The Transect Line - January/February 2023

Join the Team! Kelp Forest Monitoring Trainings Now Open

Reef Check’s Kelp Forest Monitoring training classes for 2023 are now open for registration, providing nine opportunities in California, Oregon and Washington for divers to get involved as citizen scientists! Visit our training page for details and to sign up! If you have been previously trained as a Reef Checker, you can sign up for one of our recertification classes to get ready for the upcoming survey season at http://calendar.reefcheck.org. [Photo: Marco Mazza]

Sway and Reef Check Partner Up for Kelp Forests

Reef Check is honored to be chosen as one of three key partners through 1% for the Planet Member Sway, who creates seaweed-based replacements for single-use plastic packaging. Sway balances market-driven solutions with environmental partnerships and echoes Reef Check’s approach to finding ecologically sound and economically sustainable solutions for our planet by sourcing from regenerative ocean farms while improving conditions for marine life and mitigating the effects of climate change.

Reef Check Takes Restoration Pledge in Support of the Kelp Forest Challenge

Reef Check is rallying behind the Kelp Forest Alliance who have created a global challenge to restore one million hectares of lost underwater forest by 2040, called the Kelp Forest Challenge. Since November, our Restoration Program Director, Annie, has joined over 250 kelp experts, professionals, and citizens from 25 countries in a series of workshops to create an inspirational target for kelp forest restoration. Click below to read what Reef Check has pledged in support of the challenge.

Video Spotlight: Experiment.com
Kelp Forest Restoration and Monitoring using Community Science

Reef Check is asking for your help! Check out our Experiment.com campaign to help us with restoration monitoring in Northern California. Since 2014, more than 96% of bull kelp in Northern California has been lost due to a combination of stressors linked to climate change. As a result, the Reef Check Foundation works closely with project partners through several collaborative community-based efforts to restore and monitor the bull kelp forest in Northern California. The funding from this campaign will explore ecologically sound and economically sustainable solutions for kelp forest restoration using citizen science. The campaign is all-or-nothing, so please help us by making a pledge or spreading the word! Video shot and edited by Marco Mazza

Expanding Participatory Management with Reef Check Malaysia

Reef Check Malaysia believes in involving local communities in the management of marine resources, which led to the formation of the Tioman Marine Conservation Group. Members of the group were trained to undertake a variety of tasks that would normally be the responsibility of the Department of Fisheries, Malaysia. The program has shown great potential, leading to an expansion of the program on four new islands: Redang, Perhentian, Mabul and Semporna.