Rescue that kelp!
- Thread starter chillyinCanada
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Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
Great article, thanks for posting that.
In Northern California the water temps are still cold and that’s wasn’t the initial problem like further north. We get Alaskan deep water upwellings that consistently bring down the water temps and keep them cold. Our issue was the disappearance of giant sunflower stars which lead to the proliferation of purple urchins which have devastated our kelp forests. There was one El Niño event that warmed up the water more than usual but not like the heat blob you guys got.
I have been consistently doing urchin removal dives to try and reestablish kelp in one cove, but I can’t do it alone. I’m always planning urchin dives and encourage anyone that is interested in taking part to please contact me.
All you need is a few items of extra gear and a commitment to show up. We’ll show you what to do.
We need to become the new giant sea stars or the sea otter. Purple urchins currently have no predators except for us.
The water is cold enough for kelp to thrive. Right now it’s averaging 49 to 53 degrees depending on the day and the currents. That’s the perfect target zone. I’m seeing kelp beds re-establish themselves offshore so I know the spores are out there floating around.
In Northern California the water temps are still cold and that’s wasn’t the initial problem like further north. We get Alaskan deep water upwellings that consistently bring down the water temps and keep them cold. Our issue was the disappearance of giant sunflower stars which lead to the proliferation of purple urchins which have devastated our kelp forests. There was one El Niño event that warmed up the water more than usual but not like the heat blob you guys got.
I have been consistently doing urchin removal dives to try and reestablish kelp in one cove, but I can’t do it alone. I’m always planning urchin dives and encourage anyone that is interested in taking part to please contact me.
All you need is a few items of extra gear and a commitment to show up. We’ll show you what to do.
We need to become the new giant sea stars or the sea otter. Purple urchins currently have no predators except for us.
The water is cold enough for kelp to thrive. Right now it’s averaging 49 to 53 degrees depending on the day and the currents. That’s the perfect target zone. I’m seeing kelp beds re-establish themselves offshore so I know the spores are out there floating around.
OP
You need some mating pairs of sea otters to help you out!
Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
Oh they’ve tried re-introduction programs several times and unfortunately it didn’t work.
The sea otters that are in Monterey and south are not the same otters that were up north. The northern otters were larger, more robust, and could handle the colder water and rougher conditions. They were preffered to the southern otters for their larger, thicker, and more robust pelts. The Russians wiped them out to extinction by the late 1850’s.
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