program, and recommends management policy, 

 but the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 

 1972 transferred primary responsibility 

 for sea otters to the United States Fish 

 and Wildlife Service, and responsibility 

 for other mammals to the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service. 



The management of the abiotic 

 environment of kelp forests improved con- 

 siderably with the passage of the federal 

 Clean Water Act. Prior management dealt 

 almost solely with questions of direct 

 effects on human health. Many agencies 

 now scrutinize ocean discharge and 

 construction activities that may alter 

 nearshore waters, and most of these agen- 

 cies require the maintenance of community 

 "health" and "balance of indigenous popu- 

 lations." At the Federal level, these 

 agencies include the Environmental Protec- 

 tion Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of 

 Engineers and the U.S. Coast Guard. At 

 the State level, the California State 

 Water Resources Control Board and regional 

 boards regulate discharge into the ocean 

 under guidelines set forth in the 

 California Ocean Plan. Additional control 

 over coastal development that might affect 

 kelp forests is provided by the California 

 Coastal Commission and cities and counties 

 through local coastal programs. 



6.2 COMMERCIAL RESOURCE HARVESTING 



groups for abalone food (see Animals 

 below). The emphasis has shifted from 

 potash to algin production. Algin is a 

 hydrocolloid extracted from kelp that, 

 after further chemical processing, has a 

 variety of uses as an emulsifying and 

 binding agent in food and pharmaceutical 

 industries (Chapman 1970, Frey 1971). A 

 number of regulations have been imposed by 

 the State of California to ensure that 

 harvesting activities have a minimal 

 impact on kelp forests (see Bowden 1981 

 for a thorough discussion). Stands of 

 kelp are given numbers by the State, and 

 some are leased to harvesting companies 

 while others remain open to anyone with a 

 harvesting permit. These companies pay a 

 royalty to the state for each wet ton of 

 kelp harvested (Bowden 1981). Harvesting 

 is now done by ships with large cutting 

 devices on the stern (Figure 30). The 

 ships back through the forest and, much 

 like a hedge trimmer, cut the canopy no 

 lower than 1.2 m below the surface in a 

 strip 8 m wide. This allows vegetative 



i< 



6.2.1 Plants 



6.2.1.1 Macrocystis . One of the 

 oldest and economically most important 

 uses of giant kelp forests is for kelp 

 harvesting. Kelp has been harvested in 

 California since 1910 by various compa- 

 nies. Nearly 400,000 wet tons per year 

 were harvested during 1917 and 1918 

 (Oliphant 1979), primarily as a source of 

 potash for making gunpowder during World 

 War I (Hult 1917, Frey 1971). During this 

 period, harvesting was often done by 

 putting a cable around a stand of kelp, 

 and dragging the plants from the bottom 

 with little regard for the environment 

 (McPeak and Glantz 1984). 



The uses of kelp and the methods of 

 harvest have changed considerably since 

 the early 1900' s. At present, Kelco 

 Company in San Diego is the major harvest- 

 er, with small amounts taken by other 



Entire ship 



i n w 



Kelp-harvesting machinery on the stern 



Figure 30. A modern kelp-harvesting ship 

 operated by Kelco. 



109 



