A collaborative effort between University of Washington researchers and the Samish Indian Nation marked a milestone in marine conservation as they released 20 sunflower stars into waters near the San Juan Islands. The animals, bred in captivity over three years, represent a critical step in restoring a species that has experienced catastrophic population decline across the Pacific Ocean.
Sunflower stars have suffered unprecedented losses due to a bacterial wasting disease caused by Vibrio bacteria, which researchers estimate has killed approximately 90 percent of the species’ population. The outbreak spread across a vast geographic range extending from northern Mexico to Alaska, affecting multiple sea star species but proving particularly devastating to sunflower stars. International scientific bodies have classified the species as critically endangered, and Canada designated it as endangered. The Biden administration proposed federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, though that proposal has not advanced under the current administration. A nonprofit organization recently initiated legal action to secure protections for the species.
Researchers at Friday Harbor Laboratories have spent years developing breeding techniques for the previously understudied species and have successfully treated infected individuals when the disease infiltrated their facilities. The lab houses hundreds of sunflower stars at various life stages, from microscopic larvae to adults comparable in size to standard stop signs. Scientists believe ocean warming linked to climate change contributed to bacterial proliferation. The animals serve an outsized ecological role as a keystone species, controlling sea urchin populations that otherwise denude kelp forests, making their recovery significant beyond the species itself.
The Samish Nation has embraced the restoration effort as part of broader ecosystem stewardship, though sunflower stars hold less cultural significance compared to salmon. Lab staff developed personal connections with the animals during breeding, assigning individual names and noting distinct behavioral traits among creatures lacking centralized brains or conventional sensory systems. The journey to release the stars encountered obstacles, including a disease surge that forced postponement of an earlier release attempt.
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