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Kelp Disaster Unfolds In Pacific

Peter Southwood/Wikimedia

Items that we find on the beach may not look terribly important to the casual observer, but can have critical importance to creatures beneath the surface. 

Case in point: kelp.  It is a major food source for some sea creatures, and kelp forests on the West Coast have been decimated by a series of events.  In California, there's less than 10% of the usual kelp.

As a result, the abalone fishery has been shut down on both sides of the state line. 

Cynthia Catton is a scientist with California Fish and Wildlife.  Scott Groth works for Oregon Fish and Wildlife.  They join us with details of the kelp situation... and news of the creatures that depend upon kelp.  

 

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Geoffrey Riley is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has hosted the Jefferson Exchange on JPR since 2009. He's been a broadcaster in the Rogue Valley for more than 35 years, working in both television and radio.
April Ehrlich is an editor and reporter at Oregon Public Broadcasting. Prior to joining OPB, she was a news host and regional reporter at Jefferson Public Radio.