New Documentary from Seatrees Spotlights University Collaboration in Researching Kelp Forests to Reverse Climate Change

Kelp Currency explores the joint efforts to quantify the carbon benefit of kelp forests and develop a methodology for evaluating the carbon they capture to unlock financial support for kelp forest restoration.

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA – February 27, 2025 – Seatrees, a leading non-profit dedicated to protecting and restoring ocean ecosystems, today announces a new documentary film titled Kelp Currency: Unlocking the True Value of the Ocean’s Forests. This new documentary showcases the collaborative efforts of Seatrees and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego to study how wild kelp forests along the California coastline may help reverse climate change, protect biodiversity, and create a methodology to evaluate the carbon sequestered from kelp forests to be used in the global carbon marketplace.

Wild kelp forests are vital ocean ecosystems, offering shelter and food to coastal communities and thousands of marine species, including sea lions, sea otters, fish, sharks, and invertebrates. Kelp may also play a crucial role in absorbing and storing carbon dioxide, helping reduce climate change. However, kelp forests worldwide are rapidly declining due to climate change impacts. Rising ocean temperatures, among other threats, disrupt kelp growth, lessening its ability to support marine life, protect coastal communities from storm damage and sequester carbon emissions. In California, some areas have lost up to 90 percent of kelp forest coverage due to stressors such as marine heatwaves. 

Despite their immense value, wild kelp forests remain vastly underfunded and overlooked in climate solutions. The research being conducted by Scripps Institution of Oceanography with support from Seatreses aims to inform the potential role of kelp forests as a form of blue carbon and drive real investment into kelp forest research and conservation efforts.

Kelp Currency explores the potential of kelp forests to help reverse climate change. If these underwater forests are scientifically proven to sequester carbon at a high rate, then carbon finance could provide the funding needed to restore them at scale. However, the lack of scientific data quantifying kelp’s carbon sequestration power is a major barrier to securing funding and influencing policy. This film highlights Seatrees’ and Scripps’ groundbreaking research to measure how much carbon kelp forests capture and store – an effort that is only just the beginning study. To scale this critical work and unlock funding for global kelp restoration, an additional $1 million is still needed to conduct the large-scale research project. Supporting this study will unlock answers to help protect and regenerate these vital ecosystems for the future.

"Kelp forests are an iconic ecosystem valued by people around the world, but kelp conservation is chronically underfunded,” said Kevin Whilden, Co-Founder and Director of Seatrees. “Our collaboration with Scripps targets the critical barrier to an exponential increase in funding for kelp: the science of how kelp sequesters carbon.”

Seatrees is also working with Silvestrum Climate Associates to develop a carbon market methodology for kelp forests. A verified carbon methodology translates scientific research into action for qualified initiatives looking to fund or operate a kelp forest restoration project. Silvestrum is the world’s leader in developing blue carbon methodologies and this study tackles one of the key unknowns for kelp carbon sequestration.

This project provides a direct pathway for scientific research to help protect and restore kelp forests globally. The groups involved are leaders in their respective fields who share the common goal of preserving our majestic kelp forests for all of the benefits they provide, including climate and biodiversity.

Learn more about Seatrees and donate today to fund the science that will unlock the true value of kelp forests at seatrees.org and subscribe on YouTube to watch Kelp Currency.

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About Seatrees

Seatrees is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that restores and protects coastal ecosystems around the world to reverse climate change, restore biodiversity, and support local communities. Seatrees uses a science-based approach to regenerate coral reefs, kelp forests, mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, shellfish reefs and coastal watersheds. Seatrees projects support local community restoration efforts and provide tangible ways for individuals and brands to create a more resilient planet for future generations. To learn more about Seatrees, visit seatrees.org.