David Helvarg’s book, The Golden Shore – California’s Love Affair with the Sea has received critical acclaim from marine enthusiasts including Dr. Sylvia Earle who calls it  “a thrilling read.”  In Chapter 3 titled “Ghost Forests,” he reports on the creation of a network of Marine Protected Areas (or Hope Spots) and other reserves that now cover 16 percent of California’s waters.  These include some of the seas off Catalina Island described in the excerpt below.
By: David Helvarg

We’re diving along open sandy bottom when suddenly a six-hundred-pound sea lion streaks past us on the hunt like some sleek, flexible torpedo.  Sometimes they’ll check you out and want to play with the slow, awkward bubble breathers but not this one.  …