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Sussex kelp explained: what five years without trawling has done
Trawling has been banned across 304 sq km off Sussex since March 2021. Mussels and black sea bream are increasing; the kelp itself will take longer.
Since 18 March 2021, trawling has been banned from 304 square kilometres of seabed off the Sussex coast, from Chichester in the west to Rye in the east. Five years on, the Sussex Kelp Recovery Project says mussel beds are growing and local fish stocks are increasing.
Kelp is a large, flat-edged brown seaweed. In the 1950s kelp forests off Sussex stretched up to 4km out to sea, and they…