Kelp reforestation

Feed A Sunflower Sea Star

Seatrees is supporting the recovery of the endangered Sunflower Star, a key predator that keeps purple sea urchin populations in check and helps kelp forests thrive.

At Sunflower Star Laboratory, the first-ever cohort of young sea stars are growing fast and getting hungry. As they develop into “teenagers,” they need a steady supply of prey like purple urchins to learn how to hunt and survive in the wild.

96% Kelp lost in Northern California in the past decade

50%+ Of historic kelp cover gone in Southern California

1,000+ Species supported by healthy kelp forests

~50/50 Gender representation across the lab team

About the project

Sea Star Wasting Syndrome

In 2013, sea star wasting syndrome (SSWS) devastated sea star populations along the west coast of North America. The sunflower star (Pycnopodia helianthoides), once abundant from Alaska to Baja California, was among the hardest hit—becoming locally extinct in shallow coastal waters. As a keystone predator, sunflower stars play a vital role in regulating sea urchin populations and maintaining healthy kelp forests. Without them, urchin populations exploded, leading to widespread kelp forest decline.

To help restore this balance, Seatrees has partnered with the Sunflower Star Laboratory who has been developing aquaculture protocols and coordinating captive breeding for sunflower stars. The long-term goal is to establish sustainable aquaculture and reintroduce these critical predators to the wild, supporting the recovery and resilience of kelp forest ecosystems.

How it works

Breed. Feed. Return.

With the Sunflower Star Lab, Seatrees funds the lab's 'Sea Snack Shack' — the food systems needed to raise healthy young sea stars for future reintroduction.

1.Breed The lab develops aquaculture protocols and coordinates captive breeding to raise the first cohorts of young sunflower stars.

2.Feed Growing sea stars are fed the prey they will meet in the wild, including purple urchins and abalone, so they learn to hunt.

3.Return Strong, resilient sea stars are raised for reintroduction, to keep urchins in check and help kelp forests recover.

See the restoration in action

Project partner

Sunflower Star Laboratory

Sunflower Star Laboratory is a Monterey-based non-profit committed to researching and developing reliable and scalable sustainable conservation aquaculture methods for sunflower star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) conservation and reintroduction.

Their mission is to protect the diversity of coastal ecosystems by supporting research and developing scalable sustainable conservation aquaculture methods to restore sunflower stars to their historic range in California.

Learn more