Kelp

Kelps are large seaweeds in the order Laminariales that form dense canopies in temperate rocky intertidal and subtidal habitats less than 30 m in depth. The kelp flora of the Pacific Northwest is one of the most diverse in the world.

-- Source: Puget Sound Science Review

Giant Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera). Photo by Claire Fackler. Courtesy of NOAA.

OVERVIEW

Kelp

Kelps are large seaweeds in the order Laminariales that form dense canopies in temperate rocky intertidal and subtidal habitats less than 30 m in depth. The kelp flora of the Pacific Northwest is one of the most diverse in the world.

RELATED ARTICLES

Strands of bull kelp near Smith Island in Puget Sound. Photo by Eric Wagner.
9/30/2021

New studies aid kelp conservation

Bull kelp is easily recognized by its wavy leaves and long, floating stipes that sometimes wash ashore like slimy green bullwhips. In that sense, it is one of the more familiar types of seaweed in Puget Sound. But as kelp forests decline throughout the region, scientists are finding that there is much about this increasingly rare species that remains a mystery.

Bull kelp floating on the surface of the sea
6/17/2020

A seed bank for the sea

Identifying kelp stocks that are tolerant of warmer waters could help the Salish Sea’s iconic underwater forests survive climate change.

Volunteer Vernon Brisley surveys a bull kelp bed near Ebey’s Landing on Whidbey Island as part of the Island County MRC regional monitoring project. Photo: Rich Yukubousky
11/21/2019

Kelp crisis? Decline of underwater forests raises alarms

They rival tropical forests in their richness and diversity, but Puget Sound's kelp beds have declined steeply in recent decades. Scientists are just starting to understand the extent of these losses. What they are finding is bringing kelp to the forefront of Puget Sound's environmental concerns.

Bull kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana), the only surface canopy species in the Puget Sound, observed in March 2018. Photo: Brian Allen
5/1/2018

Kelp continues steady decline in Puget Sound

Scientists are trying to learn how to restore Puget Sound’s diminishing kelp forests in an effort to stave off habitat loss for rockfish and other threatened species.

: Underwater view of a person in scuba diving gear holding a clipboard and grasping a stalk of brown kelp.
8/24/2022

Underwater monitoring of kelp forests

Puget Sound Restoration Fund has launched a network to track declining kelp populations in the Salish Sea. The three-year initiative aims to support and standardize underwater monitoring to improve kelp conservation in the region.

A school of brightly colored orange fish shown swimming near kelp.
11/18/2021

Learning from a legacy of overfishing

Fishing for rockfish was once promoted as a sustainable alternative to salmon harvests, but when rockfish numbers plummeted, fisheries managers realized they had a problem. Now a rockfish recovery plan seeks to reverse the damage as scientists learn more about protecting this once-popular game fish.

Canary rockfish. Photo by Tippy Jackson, NOAA
11/30/2018

Respecting the rockfish of the Salish Sea

Puget Sound's rockfish have declined by 70% over the past few decades, prompting state and federal protection efforts. We look at some of the ways that scientists are working to reverse the fish's downward trend.