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CALIFORNIA KELP
A huge part of my fishing success is in understanding kelp.
Part 1
In addition to sun light, kelp forests need a constant supply of fresh nutrient-rich water to survive.
Kelp absorbs simple chemicals from the surrounding water, rich with oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus needed for growth and carbon dioxide needed for photo-synthesis.
In calm water, rapidly growing kelp would quickly deplete the nutrients in their immediate surroundings. But the motion of the currents, waves and upwelling throughout the ocean keeps the wealth of nutrients in constant circulation.
Like rivers, ocean currents push the cold, nutrient rich water through the kelp forest, replacing and carrying away the warm, nutrient-poor water.
The California Current brings cold, nutrient-rich water down from the north all the way to southern California.
During the calm, warm periods of summer, these currents move less rapidly and the growth of the giant kelp often slows down or stops completely.
Cold, nutrient-rich water does not only move along currents from North to South along the California coast. Upwelling also replaces the warm, nutrient-poor water.
Upwelling occurs when deep, cold water rises to shallower depths carrying upward the nutrient-rich decay of dead plants and animals, abundant with all the chemicals kelp forests need.
Part 2
Although too cold for human comfort, a kelp forest grows best where water temperatures remain below 70°F.
Why does the water have to be so cold?
The answer isn’t certain.
However, nutrients in the water vary when ocean waters warm up, and that’s when the kelp forests appear to decline.
Perhaps, in high temperatures kelp can’t get the simple nutri- ents they need for photosynthesis and they starve.
It is also possible that the warmer waters alter local winds and currents in such a way that they block the upwelling of cold nutrient-rich water.
Research has shown that large adult kelp can withstand temperatures of up to 74°F, but the youngest plants perish when water temperatures rise over 68°F.
In Southern California, kelp forests follow a regular cycle of development, growing best during cold periods in the winter and spring, then deteriorating when water warms up in the summer and fall. Extended periods of warm water conditions, like El Niño weather, cause long-term damage to the kelp forests.
My 2-cents ... pay attention to the kelp growth in SoCal for improved SW fishing success.
I have been aware of the kelp growth; for most of my life, but have only begun to truly understand the meaning of the kelp growth for the past 15 years when I started to notice that the best kelp growth periods in my area are from 64° to 68° for optimum growth periods.
The water in LAH is now 62°.
I hope that someone out there found this information to be as helpful and useful as I do.
SP Dan <“))><
A huge part of my fishing success is in understanding kelp.
Part 1
In addition to sun light, kelp forests need a constant supply of fresh nutrient-rich water to survive.
Kelp absorbs simple chemicals from the surrounding water, rich with oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus needed for growth and carbon dioxide needed for photo-synthesis.
In calm water, rapidly growing kelp would quickly deplete the nutrients in their immediate surroundings. But the motion of the currents, waves and upwelling throughout the ocean keeps the wealth of nutrients in constant circulation.
Like rivers, ocean currents push the cold, nutrient rich water through the kelp forest, replacing and carrying away the warm, nutrient-poor water.
The California Current brings cold, nutrient-rich water down from the north all the way to southern California.
During the calm, warm periods of summer, these currents move less rapidly and the growth of the giant kelp often slows down or stops completely.
Cold, nutrient-rich water does not only move along currents from North to South along the California coast. Upwelling also replaces the warm, nutrient-poor water.
Upwelling occurs when deep, cold water rises to shallower depths carrying upward the nutrient-rich decay of dead plants and animals, abundant with all the chemicals kelp forests need.
Part 2
Although too cold for human comfort, a kelp forest grows best where water temperatures remain below 70°F.
Why does the water have to be so cold?
The answer isn’t certain.
However, nutrients in the water vary when ocean waters warm up, and that’s when the kelp forests appear to decline.
Perhaps, in high temperatures kelp can’t get the simple nutri- ents they need for photosynthesis and they starve.
It is also possible that the warmer waters alter local winds and currents in such a way that they block the upwelling of cold nutrient-rich water.
Research has shown that large adult kelp can withstand temperatures of up to 74°F, but the youngest plants perish when water temperatures rise over 68°F.
In Southern California, kelp forests follow a regular cycle of development, growing best during cold periods in the winter and spring, then deteriorating when water warms up in the summer and fall. Extended periods of warm water conditions, like El Niño weather, cause long-term damage to the kelp forests.
My 2-cents ... pay attention to the kelp growth in SoCal for improved SW fishing success.
I have been aware of the kelp growth; for most of my life, but have only begun to truly understand the meaning of the kelp growth for the past 15 years when I started to notice that the best kelp growth periods in my area are from 64° to 68° for optimum growth periods.
The water in LAH is now 62°.
I hope that someone out there found this information to be as helpful and useful as I do.
SP Dan <“))><
