Great Ocean Forests: A Journey Through the World’s Kelp Forests

Stunning underwater photography of the world's great marine kelp forests and the wildlife they shelter.

Kelp forests, which thrive in cold, nutrient-rich waters, are found along the coasts of every continent except Antarctica. These underwater environs are both stunningly beautiful and the key to entire ecosystems, as they provide food, shelter, and breeding grounds for a multiplicity of marine life. Some argue they may even have served as guides for humans over 15,000 years ago--as a continuous corridor of food and resources, along the Pacific coast, from Asia to the Americas.

With transcendent photography and compelling accounts from freedivers and conservationists Faine Loubser and Ross Frylinck, this book offers a glimpse of these ocean forests firsthand. Dive beneath the midnight sun in the Arctic Circle and watch the northern lights dance over the waters of Shetland, Scotland. In New Zealand, swim with playful sea lions off Stewart Island. In South Africa's Cape of Good Hope, cross paths with dusky dolphins whales and sharks. Meet an austral sea wolf in the icy Strait of Magellan and learn from kelp harvesters on remote islands in Japan.

Hidden Ocean Forests documents kelp forests across every continent, showcasing their rich biodiversity and long-lasting impacts on human culture. These remarkable images and enchanting essays reveal the hidden beauty, significance, and fragility of these underwater forests from dives off the coasts of Chile, England, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, South Africa, and the United States.