Mile 184 - N of Ocean Beach Picnic Area, S of Squaw Creek - June 14, 2021

Report Details

It was a warm day with a low tide bringing lots of visitors to Ocean Beach. I found an unusual amount of kelp on the beach both in the debris line and along the beach. It appears that the crab molt is beginning. I found a large plastic pallet at the foot of the stairs onto the beach. It has been reported. I also found some fishing line and a marked buoy, also reported. There were a significant amount of large plastics on the beach as well. The exposed rocks today had lots of mussels and sea stars. I didn't observe any signs of wasting disease. This was my first visit to the beach since last fall that I have not observed any rock fields. At the north end of the beach by the cave there was a large concentration of driftwood.

Conditions

Temperature: 57 F. Cloud Cover: Partly Cloudy. Tide Level: -0.9 feet.

Human Activities

Number of people: 29. Number of dogs: 2. Walking or running: 17. Playing in sand: 3. Sitting: 2. Tidepooling: 7. It was a warm day with a low tide on Ocean Beach. The beach was so wide! Lots of people enjoying the exposed tide pools and sea stars.

Vehicles

Cars/trucks parking: 12.

Driftline Content

Seaweeds and seagrass, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Marine debris (plastic, styrofoam, etc. washing in from the sea), Ocean-based debris (from fishing boats, ship trash, etc.). There was an unusual concentration of kelp in the drift line and all along the beach. It appears to be the beginning of the crab molting season.