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Content Citation
	Title of Content:	Multi-Year California Kelp Distribution
	Type of Content:	Downloadable Data
	Content Publisher:	TerraLogic GIS, Inc. (data compilation), California Department of Fish and Game, Marine Region GIS Lab (data development - California)
	Publication Date:	2004
Content Description
	Content Summary: This data set delineates kelp beds (Nereocystis leutkeana and Macrocystis spp.) along the Pacific Coast of California. Multiple years of kelp mapping data for the state have been compiled into a single coastwide data set. Due to variability in oceanographic and climatic conditions, kelp bed abundance and distribution is extremely variable from year to year. Therefore kelp bed locations and extent in a particular year may not reflect current or past conditions. In addition, the methods for mapping kelp in California have changed over time. Despite these caveats, this multi-year kelp coverage can be used to identify areas that have been known to support kelp growth, and investigate general patterns of kelp distribution on a coastwide scale. California has three coastal kelp surveys. The first survey, 1989, was a coastwide survey using the same contractor and method as Washington State. Kelp canopy data from the second survey, 1999, was created from digital image processing of scanned aerial photographs. The 2002 survey was performed with a Digital Multispectral Video (DMSV) sensor and kelp beds were delineated by digital image processing techniques.
	Content Purpose: These data were developed for Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission in cooperation with the National Marine Fisheries Service Northwest Region and the Pacific Fishery Management Council in support of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to consider the designation and conservation of Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for Pacific Coast Groundfish. These data were consolidated and integrated in a GIS format to support spatially explicit groundfish habitat modelling and impacts assessment on a coastwide scale.
Time Period of Content
	Date:	REQUIRED: The year (and optionally month, or month and day) for which the data set corresponds to the ground.
Content Status
	Progress:	Complete
	Update Frequency:	Unknown
Spatial Domain
	West Coordinate:	-125.018483
	East Coordinate:	-114.862038
	North Coordinate:	48.396969
	South Coordinate:	32.554151
	Coverage Area:	west coast, California, Northwest Pacific Ocean
Content Keywords
	Theme Keywords:	kelp, marine plant, coastal, Nerocystis, Macrocysits, essential fish habitat (EFH)
	Place Keywords:	west coast, California, Northwest Pacific Ocean
Spatial Data Information
	Data Type:	vector digital data
	Data Format:	Shapefile
	Data Projection:	Albers Conical Equal Area
Access and Usage Information
	Access Constraints:	none
	Use Constraints:	none