"Gray whales and seals come in, and occasionally orcas," he says. "There are kelp beds offshore." At low tide, when large swaths of the beach become exposed, Goedert goes in search of fossils ...

Sea otters, considered keystone species, often float among the kelp, using it as an anchor while resting. These ecosystems also attract larger predators such as seals and sea lions, all drawn by ...

The kelp rises in towering columns, over a hundred feet tall, and the light passing through and around it appears in shifting layers of gold and green. A harbor seal pup may glide past ...

Stunning photos posted to Facebook show the dive team’s encounter with an inquisitive harbor seal during a training dive through the kelp forests of eastern Santa Cruz Island in Channel Islands ...

The much greater age of these coastal kelp forests, which today are a rich ecosystem supporting otters, sea lions, seals, and many birds, fish and crustaceans, means that they likely were a main ...

Just a decade ago, the kelp forests were healthy and vibrant ... La Jolla shouldn’t be defined by seal selfies but celebrated for its unique ocean swimming areas, bodysurfing-only reef break ...

Scientists and tribal leaders say reintroducing otters would restore balance to degraded kelp forests ... of men and women marrying sea otters, seals and beavers. These animals bring gifts ...

Read more stories like this at hakaimagazine.com. Kelp is common along temperate shorelines around the world. For millennia, this large brown algae has been vital to coastal Indigenous peoples.