Do Divers Impact Kelp?
A 1998 report, which has been criticized for being poorly conducted, found that recreational SCUBA diving causes damage to kelp communities. The study was funded in part by the NOAA Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. However, some CenCal members have suggested the study is simply another product of the anti-diving contingent in Pacific Grove and Monterey. The report surveyed 42 divers as they explored Breakwater Cove, Macabee Beach and Lover’s Point Cove in Monterey Bay. The divers were not chosen randomly, but “by convenience.” The study authors also sent questionnaires to dive training officers at universities on the Pacific Coast, asking how often their divers unintentionally touch the bottom, stir up sediment, or detach algal blades during a 30 minute dive in a kelp forest or bed. The study found that during a half-hour-long dive, the average diver contacted the bottom 43 times, touched four animals, and detached two algal blades. They concluded that while diver-impacts may be
