The Story

Go underwater into the beautiful and lush aquatic environments off the west coast of Canada and you’ll find vast, swirling, dancing forests of kelp.

Dr. Bill Heath from the Oyster River Estuary is working with K’ómoks first nation on sustainable aquaculture. He explains the life cycle of the kelp forests and the many benefits they provide for other aquatic species in their environment. We learn how kelp forests clean CO2 from the ocean, and provide homes to a plethora of unique aquatic life. As we dive into the kelp forest we see its rich biodiversity including many kinds of octopus, shellfish, and fish.

Bill tells us how the 2021 heat dome negatively impacted the kelp forests. The heat dome and warming of the waters has led them to research what strains of kelp would be better resistant to the heat for future plantations.

In Haida Gwaii we learn about the Indigenous stewardship research being conducted in these forests. We meet Lynn Lee, the Ecologist Team Leader from Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. Lynn tells us how In the early 1900’s, the sea otter was almost hunted to extinction, causing an imbalance in nature. The Sea Otters are natural predators to the sea urchins who diet on kelp. As a result of the removal of the otters, the sea urchin population exploded. When combined with the fact that starfish wasting disease is decimating another of the sea urchin's predators, the urchin is becoming a major problem for the local kelp forest because of their unchecked insatiable appetite.

Bamfield, British Columbia Canada on Vancouver Island lies in the traditional territory of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, a Nuu-chah-nulth Nation and member of the Maa-nulth Treaty Society. This small community of less than 200 people is doing big things. It’s home to the Bamfield Marine Sciences Center, a teaching and research facility, attracting students from multiple universities to learn and conduct research.

Clay Steel, a marine biologist and project coordinator for the kelp rescue initiative, and his team are working hard to collect and catalog kelp genetic samples for testing and growing in the lab in the hope they will find more genetically resilient kelp that can withstand the ocean’s warming temperatures.

The Location

West Coast of Canada
West Coast of Canada
Watch on APTN
beginning January 9, 2025