At night they look for prey in deeper waters. Thousands of divers explore the kelp forest each year. The Kelp rockfish is one of the most common rockfish found in the kelp forest of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. It spends most of its time on or near the bottom where it blends in with its surroundings. Southern sea otters are a common sight int he Sanctuary, despite the fact that the overall population is very endangered.
Sea otters use the kelp forests to eat, sleep, mate, and hide from predators.
Unlike the rocky intertidal zone, the open ocean is an area that does not change much from day to day. Gray whales, sea ions, dolphins, and other marine mammals are prey for transient Killer whales. Blue sharks spend almost all their time in the open ocean. They grow to a length of about 11-12 feet and feed primarily on small fish.