Restoring kelp in Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area Reserve and Haida Heritage Site

Nearly 200 years ago, kuu (sea otters) disappeared from Gwaii Haanas as a result of the maritime fur trade, and coastal ocean ecosystems in the area have experienced a cascade of change ever since. The reason is that sea otter are keystone predators – voracious consumers of marine invertebrates like sea urchin, crab and abalone. Without otters keeping populations in check, spiny sea urchins proliferated, and the cascade began. Urchins in turn began to graze down the rich kelp forests on which species like the endangered northern abalone and many rockfishes (yelloweye, bocaccio, canary, quillback) depend. Kelp forests declined in quantity and quality. In some places the seafloor is now barren, reminiscent of a clear-cut forest, and no longer able to support a diverse marine ecosystem.