Bull Kelp Monitoring Update  – 15 Years of Monitoring!

Published by Rob Underhill on 01/02/2025 01/03/2025

With the completion of the 2024 field season, the Mayne Island Conservancy has now been monitoring bull kelp around the shores of SḴŦAḴ | Mayne Island for 15 years! This also marked the 6^th year since the program expanded to include sites around Galiano, the Penders, and Saturna Island in what is now known as the Southern Gulf Islands Bull Kelp Monitoring Collaboration. This program is a partnership between the Mayne Conservancy, Galiano Conservancy, Penders Conservancy, and the Saturna Island Marine Research and Education Society.

Results Summary

What do the results show? Check out this summary of results with site-by-site maps and figures showing how the surface extent of bull kelp has changed within our monitoring sites. With a few exceptions, our data continues to show that bull kelp is relatively stable within our monitoring sites. This is great news, considering the important ecological role of this canopy-forming kelp species in our nearshore marine ecosystems, and the fact that bull kelp has declined significantly in other locations. Read more about the causes of kelp decline. Some of our monitoring sites located along the Strait of Georgia side of the islands have seen a decline in bull kelp. These sites experience warmer ocean temperatures, and our results support other monitoring programs showing a link between warming oceans and bull kelp declines.

Driven by Citizen Science

Like so many things in the Southern Gulf Islands, this program is possible thanks to the contributions of volunteers. Dedicated community volunteers from each island participate in a hands-on training session in July prior to completing surveys in August. A highlight for me was travelling to each of the islands to meet the local coordinators, staff, and volunteers for the training days. Though each Southern Gulf Island is unique, we share a love of the ocean, and this monitoring program is a great way to connect our communities. In 2024, 34 volunteers and staff from four islands completed monitoring at 17 sites, investing 162 hours of their time to collect the data.

Coordination and Data

The Mayne Conservancy’s role as project coordinator doesn’t stop at training. Once the data is collected, it is input into our mapping software by matching GPS waypoints collected by the surveyors to the information on their data sheets. In 2024 our Ecosystems Technician, Tamara Bonsdorf, was a huge help in processing this mountain of data. Thanks Tamara! Once the data is processed and organized into a database with all the other data going back to 2010, we work with regional partners to make sure the data is available and can contribute to conservation and resource planning. For example, the Pacific Salmon Foundation runs an online data library called the Strait of Georgia Data Centre. With the help of their GIS Specialist Ben Skinner, we add our data and background information to the library so that it can be accessed publicly. We also reach out directly to everyone we have identified who may use the data including academic researchers, First Nations, resource managers, and other environmental non-government organizations. By sharing the results of this monitoring program, we help contribute to regional and global efforts to understand losses in bull kelp.

We Need Your Help In 2025!

Volunteer – If you are interested in volunteering as part of this monitoring program, we want to hear from you! Volunteers need to provide their own kayak and safety equipment and be comfortable paddling within 200m of shore under light wind conditions. All training on the survey method is provided in-person. We will also provide survey-specific equipment such as GPS, clipboard, and data sheets. This is a great way to meet people, learn more about our local marine environment, and contribute to marine science. Please contact Rob at biologist@mayneconservancy.ca.

Donate – The funding from this program has come from various sources over the years. Currently we have a grant from the Sitka Foundation, and we greatly appreciate their ongoing support. We also recently received a grant from the Pacific Salmon Foundation to cover the cost of handheld GPS units, which are critical for collecting the data (if you have a used GPSmap model 60, 62, 64, or 65 you want to sell, please contact us!). However, grants don’t cover all the costs, and we rely on community donations from people like you to get us the rest of the way. If you’re able to donate to support this long-term monitoring program, please visit our website here and choose ”Healthy Shorelines Forever.”