urchin barrens Archives - Ocean and Coastal Futures

08 Sep 2025

Volunteers remove 5.8 million purple sea urchins to restore California kelp forests

Photo by Robert Reid A massive volunteer-led effort to restore California’s devastated kelp forests has achieved remarkable success, with 5.8 million purple sea urchins removed from coastal waters and kelp canopy coverage increasing by 20-50% in restoration sites. The unprecedented community-driven intervention has begun reversing a decade-long ecological crisis that saw purple sea urchin populations explode […]

15 Mar 2020

Collapse of New Zealand’s landmark Ocean Park

Marine News

In 2000, New Zealand established the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. This was the first marine national park in the country, covering 13,900 sq km (5,370 sq mile). The park’s objective was to protect the gulf’s “life-supporting capacity”, its nature and its history. The legislation required local councils and government departments with jurisdiction over the gulf […]