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Black Sea Bass Sightings Increasing Along Coast
Another positive sign of the healthy population increase of giant black sea bass in Southern California waters is the increased number of sightings right off the mainland beaches. The latest was at Escondido Beach. Escondido Beach is an easy beach dive just a mile south of Paradise Cove in the Malibu area of Los Angeles County. Access is right off PCH (very limited parking), surf is generally calm and there is a nice kelp forest offshore. Visibility is, however, usually quite poor.
Sea Lion Removed from San Francisco Runway.
A 280-lb sea lion was found prowling San Francisco airport runway. Apparently the critter was ill from exposure to algae toxins. Volunteers from the Marine Mammal Center took him to their shelter, where he’s recuperating.
Pacific Rockfish Closures
On June 20, the Pacific Fishery Management ruled to protect dwindling West Coast rockfish stocks by immediately closing major areas of the continental shelf and slope to bottom fishing for the remainder of the calendar year. Environmental Defense today called the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s ruling an unfortunate but necessary action to address steep declines in important fish populations that could become extinct.
“We had hoped, in recent years, that regulators would institute appropriate preventive measures to restore these fisheries in time to avoid the need for broad closures. But today the Council finally found itself facing a very hard decision on how to stop the steep declines in important fish stocks which might otherwise continue toward extinction,” said Environmental Defense marine conservation advocate Richard Charter. “The Council’s action was a tough, but much-needed step.”
The closure is an attempt to limit any further demise of commercially valuable groundfish species including Pacific red snapper, grouper and fantail.
As the oversight body in charge of regulating sport and commercial catch of various fish species in federal waters along the U.S. West Coast, the Council chose to enact a ban on all bottom fishing for rockfish in medium-depth waters north of Cape Mendocino, California, in order to aid in rebuilding critically depleted stocks. The closure comes at a time when mounting scientific data, in the form of newly completed “stock assessments,” points to the need for cutbacks in fishing activities in order to prevent a complete collapse of some species.
“Over the past several years, scientific evidence has been accumulating that shows the need for more protective fishing limits, particularly in the case of rockfish species that rely on older, mature individuals for much of their reproductive success,” Charter said.
Some of these species are often inadvertently caught as “bycatch” by fishermen seeking other kinds of fish and are killed as a result. This cycle plays an important role in damaging some of the rockfish stocks, leading to the decline of species that are not necessarily being targeted for harvest. The Pacific Council’s actions, which included an order that all bycatch be released, were aimed at protecting both targeted species and associated bycatch species.
Environmental Defense represents more than 300,000 members. For more information, visit www.environmentaldefense.org on the web.
Coast Guard to Tighten Boating Rules.
The Coast Guard wants boaters to know that safe boating this summer means more than a life jacket and distress horn. It means staying away from warships and potential terror targets. The Coast Guard has drawn up new rules establishing protection zones around Navy ships and power plants as a precaution against terrorism. The new restrictions say recreational boaters must slow to minimum speed at 500 yards away from a ship, and stay at least 100 yards away unless they are granted special permission. If need be, the Coast Guard and Navy are authorized to use lethal force against a boat that gets too close.
Poacher Gets 3 Years in the Pokey
Sonoma County Judge Elliot Daum sentenced Joel Roberts, a former commercial abalone diver, to the maximum possible sentence. Roberts was caught with 130 abalone in December 2000. Roberts was eligible for prison because he was convicted of a felony conspiracy charge that went beyond the Fish and Game misdemeanors he also was convicted of committing. This case is particularly noteworthy since Roberts sat on an abalone advisory committee and used information given to the advisory committee to find choice spots for abalone.
