Kelp Forest

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Discover an underwater forest—at 28 feet, the Kelp Forest is one of the tallest aquarium exhibits in the world. You’ll get a diver’s-eye-view of sardines, leopard sharks, wolf-eels and a host of other fishes as they weave through swaying fronds of kelp, just like they do in the wild.

Exhibit News

Up Close and Personal with a Giant Sea Bass

Just when you think you’ve seen all the charismatic animals in the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Kelp Forest exhibit, a lumbering giant catches your eye. It’s the giant sea bass (Stereolepis gigas), a fish that can reach 500 pounds but is so gentle it likes to have its chin scratched by divers.

Read the full story on our Sea Notes blog

Did You Know?

Our kelp plants grow an average of about four inches a day and require weekly underwater gardening by scuba divers who untangle and trim the fast-growing plants.
Don’t be surprised if you see rockfish hanging motionless or even upside down among the kelp blades. These fish can hover without sinking or floating because they have a gas-filled sac called a swim bladder helps them stay put.
Pumps push up to 2000 gallons of sea water a minute through the exhibit and a specially designed surge machine creates the constant water movement that kelp needs to survive.

More cool kelp facts

Don’t Miss

Look for these cool creatures in the exhibit

Celebrating 25 Years of Ocean Conservation