94 



REPORT OF THE FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



Kelp. 



The cutting of kelp along our coast for the potash contained therein 

 is a new and very large industry which has sprung up within the last 

 two years. The immense beds or groves of kelp are all within three 

 miles of the shore and come under the jurisdiction of the state. At the 

 1914—1915 session of the legislature the State Fish and Game Com- 

 mission was given the same supervision over the kelp and other marine 

 plants that it has over the fish and game, so that it will be the duty 

 of the Fish and Game Commission to enforce any state laws that may be 

 passed for the regulation or conservation of the kelp industry. 



It has long been known that the kelp along the Pacific coast contained 

 a high percentage of potash. Considerable experimenting has been done 

 to find methods of gathering the kelp and extracting the potash and 

 other by-products that are commercially profitable. 



Fig. 58. A fish reduction plant for the manufacture of fertilizer, and a kelp reduction plant, 

 at Long Beach. Photographs by H. B. Nidever. 



The main source of our potash supply has been Germany, w^here 

 deposits in Avhat were ancient lakes or seas are found. The United 

 States Department of Agriculture, realizing the importance of having 

 a source of supply of our own and wishing to encourage the greater 

 use of potash as a fertilizer to increase our crops, started an investiga- 

 tion of our kelp beds and conducted experiments in extracting the 

 pota.sh. The results of these investigations are to be found in Report 

 No. 100 of the United States Department of Agriculture. 



The beds of kelp which can be profitably harvested in California are 

 all of them along the southern coast of the state, mostly south of Point 

 Coneepcion. Immense beds are also found along the peninsula of 

 Lower California in Mexican waters. 



The kelp is very largely composed of water and to profital)ly extract 

 the potash large quantities will have to be handled. It recjuires a 

 great outlay of capital for a company to embark in the enterprise. 

 The high price of potash caused by the war has been such an inducement 

 that several large companies have built plants at Long Beach and San 

 Diego and are now beginning to harvest the kelp, confident that there 



