White Rock (Avila)

White Rock breaks the surface in the east part of San Luis Obispo Bay, close to a mile off the bluffs between Pirate's Cove and Shell Beach, and is reached by boat from Port San Luis Harbor. Kelp beds ring the rock, and rocky structure spreads across the bottom around it to depths of about 50 feet. Lingcod, cabezon and kelp bass are the fish the site is known for, alongside a solid invertebrate community on the rock.

Boulder and reef structure across the bottom, bare in the gaps between the kelp and topping out at a rock that shows above water, is a rocky reef biome. Bull and giant kelp anchored on that structure and standing up through the water column to the surface make the site a kelp forest biome as well. The water outside the kelp line, where larger fish and seasonal pelagic species pass, is a pelagic biome.

Spearfishing and scuba are the dominant activities, and the shallow depth also puts the rock within reach of snorkelers on a calm day. Nothing about the site is demanding: the water is shallow, the current is mild, and the kelp knocks down what swell reaches this corner of the bay. The east half of San Luis Obispo Bay faces south and sits behind Point San Luis, which is what keeps it diveable when the open coast is not.

There is no MPA at this site. Hook-and-line fishing and spearfishing are legal here under standard California regulations. A second White Rock stands off Cambria at the north end of the county, inside a conservation area where all take is prohibited, and the two are not the same place.