Find Kelp was a citizen science project from CCMAR (UAlg, Portugal), divers who would find kelps in their dives would report the location, depth, taking pictures, etc., and this information would be validated by marine scientists. “Findkelp – The forests of the seabed aims to promote a study space on the marine forests of giant brown algae (kelp) and the species that depend on them, along the Portuguese coast in order to promote their knowledge and conservation. The project focuses on monitoring the state of conservation, and understanding the processes affecting the persistence of the marine forests of Portugal, using ecology and genetic approaches to populations. Its objectives include discovering the current state of Portugal’s marine forests, its role in maintaining the associated biodiversity, why it disappears from some regions, which factors influence its persistence and interconnection between marine forest patches, how to repopulate the missing areas and also raise awareness among the community at large and propose management measures for their conservation.
