The abalone season in the south is closed. If the otter continue to spread their range, the diversity and richness of life will be dramatically reduced. Still, there will always be divers that belong exploring in the water and are at home with the fish. One other thing about California Diving. When cold water diving, you do not have to be quite as careful of the bottom life as in the warm water.
Coral is incredibly fragile.
Algae is among the fastest growing plants in the world. It is never good to be careless about it, but pulling along the bottom by grabbing rocks or kelp holdfasts, does minimal damage in the colder waters and allows the diver a completely different way to move through the reef. Often the diver ends up in places that are actually too confined for really swimming. The pictures are not meant to be just a fish guide, they are meant to tell the story too. Look at the picture of Begg Rock and tell me that that little rock doesn't represent some exotic and remote diving.