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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08 - Kelp Restoration ProjectCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT Agenda Item No. 8 October 24, 2006 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM:. City Manager's Office Dave Kiff, Assistant City Manager 949/644 -3002 or dkiff @city . newport- beach:ca.us SUBJECT: Resolution 2006- Relating to.Kelp Reforestation Project; $5,000 expenditure to California CoastKeeper, Alliance ISSUE: Should the City support the final year of the California CoastKeeper Alliance's kelp reforestation program off of Little Corona and Crystal Cove? RECOMMENDATION: Adopt Resolution 2006- _ relating to the California CoastKeeper Alliance's Giant Kelp Reforestation Program; and 2. Authorize the City Manager to expend $5,000 to support California CoastKeeper Alliance's third and final year of the Kelp Reforestation Program. DISCUSSION: Background: Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) is a species of marine alga found along the Pacific coast from central California to Baja California. Giant kelp starts as a microscopic spore at the ocean floor but may grow to 200'. It prefers to grow in depths of less than. 120', temperatures of less than 72 °, and on hard substrate surfaces such as rocky ocean bottoms. Kelp's genus name Macrocystis means "large bladder" and contains at least two. species. Macrocystis pyrifera, or giant bladder kelp, is sometimes referred to as the sequoia of the sea. Macrocystis integrifolia is the small perennial kelp. Giant Kelp Reforestation October 24, 2006 Page 2 A kelp forest is the dense growths of Nereocystis, Macrocystis and Pelagophycus. A kelp bed refers to the smaller laminariates or brown algae which have limited vertical structure and canopies. A giant kelp forest may vary from several hundred feet to one mile wide and several miles long. .Kelp Forest Kelp Sporophyle Plant Kelp plays an important role in the marine environment by providing food and habitat for marine invertebrates and fish in southern California. Forests of giant kelp may support millions of individual organisms and more than 1,000 species of marine plants and animals. The presence or absence of giant kelp is not essential for the spawning of any sport fish species. However, kelp beds provide shelter for the larvae and juveniles of several species such as the kelp topsmelt. The giant kelp holdfast (the point where the kelp attaches to the ocean floor) alone may contain over 150 species. Kelp Lifecycle. Kelp begins life as a microscopic spore which grows into a tiny male. or female plant called a gametophyte. These plants produce eggs and sperm, which fertilize and grow to form the large plants (sporophytes) we see along the coast. The large sporophytes then release many new spores to start the process over again. The minimum amount of time needed to complete the Giant kelp's life cycle is about 12 to 14 months -- although grazing by animals and shading by other plants affects this rate of development. Microscopic Kelp Gametophyte Giant Kelp Reforestation October 24, 2006 Page 3 The average kelp plant is capable of releasing trillions of spores a year. Few if any of the spores produced by a single kelp plant ever make it to adult gametophytes. This is due to: • Sedimentation; • Competition for limited space with other plants or animals; • Lack of light at the ocean floor; • Nutrient limitation; and • Animals (like sea urchins) which graze on the tiny plants. Only 1 in 100,000 young kelp plants need to mature to reestablish the kelp beds. Growth Rate. Studies suggest kelp fronds may grow at rates of 1 -2 feet per day. Although giant kelp plants are perennial, the individual fronds only survive for about 6 -9 months. Fronds of mature kelp plants deteriorate about 6 months after they are produced. Mature fronds continually develop, then die and break away in a process known as sloughing, giving way to the new fronds shooting up from the holdfast. Although the individual fronds only survive for about 6 months, individual blades last only about 4 months. Harvesting. The harvesting of kelp in California is regulated by the California Department of Fish and Game. The State has imposed a number of restrictions on harvesting activities, including permitting kelp harvesters to cut only the upper 1.2 meters (4 feet) of the water column. This regulation is to limit damage to the kelp's reproductive structures and allows Vegetative regrowth from the unharvested fronds. Kelp harvesting is carried out mechanically by ships with mowing devices that cut only the top few feet of the kelp canopy. Small propellers push the harvesting vessel stern first through the water. The cut kelp is gathered on a conveyor system referred to as the drapers that is mounted on the stern and carries the kelp aboard. Modern harvesters carry as much as 550 metric tons of giant kelp which can be collected in a single day of harvesting. Kelp harvesters are unable to work in depths less than 25 feet. Role of the California CoastKeeper Alliance. The California CoastKeeper Alliance (www.cacoastkeeper.org), a Long Beach -based non -profit affiliated with up to 40 other "keeper" organizations, took over a Giant Kelp Restoration Project ( "Project ") about 2 years ago from Orange County CoastKeeper. OC CoastKeeper started the project in 2003 off of Crystal Cove State Park and Little Corona Beach, believing that the giant kelp population off our coast had declined dramatically following El Nino winters and due to predation by, among other things, sea urchins. The lack of kelp may have led to a lack of biodiversity offshore that may completely change the offshore ecosystem. The Project includes growing kelp on small ceramic tiles in a custom "kelp cart" (oftentimes with the assistance of local school groups) which are then placed on the ocean floor. The Alliance believes that the Project needs one more year of work until it can be declared successful. As such, Ms. Nancy Caruso (marine biologist with the project) has asked for $5,000 from the City to complete it. With this $5,000, Ms. Caruso will be able to fund the following through August 2007: 3 Giant Kelp Reforestation October 24, 2006 Page 4 • Boat slip fees; • Boat repair; • Diver training and training materials; • Sea urchin removal; and • Fuel; Committee Action: The Coastal /Bay Water Quality Committee reviewed this request and approved it.at the Committee's October meeting. Environmental Review: The City Council's approval of this Agenda Item does not require environmental review. Public Notice: This agenda item may be noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the public meeting at which the City Council considers the item). Funding Availability: Funding is available in the City Council's professional and technical services account. Submitted by: VA Dave Kiff Assistant City Manager Attachment: Resolution 2006- q Giant Kelp Reforestation October 24, 2006 Page 5 RESOLUTION 2006- A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH RELATING TO FUNDING THE KELP RE- ESTABLISHMENT PROJECT OFF OF THE COAST OF NEWPORT BEACH, CRYSTAL COVE STATE PARK, LAGUNA BEACH AND DANA POINT WHEREAS; the City of Newport Beach and its residents are concerned with coastal water quality and the marine environment; and WHEREAS; the loss of the giant kelp beds offshore during the 1980s dramatically reduced the diversity of the marine environment of the area; and WHEREAS, a Giant Kelp Re- establishment Project ( "Project ") was started in September 2000 with a .3 -year grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( "NOAA ") and an additional NOAA grant continues the project until August of 2007, at which point the project terminates; and WHEREAS, Ms. Nancy Caruso, the marine biologist overseeing the Project with the California CoastKeeper Alliance (www.cacoastkeeper.org) seeks to continue the Project's activities until August of 2007 via a direct contribution from the City of Newport Beach and other affected jurisdictions, in part because the current level of funding is not sufficient to adequately support the Project nor to carry out the necessary tasks needed to be accomplished prior to August of 2007 that will ensure the success of the already established kelp beds; and WHEREAS, the benefits of the Project, which should lead to increased biological diversity and species abundance off of the Central and South Orange County coastlines, include: (1) teaching students from all over Orange County about marine forest ecology and how to grow kelp seedlings in their classrooms; (2) recruiting and training volunteer scuba divers to help in the restoration of the giant kelp and monitor the restored sites; and (3) educating the general public about the importance of the kelp forests through displays at public events, publications and media coverage; and WHEREAS, Ms..Caruso has, as part of the Project: (1) supervised the training of 130 volunteer scuba divers (from all over Southern California) to help with the Project; (2) replanted kelp on more than 5000 square meters of reef in Newport.Beach and Laguna Beach; (3) removed more than 17,000 sea urchins (predators of kelp) from restored kelp sites; (4) taught more than 1000 students in 10 different middle schools and high schools in Orange County (including Newport Harbor High School) how to grow kelp in their classrooms for use in the kelp reestablishment project; and (5) has educated more than 50,000 people through public outreach events held in Orange 5 Giant Kelp Reforestation October 24, 2006 Page 6 County (including activities in the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum in Newport Beach); and WHEREAS, Ms. Caruso desires to continue working on this project until it ends in August of 2007, thus removing another 10,000 sea urchins to help ensure that the reestablished kelp beds can continue to thrive and continuing to monitor all the Newport Beach and. Laguna Beach restoration sites, transplanting kelp and producing summation reports to ensure that the Project may be addressed in the future by another marine biologist. WHEREAS, The requested funds will be. used to pay for slip fees, boat repair, fuel, and restoration supplies and equipment necessary to keep the project going until August of 2007; now, therefore be it RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Newport Beach that the City hereby restates its support of Ms. Caruso's efforts . and those of the CoastKeeper Alliance to restore kelp off of the Central and South Orange County coastline and that it offers the sum of $5,000 to the Project to complete its final year; and be it also RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Newport Beach that the City hereby encourages the cities of Laguna Beach and Dana Point to provide similar support to Ms. Caruso and the California CoastKeeper Alliance for the Project. ADOPTED this 24`h day of October, 2006. DON WEBB Mayor of Newport Beach ATTEST: LAVONNE HARKLESS City .Clerk 11