Review of Kelp Restoration Methodologies

This 2025 technical report by Karen Leask, produced for the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s Greening the Salish Sea program, is a comprehensive synthesis of bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) restoration methodology and outcomes. Drawing on nearly two decades of restoration trials, the report documents restoration approaches. Each method is described in terms of technique, materials, timing, known outcomes, and lessons learned from regional trials. The report also covers the biology and ecology of Nereocystis, the history of restoration projects across BC from 2006 to 2024, barriers to restoration success (including increasing ocean temperatures, marine heat waves, urchin overgrazing, and epizoan loading from bryozoans), how to measure success, traditional ecological knowledge, and management and governance of kelp restoration efforts. Recommendations are grounded in accumulated regional experience and address site selection, herbivore management, use of natural kelp beds as reference sites, and the need to scale up restoration under a changing climate.
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