Sea Star Monitoring with iNaturalist – Get Involved!

Photo – Hakai Institue, Grant Callegari
If you see sea stars of any species—healthy or diseased—while out exploring the shore, simply snap a few photos and share your observations to the online community science platform iNaturalist. You don’t even need to know which species you’ve found: the iNaturalist AI system and its community of naturalists will help you identify your many-armed finds.
If you love keeping your eyes peeled for cool critters while walking along shorelines, this is the project for you! To get started with iNaturalist, visit the Getting Started Guide, and check out Hakai’s video introduction to iNaturalist.
What is sea star wasting?

Photo – Hakai Institute, Faye Manning
Sea star wasting affects the tissues of sea stars and is ultimately fatal. The current sea star wasting epidemic started in 2013, and caused a widespread and unprecedented die-off of sea stars from Alaska to California. It continues to persist at low levels throughout the region. Populations of some species show signs of recovery in some places, while others are still depleted, or even extirpated. Researchers are now exploring big questions about the persistence of sea star wasting and how well populations are recovering throughout British Columbia and beyond.
You can download here our Sea Star Wasting Disease Primer.
How can I get more involved?
We invite anyone who is interested to make observations anytime you spot sea stars on a beach. We are also planning monthly low tide observation walks starting in April 2021. To learn more about this project and how you can get involved in these monthly surveys, contact Kelly Fretwell at biodiversity@hakai.org.