on experience with Pendleton Artificial 

 Reef and a review of other reef and 

 various succession studies, timing of 

 placement, proximity to natural kelp 

 stands, and physical relief appear 

 particularly important to rapid forest 

 development (LOSL 1983). Reefs should 

 probably be "seeded" with Macrocystis 

 spores soon after placement, and may have 

 to be further manipulated at various times 

 (e.g., remove grazers, add particular 

 predators) if rapid community development 

 and a persistent Macrocystis population 

 are desired (LOSL 1983). It must also be 

 recognized that all present and future 

 efforts to create Macrocystis monocultures 

 or communities involve changes in, or 

 destruction of, portions of other communi- 

 ties such as oceanic or sand bottom. 

 Obstructions on an otherwise level bottom 

 may also obstruct trawls. 



The first attempt to create a "con- 

 tained" kelp forest is currently underway 

 in Monterey, California. An indoor tank 

 9-m deep holding over 1,000,000 liters of 

 sea water was constructed as part of the 

 Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey (Martin 

 pers. comm.). This tank, with its upper 

 surface open to the sky and sea water 

 supplied by a large flow-through system, 

 houses a giant kelp forest community that, 

 given the tank size and flow rates, is 

 hoped to be self-sustaining. For the 

 first time, people are able to view the 

 community directly without diving. The 

 facility provides excellent opportunities 

 for education and research. 



6.7 ENDANGERED SPECIES 



The gray whale, brown pelican, and 

 sea otter, all found in and around kelp 

 forests (see Section 4.6.2.2), are 

 currently listed as threatened or endan- 

 gered. The former two species are common 

 in many other habitats, and populations of 

 both are recovering now that hunting (in 

 the case of the gray whale), and the use 

 of DDT (in the case of the brown pelican) 

 have been reduced (see discussion in 

 Section 4.6.2.2). They will not be 

 discussed further. 



Sea otters are more intimately 

 associated with kelp forests, and their 

 management has been more controversial. 

 This is partly because otter foraging has 



significant impacts on particular 

 fisheries, because sea otters are very 

 attractive to most people, and because the 

 animal and the fisheries are currently 

 managed by different agencies. As a 

 result of the Marine Mammal Protection 

 Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is 

 responsible for the sea otter, with the 

 goal of developing optimal population 

 sizes of this animal consistent with 

 maintenance of the "health" and "sta- 

 bility" of the ecosystem. The California 

 Department of Fish and Game is also 

 responsible for the ecosystem, organisms 

 other than mammals, and fisheries. One 

 view of the management problem is stated 

 by Hardy et al . (1982): "If one has a 

 legally mandated responsibility to manage 

 shellfish fisheries for maximum sustain- 

 able yield and concurrently manages a 

 shellfish predator, the sea otter, for an 

 optimum sustainable population, then 

 obviously a managerial dilemma exists. 

 The superimposition of a higher managerial 

 authority may add further problems when 

 the latter' s prime concern is the 

 predator." 



On the fisheries side of the argu- 

 ment, there is good evidence that the 

 expanding sea otter population has elimi- 

 nated the commercial abalone fishery 

 within the otter's present range, and has 

 nearly eliminated sport fisheries for 

 abalone, Pismo clams, and crabs (Miller 

 and Geibel 1973, Stephenson 1977, Hardy et 

 al. 1982; but see Estes and Van Blaricom 

 in press, for alternative interpreta- 

 tions). As the population expands or as 

 individuals are translocated to other 

 areas, sea otters may have further impacts 

 on these fisheries as well as those for 

 lobsters to the south, and Dungeness crabs 

 to the north. However, Van Blaricom (in 

 press) points out that sea otter foraging 

 may enhance the commercial kelp harvest, 

 and may increase certain fin-fish stocks 

 and other kelp-associated species. On the 

 other side of the argument, the sea otter 

 population in California may still be 

 threatened with extinction. Population 

 size appears to have leveled off within 

 its present range (see Section 4.6.2.2). 

 There is a debate over whether the 

 population is at carrying capacity within 

 its present range, and Van Blaricom and 

 Jameson (1982) suggested that the present 

 population could be threatened if a large 



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