From left: Lars Nonboe Andersen, Vice President Ocean Science at Kongsberg Discovery; Pål Bakken, founder and CEO at SeaForester; and Børre Pedersen, Sales Director Earth Observation at KSAT.
Photo: SeaForester
SeaForester Group, Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT), and Kongsberg Discovery have formed a partnership intended to accelerate the recovery of Europe’s declining kelp forests, which the organisations describe as one of the continent’s most overlooked marine habitats.
The agreement focuses on creating a monitoring system that can guide restoration efforts at scale, a need highlighted by research showing that roughly half of global kelp forests have vanished over the past fifty years.
Scientists have linked the loss of these underwater forests to falling fish stocks, weakened carbon sequestration, worsening ocean acidification, and reduced nutrient removal from land runoff and aquaculture.
Pål Bakken, founder and chief executive of SeaForester, said the collaboration will directly address this problem: “Seaweed is the largest marine vegetated ecosystem on the planet - over 20 times larger than the coral reefs," he explained.
SeaForester’s ocean restoration work indicates that large-scale recovery is technically and economically viable, but the company argues it requires improved tools to track change and verify outcomes.
"We need more information about the status of this important habitat, and we need to speed up restoration actions. This collaboration is a direct response to that need and represents a major step toward enabling monitoring and restoration at a meaningful, industrial scale," Bakken said.
The joint initiative will draw on satellite-derived data covering sea surface temperature, height, and colour -- datasets which KSAT points out are already used to monitor currents, sea level rise, climate impacts, harmful algal blooms, and ocean pollution.
“We are looking forward to contributing to these important issues for marine habitat restoration, and we believe that combining satellite data with measurements from the ocean is the key to providing deeper insights,” said Børre Pedersen, Sales Director Earth Observation at KSAT.
Kongsberg Discovery plans to merge KSAT's satellite information with its hydroacoustic sensors used for ecosystem monitoring and seabed mapping. The company has spent recent years developing a digital platform that brings together acoustic data, ocean measurements, and other metadata, with the SeaForester collaboration providing an opportunity to put this into action in support of ocean regeneration.
“The SeaForester use case allows us to combine fractions of information into one holistic real-time information system for efficient monitoring and documentation of kelp forests' biomass and corresponding ecosystems,” said Tonny Algrøy, Sales Director for Ocean Science at Kongsberg Discovery.
“By combining this with other relevant measurements, we can provide a full picture of the current situation. Then we can provide the right insight for decision-making for how to restore the marine habitat,” Algrøy added.
One of SeaForester's main seaforestation techniques consists of taking seaweed spores, spraying them on stones and then deploying them in the sea.
SeaForester is among Europe’s earliest large-scale kelp restoration organisations and holds the region’s largest permit for seaweed forest recovery. Bakken said this “unique position enables SeaForester to bridge scientific innovation with commercial-scale ecosystem recovery”.
The companies point out that international targets set by the United Nations call for restoring 1 million hectares and conserving a further 3 million hectares of kelp forests by 2040.
Meanwhile, annual global investment in nature-based solutions is estimated to stand at around 133 billion US dollars -- with spending on ocean-based initiatives forecast to increase, as governments and companies look to boost food security and rebuild fish stocks.
SeaForester says it can contribute verified data and practical restoration experience toward these goals -- but progress will depend on strong measurement systems, Bakken points out.
“To assess the impact of restoration efforts, accurate quantification and documentation are necessary. At present, there are limited industrial solutions available for mapping and measuring kelp forests and related marine ecosystems, highlighting a gap in the market across various sensing methods. I have great hopes for the positive effects of this partnership,” he said.
SeaForester announced in October that it had raised USD 1.9 million to accelerate the company's global expansion and further development of its breakthrough seaforestation technologies.
The funding was secured from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Schmidt Marine Technology Partners, a program of the Schmidt Family Foundation, with impact-driven blue economy investment bank Aquamarine - Impact Capital Partners acting as SeaForester's financial advisor.