Kelp, the golden-brown sea plants we see floating
in the ocean and that wash up on our beaches,
are an important part of the Santa Monica Bay
ecosystem. Kelp beds serve many functions –
they provide habitat for a wide variety of sea
creatures and they even help reduce the chop
from afternoon winds that surfers complain about.
However, our kelp forests are
in danger. Pollution and human-induced ecosystem
imbalances have contributed to the major decline
of kelp beds in our bay. Fortunately, some help
has arrived.
Replanting Projects Help to Save Local Kelp
Forests
Thanks to a grant from the Santa Monica Bay
Restoration Commission, a highly-trained group
of scientists and volunteer divers have been
spearheading kelp restoration efforts over the
last few years, replanting and restoring the
bay’s kelp gardens. With funding from
federal, state, and private donors, the Santa
Monica Baykeeper organization has been cultivating
and re-planting kelp in key habitats in the
northern part of the bay—off the Malibu
coast, just inside Point Dume.
According to staff scientist and lead diver,
Tom Ford, the Baykeeper kelp restoration project
has been responsible for replanting approximately
15,000 cubic meters of kelp over the last 3
years.
“We use only specially-trained divers,”
said Ford. “Each diver has a minimum certification
of rescue diver and years of experience. Furthermore,
each diver goes through a training process specific
to our program for mapping, replanting, and
maintaining the growth process.”
It’s Very Hard for Young Kelp to Survive
Kelp can grow at a very fast rate—about
one foot a day for healthy adult plants. But
getting the “infants” started is
the hard part. “Each small plant must
develop a ‘holdfast’ to grip to
the reefs and must be lucky enough not to be
eaten by predators like urchins, or be ripped
off by tidal surges,” says Ford.
The kelp growth project is one of the most unique
in the world and it’s happening right
here in our backyard—protecting sea life
and improving the beauty and diversity of the
Santa Monica Bay.
For more information, go to www.santamonicabay.org
or http://www.smbaykeeper.org
.
We
at Swellmagnet.com take great pride in our site
and will do our best to keep all off the surf
reports and live surf cameras up and running around
the clock.
We now boast a daily, dawn patrol, Surf report
for Malibu as well as a live, streaming Malibu
surf camera, a daily, dawn patrol Surf report
for Topanga as well as a live, streaming Topanga
surf camera, a daily, dawn patrol Surf report
for Sunset as well as a live, streaming Sunset
surf camera, a daily, dawn patrol Surf report
for Venice Beach Breakwater as well as a live,
streaming Venice Beach Breakwater surf camera,
a daily, dawn patrol Surf report for Santa Monica
Beach as well as a, live, streaming Santa Monica
Beach surf camera, a daily, dawn patrol Surf report
for El Porto Beach as well as a live, streaming
El Porto Beach surf camera, dawn patrol Surf report
for Manhattan Beach as well as a live, streaming
Manhattan Beach surf camera, dawn patrol Surf
report for Torrance Beach as well as a live, streaming
Torrance Beach surf camera, dawn patrol Surf report
for Huntington Beach well as a live, streaming
Huntington Beach surf camera and a dawn patrol
Surf report for Huntington Beach well as a live,
streaming Huntington Beach surf camera. Lastly
we have free surf reports from both Manzanillo
Bay Inn in Troncones, Mexico and from Punta Roca,
El Savador courtesy of adventuresurftours.com.
If you know of any possible locations to put up
new surf cameras there is 150.00 finders fee for
you! Just hit us up with an
email.
