Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

You Probably Ate Some Kelp Today

'You won't find [giant kelp] everywhere, for a couple of reasons," says Bruce Stewart, director of programs and exhibits for the Birch Aquarium at Scripps. "One, it needs to be in the right depth, commonly between 25 and 75 feet. It can't be too deep, say, over 100 feet, because it won't get enough sunlight, and if it's too shallow, it will bear the brunt of the waves." On Saturday, November 18, the Birch Aquarium presents "Kelp Kornicopia!" as one of its "Family Days" programs.

In order for kelp to get the nutrients it requires, the water temperature must be between 5 and 20 degrees Celsius. "Kelp changes with ocean climate, with El Niño [which brings currents of warm water] and La Niña [which brings currents of cold]," says marine ecologist Ed Parnell. "The cold water is conducive for kelp to do quite well, but it does poorly during the warm El Niño."

Visitors to the aquarium will have the opportunity to touch algae during an interactive tank dive. "For living creatures, both plants and animals, life would be miserable without mucus," Stewart says. The mucilage created by the kelp (and most aquatic plants) protects the organism from abrasion and aids in the flexibility of its blades in the water. The abalone, a mollusk that feeds primarily on kelp, is immune to the slippery substance. "Abalone will have its foot and extend its mouth [the layer of flesh, or mantle just inside the shell], and it leaves these 'lips,' if you will, sort of out in the water; if kelp comes by and touches [this extended part of the abalone], it gets stuck to it. You can touch this part on an abalone that it catches kelp with, and it won't do anything to your finger. But if you touch kelp and then touch [this part], it will stick like superglue." This suction is not permanent, explains Stewart. "They let go after a second, when they figure out they don't have seaweed."

The kelp anchors itself to the rocky sea bottom with its holdfast. "The holdfast looks like a tangled root system. The individual strands of that root-like structure are called haptera, and those will reach into crevices and essentially cement themselves to the rock," Stewart explains.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"When you look at kelp from the top, like when you're fishing, it looks like a thin floating mattress of kelp; that's where I think the word 'bed' came from. But if you dive down below the canopy, or visit the aquarium, you can see the stipes, or kelp stems, which are equivalent to tree trunks. Because they're flexible, the ropelike stipes -- about the diameter of your finger -- can bend. Extremely strong waves can rip up kelp from their attachments, but they can withstand the most common waves."

In the past century, the health and abundance of local kelp forests -- the largest of which are off the La Jolla and Point Loma shores -- has not been consistent. According to the 2002 Annual Status of the Fisheries report for the California Department of Fish and Game, the annual harvest reached a high of 395,000 tons in 1918 and a low of less than 1000 tons in 1931. Until the company relocated to Scotland in the summer of 2005, nearly all of the kelp along the California coast since 1929 was harvested by Kelco (originally "Kelp Co."), which was acquired by International Specialty Products Inc. in 1998. No large-scale kelp harvesting has been conducted along the coast of California since.

"They would just harvest the first few feet of kelp, and the kelp would regenerate. It's a nice, sustainable industry," says Stewart. Current regulations specify that harvested kelp can be cut no deeper than four feet beneath the surface. Kelp fronds can grow up to two feet a day. Though individual fronds do not live longer than approximately nine months, the base, or holdfast, of the kelp plant can live for up to eight years.

From the kelp, companies like International Specialty Products Inc. make algin and agar. "They're stabilizers and emulsifiers," explains Stewart. "We often eat those without knowing. One common way we eat seaweed is as emulsifiers in chocolate milk and ice cream." Algin is used in cake mixes, salad dressings, frozen foods, and canned foods, as well as nonedible products like cosmetics and building materials. According to the Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, kelp contains about 30 minerals and is rich in iodine, calcium, sulfur, and silicon. Kelp is sometimes used as a dietary supplement for people with mineral deficiencies.

"I wouldn't think you could survive on kelp solely," says Stewart. "Just like you can't get all of your nutritional needs only from beans and rice. But I don't think it would hurt you. My friend Steve once saw a guy collecting sea palms [another brown seaweed] and asked, 'What are you collecting them for?' and the guy said, 'I boil them and eat them with mayonnaise.' Steve asked, 'What do they taste like?' and the guy answered, 'Mayonnaise.'" -- Barbarella

Kelp Kornicopia! Saturday, November 18 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Birch Aquarium at Scripps 2300 Expedition Way La Jolla Cost: $11 adults; $9 seniors; $7.50 youth (aged 3-17): additional $4 for "Explore It" class Info: 858-534-3474 or www.aquarium.ucsd.edu/public

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches

'You won't find [giant kelp] everywhere, for a couple of reasons," says Bruce Stewart, director of programs and exhibits for the Birch Aquarium at Scripps. "One, it needs to be in the right depth, commonly between 25 and 75 feet. It can't be too deep, say, over 100 feet, because it won't get enough sunlight, and if it's too shallow, it will bear the brunt of the waves." On Saturday, November 18, the Birch Aquarium presents "Kelp Kornicopia!" as one of its "Family Days" programs.

In order for kelp to get the nutrients it requires, the water temperature must be between 5 and 20 degrees Celsius. "Kelp changes with ocean climate, with El Niño [which brings currents of warm water] and La Niña [which brings currents of cold]," says marine ecologist Ed Parnell. "The cold water is conducive for kelp to do quite well, but it does poorly during the warm El Niño."

Visitors to the aquarium will have the opportunity to touch algae during an interactive tank dive. "For living creatures, both plants and animals, life would be miserable without mucus," Stewart says. The mucilage created by the kelp (and most aquatic plants) protects the organism from abrasion and aids in the flexibility of its blades in the water. The abalone, a mollusk that feeds primarily on kelp, is immune to the slippery substance. "Abalone will have its foot and extend its mouth [the layer of flesh, or mantle just inside the shell], and it leaves these 'lips,' if you will, sort of out in the water; if kelp comes by and touches [this extended part of the abalone], it gets stuck to it. You can touch this part on an abalone that it catches kelp with, and it won't do anything to your finger. But if you touch kelp and then touch [this part], it will stick like superglue." This suction is not permanent, explains Stewart. "They let go after a second, when they figure out they don't have seaweed."

The kelp anchors itself to the rocky sea bottom with its holdfast. "The holdfast looks like a tangled root system. The individual strands of that root-like structure are called haptera, and those will reach into crevices and essentially cement themselves to the rock," Stewart explains.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"When you look at kelp from the top, like when you're fishing, it looks like a thin floating mattress of kelp; that's where I think the word 'bed' came from. But if you dive down below the canopy, or visit the aquarium, you can see the stipes, or kelp stems, which are equivalent to tree trunks. Because they're flexible, the ropelike stipes -- about the diameter of your finger -- can bend. Extremely strong waves can rip up kelp from their attachments, but they can withstand the most common waves."

In the past century, the health and abundance of local kelp forests -- the largest of which are off the La Jolla and Point Loma shores -- has not been consistent. According to the 2002 Annual Status of the Fisheries report for the California Department of Fish and Game, the annual harvest reached a high of 395,000 tons in 1918 and a low of less than 1000 tons in 1931. Until the company relocated to Scotland in the summer of 2005, nearly all of the kelp along the California coast since 1929 was harvested by Kelco (originally "Kelp Co."), which was acquired by International Specialty Products Inc. in 1998. No large-scale kelp harvesting has been conducted along the coast of California since.

"They would just harvest the first few feet of kelp, and the kelp would regenerate. It's a nice, sustainable industry," says Stewart. Current regulations specify that harvested kelp can be cut no deeper than four feet beneath the surface. Kelp fronds can grow up to two feet a day. Though individual fronds do not live longer than approximately nine months, the base, or holdfast, of the kelp plant can live for up to eight years.

From the kelp, companies like International Specialty Products Inc. make algin and agar. "They're stabilizers and emulsifiers," explains Stewart. "We often eat those without knowing. One common way we eat seaweed is as emulsifiers in chocolate milk and ice cream." Algin is used in cake mixes, salad dressings, frozen foods, and canned foods, as well as nonedible products like cosmetics and building materials. According to the Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, kelp contains about 30 minerals and is rich in iodine, calcium, sulfur, and silicon. Kelp is sometimes used as a dietary supplement for people with mineral deficiencies.

"I wouldn't think you could survive on kelp solely," says Stewart. "Just like you can't get all of your nutritional needs only from beans and rice. But I don't think it would hurt you. My friend Steve once saw a guy collecting sea palms [another brown seaweed] and asked, 'What are you collecting them for?' and the guy said, 'I boil them and eat them with mayonnaise.' Steve asked, 'What do they taste like?' and the guy answered, 'Mayonnaise.'" -- Barbarella

Kelp Kornicopia! Saturday, November 18 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Birch Aquarium at Scripps 2300 Expedition Way La Jolla Cost: $11 adults; $9 seniors; $7.50 youth (aged 3-17): additional $4 for "Explore It" class Info: 858-534-3474 or www.aquarium.ucsd.edu/public

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule
Next Article

Top Websites To Buy Instagram Likes + Bonus Tip!

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.