After only three and a half months, the concrete caves on the ocean floor offshore of Goleta Beach are now overgrown with new life — featuring young giant kelp, algae, fish, and spider crabs.
The huge concrete domes were put there by the Fish Reef Project back in March to create the foundation for a new kelp forest and artificial reef system.
It was the realization of a long-held dream and 12 years of hard work by the Santa Barbara–based nonprofit, aiming to replenish depleted underwater habitats on the Central Coast and around the world. The caves’ deployment marked the official beginning of the Fish Reef Project’s five-year Goleta Kelp Reef Restoration Project.