Fish and Game Arrests Abalone Poachers
A five-month investigation into suspected Northern California abalone poaching by a band of San Francisco divers culminated this summer with four arrests, the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) announced. A search warrant was served and at least one vehicle that was allegedly used in the illegal take of scores of red abalone was impounded as part of the investigation.
Wardens from DFG’s covert Special Operations Unit (SOU) launched the investigation in May after uncovering the alleged poaching ring. Surveillance by members of the unit eventually linked more than a dozen people from San Francisco, Richmond and Daly City to the ongoing illegal enterprise.

Charges of harvesting abalone for commercial purposes and unlawfully selling abalone taken under sport licenses have been filed with the San Francisco District Attorney’s Environmental Unit, and with the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

California sport fishing regulations allow for the take of three red abs per day, 24 per year, with a maximum possession of no more than three at any time. Sport fishing for abalone is allowed only north of San Francisco Bay from April 1 through November with July closed.

“Poaching continues to be a major concern to the long-term sustainability of the state’s red abalone population,” said DFG Capt. Tony Warrington. “With the success of this operation and the arrest of these suspects, DFG is eliminating another threat to this resource.”

Wardens arrested Li Sheng Chen, 52, when they served a search warrant at his apartment in San Francisco. Investigators believed Chen was the ringleader for the coordinated poaching operation.
Also taken into custody were Wu Qiang Zhang, 40, Nichole Zhang Li, 43, and Betty Ai Hang Guo, 30, all of San Francisco. Zhang and Li were booked into San Francisco County Jail on $10,000 bail. Guo was booked into the San Mateo County Jail.

Each charge of taking abalone for commercial purposes and selling or buying abalone is subject to up to a $40,000 fine and a year in county jail. That is in addition to the potential loss of fishing privileges for life.

DFG launched the operation after wardens monitoring the northern coast off Mendocino County spotted the divers taking more abalone than the legal limit. Mendocino and Sonoma counties account for 96 percent of the state’s sport abalone activity.

Wardens watched the suspects for several weeks as they traveled between the north coast and the Bay Area where they sold the abalone. Twice, wardens watched while sales of numerous abalones occurred.

Surveys have shown no significant reproductive events in red abalone in more than a decade. The growth rate of north coast red abalone is extremely slow, taking up to 10 years for abalone to reach legal size.

“Sale of abalone will not be tolerated in San Francisco. We will do everything we can to prosecute the offenders and protect this natural treasure,” said Debbie Mesloh, of the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.

Red abalone is associated with rocky kelp habitat ranging from Oregon into Baja California. In northern and central California, red abalone is found from the inter-tidal to the shallow sub-tidal depths. The southern California fishery was closed in 1997 due to its near depletion. A successful red abalone sport-only fishery continues to the north of San Francisco County, where scuba has always been prohibited and commercial take was only allowed for a three-year period during World War II.

DAN Report in Print
The 2004 edition of the annual Divers Alert Network (DAN) Report on Decompression Illness, Diving Fatalities and Project Dive Exploration is now available.

The 2004 Report uses data supplied to DAN for the 2002 calendar year. It includes information on:
• 89 U.S. and Canadian residents who died during recreational diving;
• 348 dive injury reports DAN received from participating hyperbaric chambers involving U.S. and Canadian residents; and
• 17,060 “safe” or non-injury-causing dives collected from 2,214 participants in Project Dive Exploration (PDE), an observational study by DAN that collects pressure-time exposures from computers worn by recreational divers.

This annual report has been published since 1987 and has become one of the most valuable sources of information about safety in recreational scuba diving, often quoted in popular journals, newspapers and scientific papers. This year’s report includes a five-year (1998-2002) examination of trends in dive fatalities, dive injuries and PDE, plus comparisons between fatality and injury data summarized by DAN from 1987-1997.

The product code for the report is 401-6900. Cost is $22 per copy. Order it by calling 1-800-446-2671 or +1-919-684-2948, or by visiting the product catalog at the DAN web site (www.DiversAlertNetwork.org).

The 2004 Report on Decompression Illness, Diving Fatalities and Project Dive Exploration also is available on the DAN web site for downloading free by DAN Members. In addition, copies of the reports from 2003, 2002 and 2001 are available for free downloads by Members. To download a copy of any of the reports, go to the DAN web site at www.DiversAlertNetwork.org/medical/report and log in with your DAN Member number and password.

Online access to the annual Report on Decompression Illness, Diving Fatalities and Project Dive Exploration is an exclusive benefit of DAN membership. If you are not a DAN Member, you may join by visiting the web site at www.diversalertnetwork.org/myaccount/new/step1a.asp.

New Fish & Game Patrol Boats Operational
California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Director Ryan Broddrick christened this summer the Department’s new fleet of five state-of-the-art marine patrol boats. Stationed along the coast in major ocean ports, the vessels will enhance the department’s ability to enforce the laws that protect ocean resources against violations off the California coast.

“These new high-tech patrol boats will greatly assist our game wardens in their efforts to oversee and protect California’s marine resources,” Broddrick said. “The dedication of these vessels as the newest boats to join the marine enforcement fleet signifies our commitment to oversee, manage and protect California’s marine fish and wildlife resources.”

For the first time, all five of the patrol boats are now on-line. The five new vessels are 58-foot catamarans and are equipped with twin 660-horsepower diesel-powered engines. Each one features cutting-edge technology and speed that make them formidable against all vessels on the open sea. Vessels were purchased with funds from the Marine Life Management Act and through legislative appropriations.
These new vessels support the plan to replace many of DFG’s larger offshore patrol boats with newer and more efficient foil-supported catamaran designs. The new boats are capable of responding at almost twice the speed, and are more fuel efficient and less costly to operate.

Following are the five new patrol vessels (P/V) and the areas they cover:
— P/V Marlin, Berkeley - San Francisco Bay to Fort Bragg, as well as offshore waters and the Farallon Islands.
— P/V Steelhead, Monterey - Monterey to San Francisco, including the Farallon Islands.
— P/V Swordfish, Ventura - San Luis Obispo County waters in the north to Los Angeles County in the south, as well as around the Channel Islands.
— P/V Coho, Long Beach - Los Angeles basin including the Channel Islands.
— P/V Thresher, Dana Point - All ocean waters from the California/Mexico border to Point Conception, and out to Catalina and San Clemente Islands, as well as all offshore waters.

With the addition of the new patrol boats, the DFG’s fleet of enforcement vessels now totals seven. Already online are the P/V Albacore, based out of Eureka and covering the waters from Crescent City to Fort Bragg, and the P/V Bluefin from Morro Bay, which patrols the waters from Monterey to Pt. Conception.

Each of the new boats carries an 18-foot Zodiac Hurricane skiff and operates an “A” frame hoist system for safe launch and retrieval of the skiff in rough seas. During normal ocean tours, which may last several days, the vessels will carry a permanent crew of four. Each boat includes a lieutenant as skipper, two boarding officers, and a motor vessel engineer.

“These patrol boats, along with two existing large patrol vessels and 15 medium-sized patrol boats, comprise the largest, most modern conservation law enforcement marine fleet in the world,” said DFG’s Assistant Enforcement Chief Frank Spear.

The new boats are capable of patrolling out to 200 miles from shore and have a range of 550 miles per trip. By coordinating the patrol activities of the DFG’s fleet with twin-engine aircraft spotters through high-level communication systems, DFG’s patrol boats will have overlapping support and can be used for many other types of law enforcement activities.

In addition to helping carry out the Department’s enforcement mission to enforce current regulations and legislative mandates, these new patrol boats and their crews will also provide Department scientists with research and resource management support, assist with search-and-rescue operations, and respond to major pollution incidents.

MLPA Implementation on Central Coast
In 1999, a bill was passed to set aside several large areas along the California coast and around its offshore islands as “no-take” zone marine preserves. The plan is known as the MLPA (Marine Life Protection Act). To date, due to legal battles and financial woes, none of the plan has been implemented. Actions are now being taken to begin organizing preserve management and enforcement on the Central Coast in the near future.

Conception Dives Oil Rig Holly
In September , Conception was the first dive boat to ever bring sport divers to oil rig Holly. Holly is an active drilling rig first set in place in 1966. She lies about 12 miles north of Santa Barbara Harbor and a bit over 2 miles offshore in 215 feet of water. The prolific growth of California sea mussels, giant acorn barnacles, anemones, tube worms, and rock scallops have been developing, undisturbed for nearly forty years.
Like any of the other oil rig dives, Holly offered up a dazzling cornucopia of life for the enjoyment of the divers but there was that added excitement of being the first ones to see it. The trip was part of the Channel Islands Council of Divers fund-raising events for the hyperbaric chamber on Catalina Island and for their “uninsured diver fund.” Dave Shaw, chairman of the fund-raiser said that they had planned for both of their trips this year to be to oil platform Grace, but when Venoco (owner of the rigs) offered Holly as an alternative, he jumped on it. The trip on Conception was quickly a sell out. —via email from Andrew Lee

Live White Shark at Monterey Aquarium
A young white shark caught accidentally off Southern California in a commercial fishing net has been put on display at the Monterey Bay Aquarium — the only live white shark on exhibit anywhere in the world. During her first day, the shark dined on four wild-caught salmon filets (350 grams), the first time in history that any white shark has fed while on exhibit.

About 4-feet-4-inches long and weighing about 60 pounds, she was brought to Monterey as part of our three-year white shark research project. The aquarium hopes to have the shark on long-term exhibit, though no one else has exhibited one for more than 16 days. They will constantly evaluate her condition and decide day-to-day whether she’ll remain on display.