Kelp Can Grow Up to 18 Inches in a Single Day

Few living things grow as fast as kelp. NOAA’s National Ocean Service states that in ideal conditions kelp can grow up to 18 inches per day, in stark contrast to slow-growing corals. Kelp are not plants in the usual sense. NOAA describes them as large brown algae that live in cool, relatively shallow waters close to the shore, where they grow in dense groupings much like a forest on land. Like trees in a forest, these giant algae provide food and shelter for thousands of fish, invertebrate and marine mammal species. Sea otters, seals, sea lions and whales are among the animals that use kelp forests for protection or feeding. Because kelp depends on light for photosynthesis, the forests form in shallow open waters and are rarely found deeper than 49 to 131 feet.