Regional Kelp Monitoring on the North Pacific Coast
A Community-Based Monitoring Initiative to Inform Ecosystem-Based Management
The Marine Plan Partnership's unique regional kelp monitoring project improves our understanding of kelp and contributes to more informed management decisions. The strengths of the project include support from local communities, robust scientific methods, and the use of innovative technologies.
The MaPP member First Nations and the Province of B.C. Haida Gwaii: Haida Nation North Coast: Gitga’at, Gitxaała, Haisla, Kitselas, Kitsumkalum, and Metlakatla First Nations, North Coast Skeena First Nations Stewardship Society Central Coast: Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xai'Xais, Nuxalk, and Wuikinuxv First Nations, Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance North Vancouver Island: Mamalilikulla, Tlowitsis, Da’naxda’xw-Awaetlala, Wei Wai Kum, and the K’ómoks First Nations, Nanwakolas Council Coastal First Nations
Kelp Monitoring Framework
See a more comprehensive visual overview of the MaPP initiative here .
Kelp species are widely considered ‘indicator species’, or ‘sentinels’ of the health of the overall marine environment, similar to ‘canaries in a coal mine’. In other words, if kelp aren’t thriving, the stressors impacting kelp are likely also impacting other species and habitats in the marine environment and, in turn, coastal communities. So, monitoring indicator species like kelp is an important part of planning and implementing ecosystem-based management (EBM).
‘Kelp are species that support many other ecologically, culturally, and economically important species, so the loss of kelp can have cascading effects. Understanding the status of kelp is very helpful in assessing the overall health of the region’. ~ Rebecca Martone, Marine Biologist, FLNRORD, now with the Tula Foundation
Regional Kelp Monitoring Working Goals
MaPP partners and collaborators outlined six key goals that reflect the goals of Provincial and First Nations Partners. These goals continue to be refined as participants in the program learn more from their early experiences with monitoring. Working towards these goals will help to address existing and emerging concerns about kelp and inform more effective management of activities that might affect the habitat, distribution, and abundance of kelp species. Beyond contributing to our understanding and management of kelp, this work also demonstrates the value of coordinated regional approaches for monitoring coastal and marine ecosystems.
Working goals for regional kelp monitoring in the MaPP Region co-developed by MaPP Partners.
Guiding Questions
The MaPP Partners are focused on answering a set of key questions to guide monitoring activities. By answering these questions, the MaPP Partners will inform spatial management of coastal areas, including support for and progress with implementation of MaPP marine plans and Marine Protected Area network design, implementation and monitoring; management decisions and actions relating to stressors that may impact kelp; and, decisions on the amount, location and techniques of harvest.
Guiding questions for regional kelp monitoring in the MaPP Region co-developed by MaPP Partners.
Monitoring Methods
There are many ways of viewing and gathering information and knowledge on marine ecosystems. To date, regional monitoring has focused on using scientific knowledge and methods along with innovative technologies that are implemented in partnership with local communities to monitor kelp. Key monitoring methods used in the MaPP Region include remote sensing, boat-based surveys, and underwater surveys - learn more about these methods in the slide show that follows. These methods have been developed in tandem as an integrated, standardized monitoring protocol that makes it easier to combine data collected using different methods to help see the bigger picture. In addition, many communities are supplementing this information with local and Indigenous knowledge, including historical perspectives.
Illustration of different kelp monitoring methods used in the MaPP Region (courtesy of The Hakai Institute).
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Acknowledgements
We would like to express our gratitude to the Marine Plan Partnership, Partner First Nations, the Province of British Columbia, and all of the external collaborators who have generously contributed their time and effort to help make the regional kelp monitoring initiative a success. We would also like to thank Natascia Tamburello of ESSA Technologies who developed and assembled the text and multimedia elements of this StoryMap with support and contributions from MaPP staff, partners, and collaborators and with additional support from her colleague Erica Olson. We hope that this StoryMap will help spread the word about our efforts throughout the MaPP Region and beyond!
Photos and videos used in this StoryMap were kindly provided by the following organizations and individuals (see information icons in individual StoryMap pages for details) : MaPP, The Hakai Institute, The University of Victoria SPECTRAL Lab, Markus Thomson, Maya Paul, Ryan Miller, Sandie Hankewich, Nature United, NASA / Goddard Space Center
Music in this StoryMap is by Doctor Turtle (Free Music Archive) and used under a Creative Commons license. Songs used include: "Over the Water, Humans Gather", "Frosty Jack's Supernova", "Kerchingless Wonder", "Reality Cartwheeled", and "Carrot Sticks".
