By Jett Britnell

Rays of sunlight pierced the lush mat of bull kelp floating directly overhead. Off to my right, a simmering stream of bubbles percolated to the surface. Below, several divers were scouring the rocky nooks and crannies of the drop-off's anemone-carpeted ledges for an octopus or wolf eel den. My dive plan was to stay shallow and venture deep into a towering stand of bull kelp.

I visually plotted a course that would allow me to successfully penetrate the forest of amber seaweed. I gingerly inspected each ropy stipe and swaying kelp frond I passedsomewhere in all this thick undergrowth I knew I would eventually detect shrimp, crabs or the elusive kelp clingfish.

I spotted something quite unusual. Perched atop a crop of juvenile kelp, I saw a crab with a large egg mass under its carapace. It was tossing its eggs into the water column like rice at a wedding.

At the end of the kelp bed I noticed a large school of herring swirling beneath the kelp canopy. The shimmering cloud mutated into various shapes. I set down on a sandy area to watch the maelstrom of baitfish. Suddenly, the herring ball exploded like fireworks. Another ocean predator was plundering these depths. Whenever the herring ball swooped close to the sea floor, several ling cod would erupt from the bottom with their mouths agape leaving the water column flaked with silvery scales. I watched this life and death struggle repeat itself for several minutes.

For the complete article "Kelp Fiction" Pick up the December 1999 issue of DIVER Magazine.