Black Sea Bass Carcasses Discovered
Two giant black sea bass carcasses have been discovered at Long Point on Catalina Island. The bodies had been filleted and dumped. Black sea bass are protected. They cannot be taken with spear or hook and line. Fish taken with hook and line must be released immediately.
Several black sea bass have been making regular appearances at Long Point in the last few months. The magnificent animal, once near extinction, can reach upwards of 500 pounds and several feet in length. They generally do not fear divers and can be easily approached.
Those witnessing illegal take of black sea bass are encouraged to call California Fish and Game at 888-DFG-CALTIP (toll free).
Encore Captain Kenny Hess and a boat load of divers were out at Cortes Bank the opening weekend of lobster season. An estimated 500 lobsters were observed out and moving to the high point on the reef. "It was incredible," says Captain Hess, "I've never seen so many lobsters on the move."
The lobster hunters all got their limit (seven per person per day) in a matter of minutes, but on returning to the boat it was discovered that most of the captured lobster were females with eggs, an unusual occurrence for October. A bit of book research aboard the Encore revealed that females lobsters will move to the high spot on a reef, wait for the current to come up, then fan their tail spreading their spawn to in the current.
All the divers aboard agreed to return the egg-laden lobster to the bottom to propagate the species for future hunts. The spawning activity may have been delayed or enhanced by the unusually cool La Niña water temperatures of late.
The Redondo Canyon "Mystery Shrimp" has been identified by Donald B. Cadien of the Marine Biology Lab (San Diego) as Sicyonia penicillata Lockington, otherwise knows as the Target Shrimp.
He writes "It is a fairly normal (if infrequently encountered) resident of our area during periods of southern warm water incursions. A number of specimens were taken over the last three years of our prolonged El Niño."
The shrimp has been making regular appearances for divers on night dives in the Redondo Submarine Canyon.
Submitted by Ken Kurtis of Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Some 6 years ago a marine worm invaded wild abalone populations and all 18 abalone farms in California. The parasite caused the shells to weaken and the abalone to die, and at least one abalone farm was put out of business by the worm. Workers culled the affected waters of aquaculture debris and some 1.5 million large snails, in which the worm thrived. It's now been 2 years since any sign of infestation has been seen, and this is the first instance where a non-native marine pest has been eradicated.
Sixteen divers and dealers were arrested in September when state
authorities cracked down on an alleged abalone poaching network. The
group reportedly sold about a $1 million worth of abalone a season
and face felony conspiracy charges and possible sentences of up to
three years in state prison. Undercover agents were used during the
investigation.
Approximately 70 recreational divers and many Navy and Sanctuary personnel removed some 4,000 pounds of trash from the San Carlos Beach and Monterey Harbor in September. The next Underwater Harbor Clean Up day will be on January 22. Contact David Clayton at "drc@ccnet.com" to sign up.
The Navigation Subcommittee of the United Nations gave initial approval a proposal to move large commercial ships farther offshore to help reduce the risk of a catastrophic spill within Monterey Bay Sanctuary waters. Large vessels such as container ships and bulk product carriers currently travel between 2.5 and 15 miles from the Sanctuary's shoreline, posing a risk of catastrophic spills from the heavy fuel oil. This proposal would place these vessels from 13 to 20 nautical miles from sanctuary shoreline. In addition, ships that carry hazardous materials would be asked stay 25 and 30 nautical miles from shore.
