We’re proud to be part of an exciting project in Santa Barbara that brings together fishermen, scientists, nonprofits, and seafood companies to restore the kelp forests in the Santa Barbara Channel. The project focuses on removing purple urchins, which have decimated local kelp populations, and creating a commercial opportunity by ranching the urchins for restaurant sale or using them in agricultural products. As Kim Selkoe, Executive Director of CFSB and co-founder of Get Hooked Seafood, explains: “Our community of divers is committed to playing an active role in restoring kelp forests, both for biodiversity benefits as well as supporting the urchin fishery again. Designing an approach that leverages and builds the supply chains to support restoration is super exciting.” In the images, you can see Jonny Woodcock, a local urchin fisherman, offloading his day's haul of purple urchins, bound for @‌theculturedabalone for ranching. While these purple sea urchins are not immediately suitable for culinary use, The Cultured Abalone Farm enhances their quality through a 'ranching' process, where the urchins are fed a nutrient-rich diet of sustainably harvested local seaweeds for 10 to 12 weeks, allowing them to regain their health and size. Get Hooked is also excited to experiment with drying and grinding the purple urchin shells into a calcium-rich powder for our fish hydrolysate fertilizer production. It’s a win-win for the environment, local economies, and the sustainable seafood community. We’re thrilled to see what happens when science and the fishing community come together to drive positive change! Check out our blog to learn more: https://gethookedseafood.com/blogs/news/get-hooked-joins-the-kelp-restoration-effort-in-santa-barbara