Sussex Kelp Recovery Project - 2023 round-up

admin
, 30 December 2023
Sussex Kelp Recovery Project - 2023 round-up
Black Sea-bream juvenile © Paul Naylor

George Short

Kelp Recovery Coordinator 

2023 has been another fin-tastic year for rewilding Sussex seas!

In March, on the International Day of Forests, we marked two years since 300km2 of local seabed was protected and the UK’s largest marine rewilding effort, Sussex Kelp Recovery Project, was born! Shortly afterwards, we kicked off an enormous field season to survey how the seabed and marine life is responding to the protection. This huge research programme included underwater camera surveys, DNA analysis of biodiversity, divers taking cores of the seabed to understand carbon capture, and work with great local fishermen to see how the crabs and lobsters are doing.

Blue Mussels © Bryony Chapman
Blue Mussels © Bryony Chapman

All these eyes in the water are starting to see some hopeful signs of recovery. This year in particular, we saw massive expanses of Mussel beds popping up along the Sussex coast; the likes of which have not been seen for years. The Mussels are the first step in nature binding the seabed back together after years of destructive fishing practices, and we hope they will provide a hard base for the kelp to start to re-establish.

Local marine life beginning to flourish was also observed by members of the community all along the coast, with exciting reports of Angel Shark, groups of Stingrays and the return of Black Bream.

The journey to rewild Sussex seas was captured by local film company Big Wave Productions and shown in the moving documentary ‘Our Sea Forest’. The documentary, aired on BBC1 primetime, was told through the eyes of local freediver Eric Smith, who’s been diving in Sussex for the last 60 years, and included astonishing scenes of the sea creatures that are once more calling Sussex home.

This year has been an incredible example of how the collaboration between conservationists, researchers, fishers and the local community is providing the first green shoots of recovery for our seas.

You can now follow the rewilding journey on Instagram and X @sussexkelp

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782735895.31460 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782735895.34160.027Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782735895.34170.0001Server address: 216.73.216.31
1782735895.34170Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782735895.34170Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/sussex-kelp-recovery-project-2023-round-up
    [s] => sussex-kelp-recovery-project-2023-round-up
    [1] => sussex-kelp-recovery-project-2023-round-up
)
1782735895.34230.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782735895.34330.001 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782735895.34530.002 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782735895.34630.0009INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782735895.34820.0019 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22416024
1782735895.34890.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22416024
1782735895.34960.0007 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-29 12:24:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-29 12:24:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782735895.35140.0018 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='sussex-kelp-recovery-project-2023-round-up')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-29 12:24:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782735895.35420.0028 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782735895.35480.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3276 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-29 12:24:00'
1782735895.35580.001 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782735895.35640.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782735895.35720.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=257 LIMIT 1
1782735895.35780.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=44 LIMIT 1
1782735895.35860.0007Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782735895.35890.0003 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782735895.35980.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-29 12:24:00' AND postSlug='sussex-kelp-recovery-project-2023-round-up'
1782735895.38270.0228Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782735895.38330.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782735895.3850.0017Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782735895.38520.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782735895.38620.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782735895.38790.0017 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782735895.39110.0032 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782735895.39180.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782735895.39410.0024Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782735895.39420.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782735895.3950.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782735895.39550.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782735895.39820.0027 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782735895.39920.0009 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782735895.39980.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782735895.40280.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782735895.40380.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782735895.40610.0024 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782735895.40660.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782735895.4070.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782735895.40780.0008Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782735895.40820.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='sussex-kelp-recovery-project-2023-round-up')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-29 12:24:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782735895.41040.0022 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782735895.4110.0006 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782735895.41540.0043Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782735895.41670.0013 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3276 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782735895.46650.0498 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782735895.46670.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782735895.46690.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782735895.46790.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782735895.46850.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782735895.46910.0005 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782735895.47110.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782735895.47160.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782735895.47340.0018 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782735895.47440.0011 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782735895.4750.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782735895.47550.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782735895.47790.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782735895.47840.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782735895.48030.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782735895.48420.0039 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782735895.4850.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782735895.48560.0005 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782735895.48810.0026 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782735895.48870.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782735895.49080.0021 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782735895.49360.0029 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782735895.49430.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782735895.49490.0006 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782735895.49720.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782735895.49780.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782735895.49980.002 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782735895.5010.0012Request time: 0.1901
1782735895.5010Process time: 0.1899
1782735895.5010Memory: 1.6239