What you'll do:
Snorkel or dive to lower the sea urchins' density, assist on land with safety and logistics, document changes in marine life, and wrap up the day with some well-earned waffles!
When:
All year round.
Where:
Tromsø city center along Sørsjetéen, and in Telegrafbukta/Folkeparken.
What the project is about:
Did you know that Norway may have lost up to 90% of its kelp forests? Kelp forests are the lungs of the ocean, providing oxygen, capturing carbon, and supporting incredible marine life. But since the 1970s, human activities, including industrial fishing have thrown the ecosystem off balance. Without their predators, sea urchins proliferate and overgraze their own habitat, creating the infamous “urchin barrens”, biological deserts that hold up to 200 sea urchins per square meter! THE HIDDEN CATASTROPHE Because this destruction happens beneath the waves, it goes unnoticed. But imagine if 90% of Norway’s land forests had vanished in just two generations. Wouldn't that spark outrage? That’s where we come in! Our mission is to restore Tromsø’s kelp forests, one sea urchin at a time. And you can be part of it! WHY KELP FORESTS MATTER Kelp forests: - Capture carbon, fighting climate change - Consume nitrogen that ends up in the sea - Produce vast amounts of oxygen - Reduce ocean acidification - Protect coastlines from storms - Provide nurseries for fish & marine life. If this is not convincing enough, kelp forests provide formidable ecosystem services, which scientists have evaluated to be 500 billion US$ per year. Simply put, we need these forests back, now! THE MISUNDERSTOOD SEA URCHIN Sea urchins often get blamed for the disappearance of kelp forests, but the real story is more complex. The green sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) is a native species and plays a crucial role in a balanced marine ecosystem, when predator populations are healthy and diverse. The problem isn’t the urchins themselves, but rather the disruptions that have allowed their numbers to explode. Overfishing has removed key predators like cod and wolf fish, leaving sea urchins to multiply unchecked and overgraze kelp forests. Instead of viewing urchins as the enemy, we should be asking a bigger question: Why are their populations so high in the first place? Local restoration efforts, like removing excess urchins, can help bring kelp forests back. But for long-term solutions, authorities need to address the root causes of ecosystem imbalance—restoring predator populations and improving marine management. HOW YOU CAN HELP The TROMSØ KELPERS are a growing group of volunteers—snorkelers, scuba divers, and citizen scientists—who are taking action. In Sørsjetéen, a 200-meter-long jetty in Tromsø city center, these volunteers removed thousands of urchins between October 2023 and February 2024. By spring 2024, the barren landscape had transformed into a thriving kelp forest teeming with fish, lumpfish, nudibranchs, and colorful anemones. And now, we’re expanding to Telegrafbukta! With guidance from marine biologists at the Arctic Museum of Norway, we will continue restoring Tromsø’s underwater forests. JOIN THE ADVENTURE Snorkelers & divers: Remove sea urchins and watch life return! Citizen scientists: Help monitor and document the changes. Land volunteers: Support logistics, safety, and… eat waffles when we're done! Anyone who can snorkel in a 7mm wetsuit can become a Kelper. Check out our next event, sign up, and be part of the story!
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Our research partner
Marine biologist and associate professor at the Arctic Museum of Norway Andreas Altenburger is our main research partner. He is leading the co-design of the scientific methods we use to measure the impact of restoration efforts in Telegrafbukta and especially the changes in seaweed community and biomass, and in marine invertebrates.
