What we do

Tarevoktere aims to restore kelp forests by removing urchins under proper scientific oversight.

Specifically, we harvest the larger urchins and put them to good, alternative use, for example, culinary urchin ranching, and remove the smaller urchins with the objective of bringing the urchin population down to less than two animals per square meter. By reducing the biomass from 30+ per square meter down to less than 2, it is expected that kelp forests will recover during the next growth season.

Why we do it

As divers, we have a unique skill that allows us to help the planet in a way that is disproportionately more effective than anything that we can ever do on land.

As our kelp forests are squarely within the Norwegian economic zone, it is our responsibility to be stewards of these critical ecosystems that keep our planet alive. Just like Brazil has its rainforests to protect for the good of our planet, we have the same here in Norway, just underwater.

Where we operate

We have begun urchin clearing training events and trials in the waters around Tromsø, in northern Norway.  The initial, basic training was done on Kvaløya, in Sandnessundet.

Our plan is to now scale up our activities so that we can expand restoration efforts around Tromsø.  Over time, we would like to see our efforts expand broadly throughout northern Norway, and then to other regions in Norway suffering urchin barrens.

The Global Kelp Restoration Network

Tarevoktere is part of a wider, global network of volunteer, nonprofit, kelp restoration initiatives. Our aim is to grow this network so that we can exchange information, best practices, and support each other’s efforts to bring kelp forest awareness to the forefront of people’s minds as a critical element.

Our partnership with Urchinomics

Tarevoktere has entered into an agreement with Urchinomics to help continually fund the restoration effort. The larger urchins that are removed during the clearing efforts will be sent to Urchinomics for ranching.

Once ranched and sold, a percentage of revenues will be donated back to Tarevoktere to help fund the clearing efforts. The shared goal is to one day generate enough donations to make urchin clearing economically self-sufficient.