This project was conducted in collaboration with Canadian Pacifico Seaweeds and Keltsmaht Kelp, to map wild kelp beds in Barkley and Clayoquot Sounds on the west coast of British Columbia.

The objectives were to expand the regional kelp inventory, evaluate the practicality of the existing mapping methodology, and generate preliminary biomass estimates to help inform provincial wild-harvest permit allocations.

Using handheld GPS surveys, transect sampling, and photogrammetry, our team mapped more than twenty kelp beds over two days.

Field photographs were processed using photogrammetric methods to estimate kelp stipe width, which were then applied to a biomass model (Thompson, 2019) to produce low, medium, and high biomass estimates for each mapped kelp bed.

This project was my first encounter with the logistical realities of marine data collection, where tidal cycles and weather conditions routinely override even well-laid plans.