Jasmin Schuster: A Kelp Researcher’s Mission to Reverse a 95% Underwater Forest Loss

An Expedition to Bamfield, British Columbia in Canada

Sitting on the edge of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve in the small town of Bamfield, British Columbia, the Edges of Earth team had the privilege to sit down with Jasmin Schuster. As the program manager of the Kelp Rescue Initiative (KRI), a nonprofit committed to devising science-based solutions for kelp restoration, Schuster is a local expert when it comes to this unique ecosystem within the region. Alarmingly, KRI reports that kelp forests are declining rapidly, with losses of over 70% in some areas along North America's western coastlines over the past seven years. At the secluded Bamfield Marine Science Centre (BMSC), where KRI is based, we were given a rare glimpse into the critical marine science work unfolding across Vancouver Island, learning how kelp serves as a crucial lifeline for both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Jasmin shared her journey beginning all the way in Vienna, Austria, to this remote outpost. She also shared her hopes for the future of this vital and endangered ecosystem—and how she and her team are determined to reverse that alarming percentage loss and restore the health of these underwater forests.

(Jasmin Schuster departing BMSC on her speedboat. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)

Andi: Moving from Vienna, Austria, to a remote town like Bamfield is a big decision. What drew you to make such a significant change, and how did you end up here?

Jasmin: I moved to Bamfield in 2021, two years before I started with the KRI. Initially, I came here for some research for my PhD and then postdoc, and by December of last year, I officially joined the team and didn’t look back. It’s been nearly a year now. I came here wanting to understand why there was so much kelp loss in British Columbia and to develop innovative ways to bring it back—and I’m thankful to be doing exactly that. 

We operate out of the BMSC, a research institution that’s been here for over 50 years. It serves as the ocean-side campus for five major universities on the west coast of British Columbia. Researchers come here from all over British Columbia, Alberta, and the world for that matter. It's a unique place for marine research and education, offering access to ocean environments that researchers back in Calgary or University of British Columbia simply don't have access to, making it quite the hotbed for marine science work around here. 

(Jasmin showing the Edges of Earth team the KRI labs. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)

The center has incredible services that facilitate marine science, including diving support, wet and dry-labs, and an entire research vessel fleet and foreshore team that can bring researchers into the field. It’s a scientist or researcher's dream around here! The BMSC is also an amazing place for marine science training. It offers programs for anyone from school students on field trips to undergraduate and graduate students conducting independent research. People come here, live the secluded “Bamfield Life” for a few months, and inevitably fall in love with all this place has to offer. That’s what happened to me. Once I experienced it, I knew I didn’t want to leave.

Andi: The Bamfield region clearly captivated you. What is it about this area that makes it so special, and what keeps you here, beyond the marine sciences facilities and Bamfield Life? 

Jasmin: Barkley Sound, where we are right now, is a stunning inlet located on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Situated between the Pacific Ocean and the towering peaks of the island's interior, it forms part of the larger Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere region. The ocean here is known for its nutrient-rich waters, fed by cold currents from the Pacific. These currents create a diverse marine ecosystem—the one that I love studying! The sound is characterized by its intricate coastline, dotted with numerous small islands and sheltered bays, making it a serious hotspot for marine life. 

Kelp forests were once here in these cold waters, providing a vital habitat for a wide range of species, including sea otters, harbor seals, and a variety of fish such as rockfish, salmon, and herring. The sea is also home to invertebrates like sea urchins, anemones, and the giant Pacific octopus. Barkley Sound’s unique combination of rich biodiversity, complex underwater topography, and its relatively undisturbed environment make it a crucial area for marine research and conservation efforts, hence why BMSC has been situated here for decades. 

(Peaceful scenes from BMSC’s campus. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)

Kelp and other cold-water species are found in both temperate and Arctic latitudes around the world, in locations as far south as Mexico and all the way up to Alaska. In places like British Columbia, they’re some of the most important habitat-forming species, known as biogenic habitat formers, fulfilling similar roles to coral reefs in the tropics. These living organisms provide a three-dimensional structure that offers food and shelter for juvenile fish and other marine life. They’re critical ecosystems in these colder waters, including here in Barkley Sound, yet this area has surely seen a decline in its kelp population. 

Unfortunately, over the last 50 years, we’ve seen some pretty drastic changes. Locals who have lived here for generations, especially the First Nations, have witnessed the decline of these kelp forests firsthand. But having BMSC here, with all its infrastructure to support impactful science, gives us a strong foundation to tackle these issues. For example, we’ve set up a few kelp nurseries and started trialing different restoration methods to develop tools that can help restore these vital ecosystems here, and across Canada as well.

Andi: What challenges are you and your team at KRI facing in your efforts to restore kelp ecosystems, and how are you addressing them?

Jasmin: Let’s start with the big picture first. Kelp forests around the world are facing rapid declines for a multitude of reasons. A major issue is temperature stress—the ocean is getting warmer, and kelp, which thrives in cold water, cannot thrive during marine heat waves and as long-term warming continues. Another significant problem here in Barkley Sound and along much of the Canadian coastline is the overabundance of sea urchins, which is a result of a trophic collapse. 

(Urchin populations are taking over kelp in British Columbia. Photo Credit: Andi Cross)

The loss of natural predators like the sunflower sea star has had a devastating impact on kelp forests. Sunflower sea stars, once abundant along the Pacific coast, played a crucial role in controlling urchin populations, which, in turn, maintained the health of kelp ecosystems. However, in 2014, a catastrophic sea star wasting disease outbreak swept through the region, decimating sea star populations. This disease, which caused the sea stars to develop lesions, lose limbs, and eventually disintegrate, spread rapidly due to unusually warm ocean temperatures, likely exacerbated by climate change. 

(Kelp forests off the shores of Vancouver Island. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)

As a result, sunflower sea stars were nearly wiped out, leading to a dramatic increase in urchin populations. Without these key predators, urchins have overgrazed kelp forests, turning once-thriving underwater ecosystems into barren seascapes. Kelp now struggles to survive, clinging only to the shallowest waters where the strong wave action deters urchins from establishing themselves. In deeper waters, however, it’s increasingly rare to find kelp beyond a few meters, highlighting the profound impact of this ecological imbalance.

Andi: The situation with the urchins sounds dire. What can be done to manage these populations and give kelp a fighting chance?

Jasmin: Managing urchin populations is critical to restoring kelp forests, and that’s a significant focus of our work at KRI. Fortunately, kelp forests are incredibly resilient in areas where urchin densities are naturally lower. In these regions, our restoration tools have shown promising results—we’ve successfully restored kelp forests at experimental scales in the last season! However, in areas where urchins are overwhelmingly dominant, the challenge is much greater, and we need to develop effective strategies to manage these populations.

We’ve experimented with small-scale solutions like urchin exclusion fences and cages, which have proven effective in certain sites, such as Denman Island in the North Salish Sea. There, we built a large exclusion fence that allowed outplanted kelp to grow in a significant way, with kelp persisting into the fall and producing and releasing reproductive tissue, demonstrating that these methods can work. However, scaling these interventions across an entire coastline is impractical. Building fences or cages along thousands of kilometers of shoreline isn’t a sustainable or feasible solution.

This is why we’re also engaging in broader discussions with the province and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to address the lack of active urchin management for kelp restoration. Currently, urchin populations are only managed through commercial harvests, which isn’t sufficient to address the ecological imbalance we’re facing. We need to explore more comprehensive management strategies that can help restore the balance in these ecosystems.

(Animals of all kinds rely on kelp forests. Photo Credit: Andi Cross)

It’s important to emphasize that our goal isn’t to eradicate urchins entirely—as they too are a natural and essential part of the marine ecosystem. However, the system is currently out of balance due to the lack of natural predators, and urchin populations have exploded beyond what the environment can sustain. Our work is about finding ways to restore that balance, ensuring that kelp forests and urchin populations can coexist in a healthy, thriving ecosystem.

Andi: Are there other natural predators in these waters that could help control urchin populations?

Jasmin: Sea otter populations are slowly increasing in the northern areas of Vancouver Island, and they are also key predators of urchins. However, their return is a complex issue. These otters were reintroduced from Alaska, and while they help control urchin populations, they also eat other shellfish, which can create conflicts with local communities that rely on those resources for food and economic reasons.

It's important to keep humans as part of this conversation. Historically, First Nations along the Pacific coast had a profound understanding of the local ecosystems, including the role of sea otters. They didn’t just coexist with these animals—they actively managed them. One traditional practice involved guiding sea otter populations to specific areas at particular times, ensuring that the otters could thrive while also preserving access to vital resources for the community. This management allowed for a balance between the otters’ predation on urchins and shellfish and the needs of the people who relied on these same resources for food and trade. By carefully directing where and when sea otters could hunt, First Nations were able to maintain a sustainable balance in the ecosystem, preventing the kind of overpopulation of urchins and depletion of shellfish that we see today. 

(Jasmin explaining the projects the KRI is working on today. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)

While it's not my place to offer these kinds of solutions, I believe conversations about it are essential. This is why KRI has hired a First Nations Liaison, Connie Crocker (given name: Xwulsilm), helping the team better understand sustainable practices and methodologies, and engage First Nations to hear how they’d like to be involved in the research and restoration work that is happening out of KRI. We can’t just reintroduce predators and expect everything to balance out without considering the human impact, we want and need to work hand-in-hand with the traditional landowners and people who have always called this place home. 

Andi: What’s the Kelp Rescue Initiative’s approach to kelp restoration, and how are you planning for the future?

Jasmin: Our approach is rooted in science, and we’re constantly learning and adapting as we go. We’ve set up kelp nurseries in Barkley Sound (at the BMSC) and in the North Salish Sea (at Deep Bay Marine Station) where we’re growing kelp to run a series of experiments both in controlled environments and out in the field. These experiments involve testing different restoration materials to see what performs best in various environments and under different conditions. We’re also focused on understanding the timing and techniques for outplanting kelp—figuring out when and how to do it to maximize survival and growth.

But our work doesn’t stop there. We’re also looking into the genetic diversity of kelp populations and their thermal tolerance. As ocean temperatures continue to rise, it’s crucial that we’re not just restoring kelp for today but are also future-proofing these ecosystems. This means identifying kelp strains that might be more resilient to temperature changes and could potentially withstand the harsher conditions expected in the future.

(Marine science lab work being conducted at BMSC. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)

What’s fascinating, and at times challenging, is that every experiment we conduct tends to answer one question but opens up many more. This is the nature of science—it's an ongoing process of discovery. For instance, while we’ve made progress in understanding the best materials and conditions for kelp growth, these findings often lead to new questions: How do these restoration methods hold up over multiple seasons? What are the long-term impacts on the surrounding ecosystems? How can we scale these solutions effectively? Each answer pushes us to dig deeper and explore new avenues of research.

A significant part of our work involves mapping where kelp has been lost and identifying the areas where we have the best chance of successful restoration. Researchers like Brian Timmer from the University of Victoria have done incredible work using a combination of archival resources, old photographs, and modern surveys to map the historical changes in kelp around Vancouver Island. This mapping is crucial because it helps us pinpoint where restoration efforts will be most effective—where the environmental conditions still support kelp growth, and where intervention is most urgently needed.

Despite the progress, there’s still so much we don’t know. Kelp research has been ongoing for decades, but the rapidly changing climate and ecosystem dynamics mean that the more we learn, the more we realize there is to discover. Every answer we uncover only drives us to ask more questions, fueling the next round of research and experimentation. This iterative process is what makes science so powerful and why we’re committed to continuing this work, not just for today, but for the future health of the ocean. 

(Jasmin Schuster with the Kelp Rescue Initiative. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)

Andi: Kelp certainly has become a significant part of your life. Do you see yourself continuing this work long-term?

Jasmin: Absolutely. I’m completely hooked on kelp ecosystems and the incredible diversity of life they support. The beauty and complexity of these underwater forests never cease to amaze me, and I feel incredibly privileged to study them in a place as idyllic as Bamfield. When I first arrived during the global pandemic, I visited Bamfield for a 3-month research stint as part of my PhD. But within two weeks, I knew I had to make this my home.

Coming from Vienna, a landlocked city with no ocean, my connection to the marine world began with nature documentaries like Blue Planet and films like The Cove. This kind of content left a lasting impact on me, sparking a desire to protect the diversity of life in our oceans. Now, I’m living in this remote, breathtaking corner of the world, leading KRI’s projects and contributing to our global understanding of kelp and its critical role on earth. 

(Jasmin heading home from a day at work. Photo Credit: Adam Moore)

As told to: Andi Cross | Photography by: Adam Moore | Support from: Kelp Rescue Initiative & Bamfield Marine Science Centre

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SHE Changes Climate collaborates with the Edges of Earth Expedition, a woman-led team dedicated to highlighting impactful stories from the environmental frontlines. This partnership focuses on amplifying the voices of women who are pioneering positive change in some of the world’s most vulnerable coastal and marine environments, many of whose stories have gone untold.