Ship Rock
Two Harbors · Catalina Island · California
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Updated 6:00 AM PT todayThe clarity holds through the day, with a light afternoon onshore the only disturbance to the entry shallows.
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33.462° N · 118.487° W
Catalina Island, CA 90704
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Open in Apple MapsAbout Ship Rock
Ship Rock is a small jagged pinnacle that breaks the surface about two miles off the Isthmus at Two Harbors, north of Bird Rock. It rises from deep water, and the current runs hard across it on most flooding tides. The exposed top is a sea lion haul-out, and below the waterline the entire structure is rock. The sheltered north and east faces carry a giant kelp canopy anchored to the rock at about 60 feet of depth and grown up through the water column to the surface. The exposed south and west faces are sheer drops with crevices in them, and the sandy bottom sits at 110 feet around the base. The dive is open-ocean work with current and depth, run off a boat.
The kelp-covered north and east faces make Ship Rock a kelp forest biome. The sheer south and west drops are vertical structure with a sharp depth change, a canyon biome. The surrounding deep open water carries migratory currents and pelagic species year-round, which is what makes the site a pelagic biome as well.
Access is boat-only. Charters work the rock from Two Harbors, Avalon, and the mainland, and the run from any of those is short. Fishing and spearfishing are legal under standard California regulations because the pinnacle sits outside any MPA. The inshore band toward Two Harbors crosses Bird Rock SMCA and the Blue Cavern Onshore SMCA, and position should be verified with a chartplotter before any harvest.
Kelp Forest
The kelp forest biome is giant kelp anchored to rocky bottom and growing up through the water column. The canopy and stipes form a three-dimensional habitat that shelters fish, invertebrates, and the predators that hunt them. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome Glossary
Canyon
The canyon biome is sharp vertical relief with a real depth change — walls, pinnacles, and drop-offs. The structure draws current-borne food and concentrates fish and large predators along its edges. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome Glossary
Pelagic
The pelagic biome is open water away from the bottom and from structure. It is the realm of fast, schooling fish and the large predators that follow them in from deeper water. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome GlossaryTarget Fish Species
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