Roarke Brown, a charter boat captain since 1972 in this picturesque fishing village, remembers being able to tread out onto the Kachemak Bay mud flats at low tide to fill a 5-gallon bucket with clams ...

Their fur is so soft it almost led to their extinction, but otters’ recovery has been a boon to Pacific kelp forests, a key ...

Kelp is a large, brown algae that lives in relatively shallow waters close to shore. They grow in large groups that resemble forests on land. These kelp forests are important because they contain a ...

Adorably fuzzy sea otters aren’t just cute. The marine mammals serve a crucial role, helping to restore the giant kelp forests they rely on by removing their top predators, the sea urchins. When ...

SAUSALITO, California (KPIX) — The health of the ocean off the Northern California coast is in trouble, as biologists have seen a massive die-off of the kelp forests that are essential to a healthy ...

SANTA CRUZ — Monterey Bay’s main mascot may turn out to be a secret agent in the fight against climate change. It has long been known that sea otters, nursed back from brink of extinction in the past ...

Monterey Bay”s main mascot may turn out to be a secret agent in the fight against climate change. It has long been known that sea otters, nursed back from brink of extinction in the past several ...

The more prolonged the exposure of sea otters and their offspring are to human activities, the higher the likelihood that ...

The Monterey Bay Aquarium has raised an astounding $2.2 million for its sea otter program, thanks to a surprise boost from global pop star Taylor Swift.

Kelp forests are a crucial California marine ecosystem. From kelp’s floating canopies to its “holdfast” roots, the giant seaweed — algae, actually — supports greater biodiversity and sequesters more ...

California’s underwater kelp forests are in trouble. A combination of climate change and hungry purple sea urchins have decimated these vital forests. But the Monterey Peninsula has a kelp forest ...