Northern Lobster?!
Dear Dale and CDN Staff,
I stood at the top of the cliffs looking down at the water in disbelief at how clear the water was. This is Santa Cruz County in Northern California after all and the water just doesn't get that clear on this part of the coast. I was looking down at a spot that is notoriously muddy almost all year round, and today I could clearly see all the way down the kelp stalks to the sparkling sand and rocks below.
I rushed to my buddy Glenn's house to find him home working around the house. I give him the report and moments later, the dive gear and paddle boards were loaded up and we were on our way.
Every thing was perfect. It was warm and sunny, the water was flat calm and the air was still. Entering the water, we were treated to a solid twenty foot visibility. I have only seen this spot like this once before and that was more than ten years ago.
The rocky bottom was beautiful with deep holes and ledges. Diving down to one of the many promising looking caves, I peered inside with my underwater light. To the right was a small lingcod. To the left side of the cave was another small lingcod - and between the two and a little further back were two medium sized lobsters.
WHAT?! LOBSTERS?!
I swung my dive light back to the center of the cave and there, staring back at me, were two legal sized California Spiny Lobsters!
Convinced I was having an hallucination, I returned to the surface. Santa Cruz is at the north end of the Monterey Bay and at least two hundred miles from the northern range of the spiny lobster. I took a few quick breaths then went back down to the cave. They were still there, at the back of the cave, looking back at me. I could hardly believe my eyes.
Back at the surface I called Glenn over. He and I have been lobster diving at the Channel Islands together for years. Without revealing what I saw, I pointed out the cave and told Glenn to look inside then come back and tell me what he saw. Moments later Glenn pops back up at the surface with a huge smile on his face! We both made several more dives down just to look in utter awe and amazement.
The thought of trying to take the lobsters never crossed my mind. I knew that what I was seeing was something very special, so I left them there, undisturbed.
Joe Tobin
Santa Cruz, CA
Joe:
According to the guide book Pacific Coast Subtidal Marine Invertebrates, spiny lobster range as far north as San Luis Obispo County. A few years back, during a warm water El Niño year, lobsters were reported at the Monterey breakwater (at the south end of Monterey Bay). You have seen the truly unusual but not impossible. Maybe the two you saw were a mating pair!
Editor
CDN:
In the February 2000 CDN Bruce Watkins says that McAbee Beach in Monterey is now part of Ricketts Park, a proscribed hunting and collecting zone. Has this reserve been approved by California State Fish and Game? A local CAFG warden assured me that the cities of Pacific Grove and Monterey have no jurisdiction beyond the water's edge.
F. Vaugn
via e-mail
Mr. Vaugn:
This is one battle in the continuing war between city and state's rights. I would be willing to bet that in court Mr. Vaugn is right in his assessment of the enforceability of the law.
However, it is a law on the books, and I reported it as such. Even Monterey officials say they are not interested in enforcing the Reserve rules. On the other hand, there are so few fish left there anyway. If the perceived enforcement keeps a few spearfishers out of the area, it will do some good.
Bruce Watkins
for CDN
CDN:
Thanks to California Diving News and Bonnie Cardone for the article on the Valiant. It is a great dive, and the way the wreck is situated upright in the sand - like a ghost from its days floating atop the water - adds to its mystique.
Ms. Cardone's description of that fateful night aboard the Valiant - including the cocktail party - is exactly how I imagine the scene to have been. What makes that scene even more interesting is that in December, 1930, the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution - commonly known as Prohibition - was the law of the land. So, were the consumption of adult beverages limited to times in international waters. Or was Mr. Howard, an automobile entrepreneur from San Francisco, flaunting the laws?
It makes for great theater of the mind.
Mike Price
via e-mail
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