Is the bull kelp rebounding?

Has anyone else been seeing a resurgence of the coast's bull kelp? Along the southern Sonoma Coast, it has rebounded and when the tide is low it forms thick mats on the surface, just like in the old days. Is anyone else observing the same trend elsewhere?

I have noticed a lot of new kelp on the pebble beach area.    With the loss of all the kelp the last few years it seems as though the larger rockfish moved on to other areas or more fishing pressure ? Lots of smaller schools of rockfish and small lings though.Unfortunately the cabbies have been missing.

Alex

I've noticed a few areas around Santa Cruz that have a lot more kelp tha I've een in a umber of years.  It's not the bull Kelp, but the inshore kelp that tops out in 30-35 FOW.  26th Ave, Rivermouth areas come to inmmediate mind.

bushy

Here's a video that shows the difference between bull kelp and giant kelp:

https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/earthisblue/wk210-bull-kelp-vs-giant-kelp.html

The video is pretty good, but it would have been a lot better with a Steely Dan soundtrack...

I was out sat  and just as you go north from Jenner I noticed a huge difference in what it had been. I saw what Daytripper is talking about, and it made me happy!

Quick online resarch as recent as 3/21 suggests a catastrophic loss of kelp mostly due to starfish wateing disease and the subsequent exlosion of kepl eating urchin.  Maybe they should have waited a couple months  nature always wins.  My eyes are saying there's ore kelp this year than last year or four.

Bushy

yes, seems to be on the rebound - good news, maybe some Abalone in our future!

Driving down highway one from Mendocino to Jenner, I do think I see a lot more kelp mats than the last few years. Hopeful.

There are indeed places coming back - I've seen it up near Cape Mendocino last summer and heard it's good out there again this summer.



The warm water blob of 2015 into 2016 was extreme compared to what has gone on along our coast for almost all of the time since records have been kept.  The kelp withered from the warm water, and the urchins loved it - their population exploded.  In many places from Marin up to Del Norte primarily, the urchins are so thick that they're literally eating everything, leading to phenomena called "urchin barrens" where all of the seaweed, kelp and even coralline algae is eaten off of the rocks.  This obviously starves out the abalone, as they try to lift up to grab food, and the urchins that are surrounding them poke the ab, preventing it from ever lifting and eating - I saw it first hand at most of my old abalone diving spots.  I've read that urchins, after they've eaten everything else, can survive by getting their nutrients from sea water for up to 10 years!  So urchin barrens are extremely persistent - they exist around the world and have decimated other nearshore ecosystems.  This is all off the top of my head because I've followed the issue closely for years - I encourage you to study it further.

The situation is dire in many places, but others are seeing some level of rebound as has been noted here.  I'll wait for the data and science to come in because I believe that 90% or more of the kelp between Marin and Humboldt is gone compared to 10 years ago.  It's great that some places are coming back, but I think it's dangerous to declare that the problems on our coast are over or that they may never have been real. 

We are basically just waiting for the other shoe to drop in terms of the potential for the next warm water blob to hit the coast - if you believe in what scientists are saying. 

It seems like the kelp is slowly coming back around Fort Bragg.
There is significant improvement in Noyo Cove as a result of the kelp forest restoration project. 
https://www.reefcheck.org/reef-check-californias-north-coast-kelp-forest-restoration-project-begins/

We’ve been surfing a lot and it’s been pretty thick at Pleasure Pt and other spots along there

Seemed like a good amount of bull kelp was around in Albion.  Nice and fresh looking too.  Some divers said they didn't see much in the way of urchin or abalone around though.  So hopefully will grow and grow and things will rebound in a few years.

What I like most about kelp is I feel a little less like sharkbait when there’s more of it around

There needs to be more dive days every year and get rid of the more heavily populated urchin spots! The more we can clean out the faster the kelp can recover. I wish DFG would start re locating some sea otters from SC and Monterey area to some of the northern areas where the kelp is making a come back! They would put the urchins in check fast and the kelp beds would grow as the otters population and area expands. I know they can’t move otters to an area with no kelp but there are some areas where the kelp beds are getting thick enough to sustain some otters.

There needs to be more dive days every year and get rid of the more heavily populated urchin spots! The more we can clean out the faster the kelp can recover. I wish DFG would start re locating some sea otters from SC and Monterey area to some of the northern areas where the kelp is making a come back! They would put the urchins in check fast and the kelp beds would grow as the otters population and area expands. I know they can’t move otters to an area with no kelp but there are some areas where the kelp beds are getting thick enough to sustain some otters.

I had similar thoughts and then learned that sea otters need Giant Kelp, and it’s not found north of SF Bay I believe.