Bull Kelp

At a glance

Bull Kelp (Nereocystis luetkeana) is a marine alga regulated in 4 of 66 jurisdictions tracked by CatchRules across the U.S. and Canada.

The strictest bag limit is 1 (Oregon); the most generous is 10 (California).

Confirmed by 13,657 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with British Columbia, California, and Washington the top jurisdictions by observation count.

Notable details

• Can grow up to 4 inches (10 cm) in a single day during peak season.
• It is an annual species, completing its entire life cycle within one year.
• The hollow, gas-filled bulb at its tip keeps the leaf canopy floating at the surface.
• Can reach total lengths of over 100 feet (30 meters) from holdfast to canopy tip.
• Forms dense underwater forests from Alaska to central California.

Where Bull Kelp are seen

• British Columbia5,923 iNat obs
• California4,237 iNat obs
• Washington2,156 iNat obs
• Oregon917 iNat obs
• Alaska424 iNat obs

Jurisdictions with rules for Bull Kelp

• CaliforniaUnited States · official source
• OregonUnited States · official source
• WashingtonUnited States · official source

Background

Nereocystis (Greek for "mermaid's bladder") is a monotypic genus of subtidal kelp containing the species Nereocystis luetkeana. Some English names include edible kelp, bull kelp, bullwhip kelp, ribbon kelp, bladder wrack, and variations of these names. Due to the English name, bull kelp can be confused with southern bull kelps, which are found in the Southern Hemisphere. Nereocystis luetkeana…

Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Bull Kelp article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.

Other brown algae/kelps on CatchRules

• bladder wrackFucus vesiculosus
• BeanweedScytosiphon lomentaria
• Bottlebrush seaweedAnalipus japonicus