How is Kelp Changing along the West Coast?
The West Coast Ocean Health Dashboard's Kelp Expert Group worked with the California Ocean Protection Council on its California Kelp Indicator and expanded the assessment to the West Coast.
A team of kelp scientists reviewed decades of data to identify status and trends using overhead imagery that measures the amount of kelp canopy on the ocean’s surface for California, Oregon, and outer Washington. Current Status was calculated as the percent of the coastline with kelp canopy below historical amounts. Historical Trends were determined by examining changes over 40 years.
Learn More About California's Kelp Indicator
Based on the West Coast-wide expansion of the Kelp Indicator–that is, the West Coast Ocean Health Dashboard’s Kelp Indicator:
Kelp numbers have not been this low for more than two decades. A marine heat wave in 2014-2016 led to massive kelp die-offs across the West Coast, and recovery has not yet occurred along large portions of the coast.
Photo Credit: Pike Spector