Kelp

Usually found in or near kelp forests, sea otters dine on invertebrates such as snails, crabs, octopuses, urchins, and abalone.

Sea otters rest by wrapping themselves in kelp to keep from drifting away.

Encompassing more than 5,300 square miles, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of the richest, most diverse marine environments in the world encompassing wave-swept beaches, lush kelp forests, and one of the deepest underwater canyons in North America.

Please drive slowly near sensitive habitats such as kelp forests and bird rookeries to minimize disturbance.

In ideal conditions, giant kelp can grow up to 18 inches per day.

The giant kelp canopies tower above the ocean floor.

Kelp is the backbone of Monterey Bay coastal ecology.

Storms and large weather events, like the El Nino, can tear and dislodge the kelp, leaving a tattered winter forest to begin its growth again each spring.

On the rocks where the holdfasts secure kelp fronds to the bottom live many invertebrates including abalone, sea urchins and sea stars.

Among the kelp blades live a variety of fish - particularly juveniles.