Rescue divers dispatched to save iconic giant kelp

Last winter, a team of divers braved Tasmania's icy eastern waters to help give the region's spectacular giant kelp forests a fighting chance.

Under the waves, the volunteer divers strung lengths of twine adorned with juvenile kelp to the root-like bases of other seaweeds.

It's a restoration technique developed by Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies scientists over several years that has already been used successfully to repair patches of the towering forests.

Quick and efficient enough to be rolled out at hectare-scale, the technique's proponents are hopeful it can secure a future for the critically endangered marine ecosystems under threat from climate change, nutrient-poor waters and their natural enemy, the sea urchin.

The next step has been recruiting divers - and lots of t