by El Niño.
- When
- The planting is planned by the end of the year. El Niño is expected to threaten the forest this year and next.
- Where
- Off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, in the Pacific Ocean.
- Why
- To help protect the kelp forest from warming and preserve habitat and resources important to marine life and fishing communities.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
El Niño and other pressures devastated the kelp forest, leaving 88% of its kelp beds lost.
The project plans to plant fertile kelp across about three hectares.
El Niño is expected to threaten the kelp forest with more intense conditions.
- Project area
- About three hectares
- Target date
- By the end of the year
- Kelp forest location
- Off Baja California, Mexico
- Species supported
- About 1,000
- Loss in 2015
- 88% of the kelp beds
- Nearby fishing community
- Popotla, 30 km from the US border
What people are saying
The few forests we have could be lost
I depend on the sea
People from outside would not do it; we fishers have to do it
It is developing quite intensely compared with others