Kelp forests grow just offshore. In order to reach them, remember not to cross the swim lane. Instead, paddle north from the caves to the 1/2 mile buoy marking the swim lane. You can cross here after scanning for swimmers. Kelp can reach 100ft tall and grows at an astounding rate of 2ft/day. They are not true plants, but brown algae. Kelp attaches itself to the bottom with root-like structures called “holdfasts”. Kelp is vitally important to our oceans because it provides food and shelter for an entire ecosystem. Microscopic organisms and invertebrates grow on kelp leaves, small fish feed on them and hide among the kelp strands. Harbor seals, bigger fish, and California sea lions hunt for food among the kelp. An area with kelp supports 1000 times more life than an area without kelp. The balance is easily upset – over-fishing of sheepshead fish (which eat sea urchins), leads to an overabundance of urchins (which eat kelp holdfasts), and the entire kelp forest community collapses.
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