Dead Fish Divers

What's new with abalone this year?

2012-02-11T20:30:00.000-08:00

The following questions were asked on the California Department of Fish & Game (DFG) website:

Question: What are the new abalone regulations that will go into effect this year?

Answer: When the abalone harvest season opens on April 1, the following new abalone regulations are going into effect:

1) The Fort Ross area will be closed for the first two month so abalone in this area may be taken only during the months of June, August, September, October and November (CCR Title 14, section 29.15(b)(1)). A map showing the abalone closure area around Fort Ross can be found at http://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=42101&inline=true

2) Individuals taking abalone shall maintain separate possession of their abalone. Abalone may not be commingled in a float tube, dive board, dive bag, or any other container or device, until properly tagged. Only after abalones are properly tagged (as described in CCR Title 14, section 29.16 (b)), may they be commingled with other abalone taken by another person (CCR Title 14, section 29.15(g)(1)).

Question: I have a friend who lost some livestock to either coyotes or a mountain lion. He wants to protect the rest of his animals and was advised to contact the local government trapper. How can a person become a licensed trapper authorized to track down and remove these problem predatory animals?

Answer: Contact the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The mission of this agency is to provide federal leadership and expertise to resolve wildlife conflicts to allow people and wildlife to coexist. For more information, please go to www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/.

Question: Why is a black powder revolver, which develops more energy than some centerfire pistols, not legal for hunting?

Answer: There is ever-increasing technology that provides for methods of take not currently authorized by the Fish and Game Commission (FGC). As new methods of take are developed, proposals to the FGC can be made for possible additions to the current legal methods authorized by the regulations. Until then, they may not be used.

Question: What is the law on how to properly dispose of fish guts? If fishing from the shore in San Diego County, may I clean my catch and toss the remaining fish parts back into the ocean? Will the game warden be able to take a correct measurement with the head of the fish removed?

Answer: Fish and Game laws do not prohibit you from returning the fish waste back to the ocean, although local ordinances may. Check with local police or harbor patrol officers for certainty. Once ashore, there is no requirement to keep fish in a whole condition. However, you must retain enough of the fish in order to accurately measure it. Generally, removing the guts is not an issue in determining size.

Question: With the old hunting and fishing licenses, I received a copy to be sent in for a replacement if I lost my license. With the new license, what do I do if it gets lost or damaged?

Answer: DFG's new automated licensing system stores all sales transactions in a database. Simply visit a license agent or DFG office, provide your identification and indicate that you need to replace a lost or destroyed license. The system will verify your initial purchase and issue you a duplicate license. The new system will also be able to replace any additional validations you had to purchase. A duplicate license and replacement fee will be charged.

Abalone Season Delayed Two Months

2011-10-21T12:49:00.000-07:00

Abalone season at Fort Ross delayed two months

The opening of the abalone season at Fort Ross, the state’s most popular site for the sport, will be delayed two months, the California Fish and Game Commission decided Thursday.

But commission members turned down proposals that would have affected the entire North Coast fishery by halving the annual catch limit of 24 and by mandating a minimum start time of 8 a.m.

Abalone hunters said those restrictions were unnecessary and in some cases dangerous.

Many abalone hunters are pickers, not divers, who search for the sea snails in shallow water, typically early in the morning when conditions are quiet and tides are low.

A later start would force them into rougher, higher water, increasing danger especially when kids are present, said Jeff Richards, with the Coastside Fishing Club.

“The ocean is the calmest when the sun comes up,” he said.

The season will now begin in June in waters off Fort Ross State Historic Park and Reef Campground. The season will open in April elsewhere along the North Coast.

The commission had been considering new restrictions even before a lethal Red Tide struck the Sonoma Coast in late August, littering beaches with dead abalone and other shell fish.

State divers found mortality rates of 30 percent and higher at Fort Ross and Ocean Cove in abalone samples taken weeks after the die-off started, adding to existing concerns about declining populations.

In response, the commission voted last month for an emergency closure of the abalone season in all Sonoma County waters.

Commissioner Richard Rogers of Santa Barbara indicated Thursday that abalone populations had not fallen past previously prescribed trigger points that would necessitate further limits.

And Jim Kellog, the president of the commission, said he felt uneasy basing restrictions on samples that abalone hunters had criticized as so narrow they were statistically irrelevant.

“We are getting jammed with something I am not comfortable with myself,” Kellog said.

Their decision came as good news to Yvette White, owner of Gualala Sport & Tackle just north of the Mendocino County line.

So far this month, her business is down nearly 38 percent, a drop she blames on the emergency closure. A reduction in the annual catch limit would surely reduce visitors next year too, she said.

Abalone fishermen bring an estimated $13 million to the North Coast, the only area of California with a legal abalone fishery.

“We can’t wait till next year,” she said.

Roger Rude, a retired Sonoma County Sheriff’s lieutenant and an avid diver, said he would have liked to have seen the 8 a.m. minimum start, which would hit pickers the hardest.

Some pickers have reputations for indiscriminately prying abalone off rocks then measuring to see if they are legal size, a process that often proves fatal.

But he said he approved of the commission’s decision to keep Fort Ross closed until June since it addressed concerns that the beach was overfished even before the Red Tide caused a high level of damage.

“It targets those concerns with more of a scalpel approach rather than just a broad swath,” he said.

Fort Ross is a favorite with many abalone hunters because of its proximity to the Bay Area and to Sacramento and because its sheltered waters are attractive to both pickers and beginner divers.

The commission, which was meeting in Monterey, also voted to require each diver or picker to have their own bag or other container for their harvest, making it easier for wardens to enforce limits.

“That’s a really good rule,” said Eric Anderson, of Anchor Bay, who has been diving nearly 50 years. “I’m for that 100 percent. I see the law broken all the time.”

What Killed the Abalone

2011-10-04T13:44:00.000-07:00

Red Tide Rising: Harmful Phytoplankton Blooms

About a month ago, thousands of abalone and other invertebrates washed up along the Sonoma coast, killed by what people thought was probably a red tide, a.k.a. a harmful algal bloom. Phytoplankton—photosynthetic organisms like algae and bacteria—can multiply in number, turning the water red with their bright-colored cells and wreaking havoc on marine organisms. An interdisciplinary team of researchers banded together to find out what was going on along the Sonoma coast. Within a few weeks, they’d figured it out: sure enough, it was a red tide.

This was the first time a red tide had widespread impact on wildlife along the coast of California. From Bodega Bay to Salt Point, 50 miles north, invertebrates like abalone, urchins, and gumboot chitons were affected by the red tide. I talked with Laura Rogers-Bennett, Senior Biologist Specialist with the California Department of Fish and Game and the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center, who did surveys to quantify the extent of the damage. She and her colleagues surveyed several sites and found a lot of dead abalone. At Fort Ross, 30% of the abalone had died. At Salt Point, abalone mortality was 12%, and at Timber Cove, mortality was 25%. They took tissue samples from abalone and other invertebrates, and they conducted underwater surveys to look at the geographic distribution of affected organisms.

Red tides can kill marine life in two ways. The first way is by depleting the oxygen in the water, during the algal bloom and during the subsequent die-off and decomposition of the phytoplankton. With low levels of oxygen in the water, marine life suffocates. Red tide events that kill through oxygen depletion have particular characteristics. They are usually small and localized—the size of a large living room, says Rogers-Bennett. They often occur in areas with very little water movement, like the back of coves, and they affect all the organisms in the area, including the fish, which either die or swim away. Recent underwater surveys indicated that this red tide was not killing via oxygen depletion. For one, the area affected was far larger than a living room. And the red tide affected organisms in multiple patches, some of which were in very exposed areas, not just the still backwaters of coves. Plus, the fish did not seem to be affected. Because of this evidence, scientists suspected the phytoplankton bloom was releasing a biotoxin.

To identify the biotoxin, the researchers sent water and tissue samples to Rita Horner at the University of Washington and David Crane at Fish and Game’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response. They determined that the most abundant phytoplankton species was a dinoflagellate called Gonyaulax spinifera, which releases a toxin called a Yessotoxin. However, the dinoflagellate and the toxin are poorly understood, says Rogers-Bennett. Yessotoxin was present in very low amounts—about one part per billion—and we don’t know how much toxin must be present for an organism to suffer ill effects. So we don’t know for sure whether Gonyaulax spinifera and its Yessotoxin are responsible for the death of the invertebrates, or whether the true guilty party is some other, unidentified toxin. Rogers-Bennett and her colleagues are seeking funding to do additional tests of the Yessotoxin, its toxicity, and its effects on the invertebrates.

Studying this red tide is a team effort, involving researchers from UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, Sonoma State, the California Department of Public Health, and NOAA. Researchers have done bird surveys, which indicate that the toxin is not moving throughout the food web. And they’ve tested for toxins that affect humans, but thankfully none present. Next, researchers plan to look at archived satellite images of the red tide to see how it moved throughout the area, and they want to do more extensive subtidal surveys, to learn more about the geographic pattern of its effects.

Because of the recent mass mortality of abalone, the Fish and Game closed the Sonoma abalone fishery in September. Normally, recreational abalone collectors can take abalone from the coast through November, but because the population took a big hit, it needs some time to recover. Rogers-Bennett hopes that the fishery and its managers will keep this in mind as the next abalone season approaches in April. The abalone fishery is not a commercial fishery; it is illegal to buy and sell abalone.

There is now a new red tide off the Sonoma coast. This one, called Ceratium, is not toxic, but it is lending the water a brownish red hue. Recent conditions have been perfect for a red tide: calm water and abundant sunshine, thanks to fog-free days. The conditions preceding last month’s deadly red tide were similar. Globally, red tides are on the rise, because of warmer sea surface temperatures and an increase nutrient in coastal waters because of human activity. However, neither of these red tides is tied to warm surface waters or higher-than-usual nutrient input. The causes of these recent red tides remain a mystery.

Abalone Season Canceled Early

2011-09-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

The California Fish and Game Commission has ended the abalone season in Sonoma County, more than two months before its scheduled conclusion.

The emergency decision Thursday follows the deaths of an untold number of shellfish, which began washing up on local beaches on Aug. 27.

Scientists suspect the die-off of abalone, chitons, sea stars and other invertebrates resulted from an explosion of plankton that bloomed around the time the deaths began.

It remains unclear if the red tide, as such blooms are known, suffocated or poisoned the animals. But the results have been stark.

This week state divers reported that 30 percent of the abalone found in samples taken in the Fort Ross area were dead, as were 25 percent of the abalone at Timber Cove and 12 percent at Salt Point, said Ian Taniguchi, an abalone specialist with California Department of Fish and Game. He said the real damage may actually be worse.

“We think our estimates of mortality are conservative because we are doing this survey roughly two weeks after the event started,” he said.

Bill Mashek, a Forestville resident who has been diving for 30 years, called the early closure unprecedented in his decades harvesting abalone in Sonoma County.

But as long as the decision reflects good data, he expressed full support for allowing the fishery to recover from a blight whose scope shocked him over Labor Day.

“There were more abalone dead on the rocks than I have ever seen on the water,” he said. “The population has been devastated. Further hunting is only going to devastate it more.”

Others are more dubious. Roger Rude, an avid diver and a retired Sonoma County Sheriff's lieutenant who is making a documentary about abalone diving, said Fish and Game took its measurements in the most heavily harvested areas, ignoring flourishing populations elsewhere on the Sonoma Coast.

“To me the cancellation of the entire season for the entire Sonoma Coast was draconian,” he said. “I do not think it's as dire as it's being made out to be.”

The emergency closure is limited to Sonoma County. Waters off Mendocino, Marin, Humboldt and Del Norte counties remain open through Nov. 30, the normal end of the season. The rest of the state — south of the Golden Gate - has been off limits to abalone harvesting since 1998.

Aficionados of the delicacy may soon face further restrictions as the die-off adds to regulators' concerns about the effect of hunting and poaching on the sea snail's population.

Even before the recent red tide, Fish and Game officials were mulling ways to reduce next year's harvest, including requiring divers and pickers to wait until 8 a.m. to start, dropping annual limits and delaying the season at the Fort Ross area, the most popular site in the state.

Those proposals were up for public comment at the commission meeting Thursday and will be voted on in October.

Joe Baker, a North Coast abalone picker, asked commissioners not to delay the daily start time, which he said would expose waders and walkers to higher tides, stronger winds and generally more dangerous conditions.

Judy Trumpet from Fort Bragg, said her daughter's kayak business relies on divers who come from around the region seeking abalone. The business would be badly hurt by later start times and reduced takes, she said.

But Karen Garrison, a policy analyst with the National Resources Defense Council, urged the commission to increase protections for the fishery.

“Now is clearly the time to take action to ensure its sustainability,” she said.

Calif. wildlife officials close abalone fishery

SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- California wildlife officials are planning to end abalone fishing along the Sonoma County coast after finding dead red abalone scattered on beaches and coves.

The California Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously Thursday to take an emergency action closing the fishery throughout Sonoma County.

Department biologists report that abalone began dying off along that stretch of the coastline on Aug. 27. They say the abalone and sea star deaths coincided with a local red tide bloom and calm ocean conditions, but don't yet know what is causing the creatures to die.

State officials say divers should avoid diving in the affected areas. The emergency closure is expected to begin soon but an exact date has yet to be set.

Abalone Season may Come To Early End

2011-09-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

The abalone season along the Sonoma and Mendocino county coastlines may be over eight weeks earlier than usual this year. State regulators will meet Thursday to discuss an "emergency response" to the widespread loss of the tasty mollusks. Dead and dying abalone have been littering the shorelines due to to a "red tide" phenomenon. It happens naturally from time to time when plankton undergo a population explosion and create a toxin which is harmful to some sea life. State officials are expected to close the abalone season two months earlier than usual to give the abalone a chance to replenish.

Abalone die-off plagues the coast

2011-09-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

A recent explosion of plankton off the Sonoma Coast has turned lethal for abalone and other shellfish.

White meat from the prized sea snails has been washing up on area beaches for more than a week, sending wafts of rotting flesh over bluffs, and dismaying those who consider themselves stewards of the ocean.

“It's like going up to an old growth forest and then coming back and it's been clear cut,” said Matt Mattison, an abalone diver from Monte Rio, who was stunned by the extent of the die-off near Fort Ross on Monday. “In 28 years of diving up here, I have never seen anything like this.”

State scientists say the destruction appears to be the result of a plankton bloom that began toward the end of August and is now dissipating.

Such red tides are common occurrences, named for the rusty, murky tinge they give the water. The blooms feed on periodic upwellings of nutrient-rich cold water from the ocean's depths.

Generally, the blooms pass without major harm to abalone. But the most recent red tide stuck during a stretch of unusually calm ocean conditions, which kept the plankton densely packed, said Ian Taniguchi, senior biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game

Scientists are awaiting lab results to see if toxins from the concentrated plankton poisoned the abalone as well as the urchins, chitins, sea stars and other animals that have been washing up in unusual numbers.

Alternatively, the abundance of plankton may have consumed the oxygen around the animals, suffocating them, Taniguchi said. The calm ocean conditions likely added to the problem by minimizing the churn that oxygenates the water, he said.

Either way, this has been the deadliest red tide for state abalone in at least three decades, Taniguchi said, though no precise tally is available. Deaths have been observed from Bodega Bay to Point Arena with most reports from between Salt Point and Fort Ross, he said.

Local divers called the carnage unprecedented with dead abalone easily seen onshore and in the water over the holiday weekend.

“I wasn't ready for what I saw,” said Bill Mashek, a 30-year abalone diver who said he was taken aback after diving near Fort Ross Sunday.

“There was hundreds and hundreds of out-of-the shell abalone out on the rocks. I have just never seen anything like that before.”

Abalone are a prized North Coast delicacy with their harvesting prohibited south of the Golden Gate. Mendocino and Sonoma counties account for more than 95 percent of the state abalone catch.

In 2009, nearly 51,400 abalone were harvested at Fort Ross and nearby Reef Campground, the most of any site in the state, according to the most recent data on Fish and Game's web site.

The fishery has remained open despite the die-off. It's too early to say what the death toll may mean for future restrictions, Taniguchi said. Already divers are limited to three abalone a day — and no more than 24 in a year.

Such limits help protect populations against catastrophes, Taniguchi said. Still he said extra protections may be necessary.

Next week Fish and Game officials will take previously scheduled samples of the abalone population at Salt Point State Park. They may also perform samples of the populations in Fort Ross and Timber Cove that were scheduled for next year, Taniguchi said.

“We need to assess the impact and determine if there is a need to adjust the management of the fishery,” he said.

Mattison said he and other local divers who are active on NorCal Underwater Hunters, an online forum, are not waiting for additional mandatory limits. They're launching a grass-roots effort to encourage people to end their harvest for the rest of the year.

“Let's give it a break. Let it recoup,” he said. “I personally will not be harvesting any more abalone off the Sonoma Coast for the rest of the year.”

Body of missing diver found

2011-06-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Body of missing diver found in Mendocino County

Authorities have recovered the body of a Los Angeles man who disappeared while diving for abalone off a remote stretch of the Northern California coast.

Mendocino County authorities say the body of William Kim was found Saturday during a search by friends and relatives on a beach south of Fort Bragg.

The 37-year-old Kim disappeared May 28 when he and another diver became caught in rough surf.

The other diver was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard, but rescuers could not find Kim. A third diver made it safely to shore.

Authorities say Kim's body found about 100 yards from where he was last seen.

He and the other divers have been described by authorities as "very experienced divers."

The exact cause of Kim's death is pending autopsy results.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/06/05/state/n115323D60.DTL

Sheriff's helicopter rescues kayaker

2011-06-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

Sheriff's helicopter rescues kayaker swept out to sea

An abalone diver kayaking off the Sonoma County coast was rescued Saturday after rough currents and high winds swept him two miles out to sea.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office received a call at 8:48 a.m. Saturday that a kayaker was in distress in Smugglers Cove near Sea Ranch.

Rescuers from both the Coast Guard and the Sheriff’s Office responded. Henry 1, the sheriff’s helicopter, arrived first.

Hanging from a long-line from the helicopter, paramedic Dmitri Menzel extracted the kayaker, bringing him back to shore where he was turned over to fire and medical crews. Flight Officer Debbie Little said she believed the man was unharmed.

The Coast Guard also dispatched a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Bodega Bay, but it turned back about five miles from the scene after Henry 1’s arrival.

The rescue occurred around the same time volunteers discovered the body of fellow abalone diver William Kim, who disappeared last Saturday off of the Mendocino County coast.

Kim was the third local abalone diving death reported this year. In April, two people died in two days while abalone diving off the Sonoma County coast.

— Sam Scott

Warmer, More Acidic Seas Spell Doom

2011-06-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

Warmer, More Acidic Seas Spell Doom for West Coast Abalone

As the temperature and acidity of the ocean hike up, shellfish are having a harder time battling the shift. This includes the abalone that lives up and down the west coast of North America. Considered a delicacy, the sea snail is struggling with overfishing -- and now it must also deal with conditions that are stunting growth and killing off the next generations.

According to a new study by University of British Columbia, as ocean acidity increases, the chances of survival of larvae, and the size of those that do survive, decrease dramatically.

In an experiment to replicate possible levels of CO2 in the ocean in coming years, the researchers tested the effects of hiking up CO2 levels from 400 parts per million to 1,800 ppm. They found that such an increase killed 40% of larvae and increased shell abnormalities. Granted, that kind of increase is very dramatic. Current CO2 levels in the ocean are around 380 ppm and that is expected to continue to rise as the ocean absorbs more of the carbon dioxide already released into the atmosphere. However, it would take centuries to reach 1,800 ppm. Still, the experiment shows that increased CO2 levels are not something the abalone easily deal with.

Not only does this create concern over the future of wild abalone, but it also means that aquaculture may not be an option as well.

"This is quite bad news, not only in terms of the endangered populations of abalone in the wild, but also the impact it might have on the prospects for aquaculture and coastal economics," says Christopher Harley, Associate Professor with the Department of Zoology and one of the authors of the study. "And because the species is already thought to be limited by reproductive output and recruitment, these effects are likely to scale up to the population level, creating greater limits on population growth."

Similar findings were uncovered by Australian researchers earlier this year, showing that sea urchins and abalone can't grow shells in warmer temperatures, with the team noting, "The results of a new study show that abalone and sea urchins born into ocean conditions 100 years from now will be unable to calcify their shells or grow their spines - suggesting that key sources of protein will be lost due to climate change in the future. "

Researchers have also uncovered difficulties for other crustaceans as CO2 levels rise. For some creatures, the response is thickened shells, which is bad news for both the species itself and those who feed off it. For the animal, a thickened shell equates to wasted energy as its body uses nutrients builds up excess shell, which can then become a burden to carry. And for predators, it means a harder time getting at prey. On the flip side, heightened CO2 levels causes shells of other species to dissolve, making them too weak to be a protective cover.

No matter what, warmer and more acidic oceans are problematic for shellfish, and could signal a pending mass extinction of shellfish species.

Ab diver dies, another lost in rough surf

2011-06-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

A local diver died and another is presumed dead after two unrelated incidents over Memorial Day
weekend.

The first call sent rescuers to a private beach west of Pine Beach Inn, off the south leg of Ocean Drive Saturday at about 3:45 p.m. It was reported that a small group of abalone divers had entered the water at about 2:30 p.m. Sheriff's Office reports said one diver was returning to shore when he saw two others caught in the breaking surf.

A 47-foot motor lifeboat from Coast Guard Station Noyo River and a helicopter from Group Humboldt Bay were sent to the area, along with personnel from Mendocino and Fort Bragg fire departments.

Upon arrival, lifeboat operators located one diver, name unreleased, in the water about 150 yards offshore. The diver was pulled onto the boat and needed no medical attention.

However, a second diver, William Kim, 37, of Los Angeles, is still unaccounted for as of press time.

All rescue personnel searched from the ocean, air and shore until darkness but were unable to find Kim, whose abalone tube floated ashore sometime later that day. A CAL FIRE helicopter also assisted with the search.

Coast Guard boat personnel released marker buoys at Kim's last known location in the water. It was reported that one buoy floated ashore at the beach, another was taken south and the third could not be found.

According to Coast Guard Lt. Roger Barr, rescue personnel suspended their search after 22 hours, based on the low probability that Kim survived in the 53-degree water. USCG Lt. Taylor Andrews said the wind was out of the southeast at 10 to 15 nautical miles per hour and swells increased from 6 to 8 feet during the search.

Fort Bragg Fire Capt. Glenn Beck was onscene and noted the high winds and waves complicated the search. Sheriff's Lt. Dennis Bushnell said that if conditions permit, Search and Rescue planned to resume searching Thursday.

A widely disseminated Associated Press story reported that the incident occurred Tuesday afternoon but that information is incorrect.

Kim's last known coordinates were 39 degrees, 23'36.33 N by 123 degrees 49'10.43 W. Anyone with information should contact the Sheriff's Office at 964-6308.

A separate incident

Monday at about 9:17 a.m., Mendocino Fire Department responded to a report that CPR was being performed on an unresponsive diver onshore just north of Van Damme State Beach. Louis Gimenez, 68, of Little River, was pronounced
dead at the scene.

According to Mendocino Fire Chief Danny Hervilla, he area was too remote for the department's larger rescue vehicles to access. Hervilla was able to drive in on a trail using his truck. Hervilla arrived at the scene to find three divers and some bystanders out of the water.

Witnesses told Hervilla that Gimenez was preparing to go into the water when he slumped over on the rocks and was swept out by a wave. Others pulled him ashore and started CPR.

Lt. Bushnell said the matter is under investigation, but drowning is not suspected as the cause of death. He noted that coroners will be contacting Gimenez's primary physician to determine if he had other pre-existing medical conditions.

Chief Hervilla added that a lot of personnel and equipment also responded to a diver in distress call Sunday at the west end of Main Street in Mendocino. The diver was quickly located and it was determined he was not in need of assistance. Responding units were canceled.

Believed drowned on Mendocino Coast

2011-05-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

One man dies, second believed drowned on Mendocino Coast

A Los Angeles man was pulled out to sea and apparently drowned while abalone diving off the Mendocino Coast and a Little River man suffered a fatal medical crisis as he was setting out to dive, Mendocino County sheriff's officials said.

The two recreation-related deaths this weekend off the Mendocino Coast are the first this abalone season.

The water was rough and continued to be choppy Tuesday as yet another spring storm blew through the region.

William Kim, 37, and at least two friends went into the ocean about 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in an area south of Fort Bragg near Mitchell Creek.

One of the divers, who caught his limit quickly, was headed for shore when he saw Kim and another diver caught in the breaking surf, officials said.

A man with Kim yelled to the diver close to shore to call for help. A U.S. Coast Guard boat found one of the divers about a quarter-mile off shore. Kim couldn't be located, and a portion of his dive tube later washed up onto nearby Pine Beach, officials said.

He is presumed dead, and emergency workers along the coast continued searching Tuesday.

On Monday morning, Louis Gimenez, 68, was preparing to dive north of Van Damme State Beach when he collapsed and was washed into the ocean. Friends pulled him in and started CPR, but he died at the scene, officials said.

Gimenez hadn't yet gone into the water so his death wasn't considered a drowning or abalone-diving related, sheriff's Capt. Kurt Smallcomb said.

Gimenez had a history of heart problems, friends told Mendocino firefighters.

In April, two people died in two days while abalone diving off the Sonoma County coast.

NorCal crews search for diver off Fort Bragg coast

2011-05-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

FORT BRAGG, Calif. -- Mendocino County search crews are looking for a missing diver in the Pacific Ocean.

Steve Alvarado, a dispatcher with the Mendocino County Sheriff's office, says crews went back into the water Monday to search for a diver who went missing Saturday afternoon off the coast of Fort Bragg.

The Ukiah Daily Journal reports that the U.S. Coast Guard and the Fort Bragg fire department received a distress call that two abalone divers were in trouble.

One diver was rescued Saturday about three miles south of Fort Bragg.

Officials from the Coast Guard, the fire department and the sheriff's office continued the search on Sunday but did not find the second diver.

Authorities have not released the names of the divers, who are believed to be from Southern California.

More state boards await the budget saw

2011-05-22T21:01:00.000-07:00

Gov. Brown has proposed to close 37 state panels — his latest attempt to rein in more than 300 citizen groups created over the years to give average Californians some say in their government.

By Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times

May 22, 2011

Having already riled university professors, mayors and healthcare workers with budget cuts, Gov. Jerry Brown has announced new trims that raised the ire of abalone divers, miners and feminists, among others.

Brown has proposed to close 37 state panels, including the Recreational Abalone Advisory Committee, the Mining and Geology Board and the Commission on the Status of Women — his latest attempt to rein in more than 300 citizen groups created over the years to give average Californians some say in their government.

Many of the boards' supporters plan to fight the governor's move.

"We are going to rattle some cages," said television-industry executive Lindy DeKoven, chairwoman of the women's commission.

A battle over boards creates a dilemma for state lawmakers, who have been forced to cut funding for many state services and could face the need to make even steeper reductions — in universities, health services and safety programs — to erase the budget deficit.

The groups on the governor's hit list include both part-time advisory boards that pay members $100 per meeting and full-time operations such as the state Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, which consists almost entirely of former legislators who make $128,000 a year and meet, on average, once a month.

Eliminating three dozen panels will save the state more than $10 million, administration officials say, though they acknowledge that the sum is a drop in the bucket for a state with a $10-billion shortfall. But Brown argues that every little cut helps and that the state cannot afford to keep so many of the groups operating.

"Although state revenues have improved because of the underlying strength of California's business climate, we're not out of the woods yet — not even close," Brown said. "Cutbacks in boards, commissions and other state services will continue as we work toward a truly balanced budget."

DeKoven, who has summoned her group to an emergency strategy session, said its members have played an important role in advising lawmakers and other officials on the need for domestic violence shelters, prison care and health programs. She hopes Brown will change his mind when he is reminded that the panel was created in 1965 by his father, Pat Brown.

"It would be a terrible disservice to the women of this state if this commission were abolished," said DeKoven, a Los Angeles resident.

The junior Brown noted in his budget proposal that eliminating the panel would save $234,000 a year and that state officials can receive input on women's issues without it: "There are numerous formal and informal avenues for seeking such advice on a continual basis."

Brown can also expect a fight from abalone fisherman Steve Benavides, a member of the Greater Los Angeles Council of Divers. Eliminating the advisory committee "is a stupid idea," Benavides said. Steve Campi of the Central California Diving Council agreed, saying it would disenfranchise recreational divers.

The group advises the state on how to spend $650,000 raised each year from permits issued to abalone divers. Supporters say they'll strongly lobby legislators to retain the panel, arguing that it costs only $5,000 a year.

The state mining board, established in 1885, sets policy on mine operations and appeals by companies fined for violations. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to get rid of it, but the mining industry and others "rode to the rescue and the Legislature declined to eliminate it," said vice chairman Brian Baca.

He predicted a similar push this year as backers point out that the board's $500,000 annual budget is almost entirely covered by mining fees.

Gary Hambly, president of the California Construction & Industrial Materials Assn., which represents quarry operators, said the board is "vital" to an independent appeal process.

Some of the groups Brown is targeting, such as the Dungeness Crab Review Panel, have completed the work for which they were created and gone dormant. Others, including the Governor's Emergency Operations Executive Council, duplicate work done elsewhere. In some cases, work could be shifted to another entity under Brown's plan.

The work of the Fair Employment and Housing Commission and the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board would be transferred. The latter panel provides citizen oversight of appeals when unemployment claims are denied. Former Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, a Newark Democrat and member of the board, said eliminating it would not help the general fund.

"We are virtually 100% federally funded," he said.

Taxpayer activist Lew Uhler has little use for most of the groups.

"Let's face it, over the years many of these boards have been created as soft landing spots for legislators and other favorites of the administration," said Uhler, president of the Sacramento-based National Tax Limitation Committee. "Getting rid of these extraneous boards is a good thing."

State Sen. Carol Liu (D-La Cañada Flintridge) said she would not rule out a vote to eliminate some of the boards, including the Commission on the Status of Women — even though she is a member and thinks it does good work.

In the current budget crisis, she said, "everything should be on the table."

patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com

Emergency crews rescue man

2011-05-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

Emergency crews rescue man after fall off cliff near Fort Ross State Park

By MARY CALLAHAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Friday, May 20, 2011 at 7:57 a.m.

A man believed to have been abalone diving off the Sonoma Coast near Fort Ross early Friday was pulled to safety after falling off a cliff on his way back to the bluff top, authorities said.

Firefighters used rope rescue gear to recover the victim after he reportedly fell 25 or 30 feet from a cliffside near Windermere Point, emergency personnel said.

Emergency crews were summoned shortly after 7:30 a.m. when someone called to report the man's fall, dispatchers said.

The crew aboard the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office helicopter attempted to fly in for a long line rescue with a 100-foot cable but was unable to reach the area because of fog, Sgt. Dave Thompson said.

He was eventually taken by ground ambulance to a local hospital, he said.

Additional details were not immediately available.

Sonoma County Abalone Diver Sentenced

2011-05-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

Sonoma County Abalone Diver Sentenced to Work Release, $15,000 in Fines

Authorities said he poached the abalone illegally and tried to sell to a Bay Area restaurant.

May 13, 2011

A Petaluma abalone poacher last week was sentenced to 90 days' work release and fined $15,000 for selling the mollusks to a restaurant owner, who received a similar sentence for illegal purchase shortly after the arrests, the state Department of Fish and Game said today.

Michael Sean Miller, 55, was also ordered on May 5 to forfeit all dive gear and fishing equipment after pleading guilty to illegal sale of sport-caught abalone. He is prohibited from possessing abalone in the future, Fish and Game spokesman Patrick Foy said.

In 2009, the restaurant owner, 51-year-old Pim Lim Szeto of San Francisco, was fined $20,000 and sentenced to 90 days' work release for the illegal purchase of abalone. Both men lost their fishing licenses for life.

The state has banned the sale of sport-caught abalone because three of the four species found in California coastal waters are in decline, Fish and Game spokeswoman Alexia Retallack said. Aquaculture companies that raise abalone can sell it, though.

Anyone who dives for the highly sought-after seafood can only take 24 abalone per year -- including at most three in a single day -- and must register their take with the state.

"If you look at fine amounts and actual jail terms, you can see we take (abalone sales) very seriously," Foy said. "When it gets out of hand, you see a decline in local abalone population."

The investigation into Miller and Szeto, who owns the Pacific Restaurant at 1045 Terra Nova Blvd. in Pacifica, began in fall 2009 when California State Parks rangers made contact with Miller several times near Fisk Mill Cove in Sonoma County.

The rangers alerted the Department of Fish and Game, whose wardens observed Miller harvesting abalone and taking it to the rear entrance of thePacific Restaurant, Roy said.

Investigators then reportedly watched Miller sell the abalone to
Szeto.

By Bay City News Service

Tsunami Devastates Abalone

2011-04-19T07:28:00.000-07:00

Tsunami devastates abalone fishing industry

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The March 11 tsunami dealt a crippling blow to abalone fishing along the Japan's Sanriku Coast, sweeping tons of debris into the sea and destroying fishing vessels.

It is expected to be years before abalone fishing in the area can resume, leading some retailers in China-a major consumer of abalone-to rush to secure supplies.

Iwate Prefecture is known as a major producer of dried abalone, which is called Kippin abalone in China and elsewhere. Thick and tasty, it commands high prices as a luxury item.

After the earthquake, Yoshihama Bay was hit by a 50-foot-high tsunami that utterly destroyed a fishermen's cooperative building. Of 296 ships working before the disaster, only 11 survived.

Dried abalone is made from abalone harvested in the wild, but according to Yoichiro Kikawada, production chief of the Yoshihama fishermen's cooperative: "The tsunami totally changed the coast. The abalone may have been totally destroyed."

According to the prefecture's fisheries association, abalone takes about five years to grow large enough to be harvested. It will also take at least two to three years to remove the debris in the sea and rehabilitate the port.

Overall, this means about 10 years before abalone fishing can return to full strength, the association said.

A fisheries operator in the city said its abalone production facility had been totally destroyed, but dried food wholesalers in Hong Kong and elsewhere have asked it to resume fishing soon.

"I can't find anything better than Kippin abalone...I have to have it," one wholesaler was quoted as saying.

A marine products exporter in Tokyo was asked to sell its stock of abalone to a Chinese food company.

"Most retailers in Hong Kong have a year's stock (of abalone), but they'll panic about getting dried abalone if fishing can't resume anytime soon," a spokesperson for the exporter said.

Abalone season opens today

2011-04-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

California's red abalone season opens today in waters north of San Francisco Bay, and the Department of Fish and Game is reminding divers and rock pickers that anyone taking abalone must record their catch on an abalone report card and tag the mollusks with corresponding tags from the cards.

Fish and Game said in a press release that this year, all licenses and cards will be available through the new Automated License Data System, or ALDS, which automatically records purchases in an active database.

Abalone report cards should be returned to the DFG Fort Bragg office. This season's return deadline is Jan. 31, although cards may be submitted early. Abalone report cards must be returned even if no abalone is taken, the DFG said.

A complete list of abalone fishing regulations is also available in the 2011 Ocean Sport Fishing regulations booklet, available wherever fishing licenses are sold, at DFG offices and online at www.dfg.ca.gov/regulations.

Coming Soon

2011-03-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

Fishing the North Coast: High spring flows will pay dividends in the future

Abalone season opens April 1

Kenny Priest/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 03/24/2011 09:30:31 AM PDT

As much as local steelhead anglers and guides hated losing a months worth of fishing due to high water, which is basically what's happened to March, the health of our future salmon and steelhead runs on the North Coast may be stronger a few years down the road because of it.

According to Michelle Gilroy, a DFG Environmental Scientist based in Eureka, the late winter and spring rains, coupled with an above average snow pack will benefit the next run of adult fish moving up river, mainly spring salmon and summer steelhead. It also may increase the survival rates for recently spawned adult steelhead, or kelts, as well as salmon and steelhead fry and smolts that are all making their way downstream to the estuaries and ocean. The high, muddy water allows the fish to make their way downriver with lessened risk of predation. The lack of fishing pressure will also help the kelts make their way back down river successfully. Heavy spring rains should, in many cases, also result in higher flows and improved water quality later in the summer.

In most cases, the high flows also contribute to the health and complexity of the rivers estuary. A nutrient-rich estuary offers the young fish ample sources of food, allowing them to grow to an optimal size before entering the ocean. This greatly increases their chances of survival. A healthy estuary is also beneficial for the kelts, weak from their spawning journey, offering a safe haven for them prior to making their way back to the ocean.

With nature, it seems every upside has a downside. In the event of extremely high late winter and spring flows, problems for fish can also occur. Without adequate freshwater and estuarine slack water habitat, the small, young fish can get washed downstream prematurely, putting them in harms way. Extreme high late winter and early spring flows can also have a negative impact on late-spawning fish. Spawning areas known as "redds" can be scoured or the gravels within redds can be buried in fine sediment, preventing the young from emerging.

Abalone season opens April 1

Abalone season opens next Friday along the North Coast from the San Francisco Bay north. John Corbett of Eureka's Pro Sport Center passed along some valuable information as well as the 2011 regulations for breath-hold divers.

Season and times: The season runs from April 1st through November, excluding the month of July. Diving is legal from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunrise.

What you'll need:

1) Fishing license (not required for 15 years old and younger)

2) Abalone report card (must be in your possession while diving. Also required for those 15 years or younger)

3) Fixed caliper measuring device

Limit and size restrictions: Three per day, three in possession and no more than 24 per year. Must be seven inches or larger. You must keep any legal abalone you pull from a rock and if it is not legal, you must stick it back on the same rock from where it came. Only your hand or a legal abalone iron can be used to pry them from the rocks.

General regulations: As soon as you get out of the water or step foot in a boat, you must tag your abalone. The tag needs to go through the siphon holes and held together with some type of string or zip tie. The shell cannot be removed until preparation begins for cooking or eating.

Best places: Russian Gulch area in Mendocino County and Shelter Cove.

For more information, visit www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/invertebrate/abalone.asp

Lingcod season set to open for shore, spear fishermen

Recreational lingcod season opens April 1 for all shore-based anglers and spear fishermen in all Groundfish Management Areas. The lingcod fishery is still closed for all boat-based anglers north of Point Conception (Santa Barbara County) to the California/Oregon border. For more information visit www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/groundfishcentral.

To read more go to: http://www.times-standard.com/fishingthenorthcoast/ci_17690808

New Laguna Marine Reserve Unsettles the Water

2010-12-25T13:38:00.000-08:00

Local conservationists predict Laguna Beach’s coastline will flourish with aquatic life under a newly established marine reserve, while fishermen remain opposed to the designation handed down last week that prohibits fishing and tidepool collecting from local beaches.

Conservation groups hail the decision bestowing the highest levels of protection as historic and necessary to stop the erosion of local marine ecosystems. Fishermen, who historically pulled lobster, abalone and halibut from the town’s rocky coves, call it an unmerited prohibition that will do little to restore a largely healthy marine habitat or inhibit degradation from water pollution and poaching.

“I can’t wait to see what happens,” said marine biologist Nancy Caruso, who has led kelp reforestation projects in Laguna and is now trying to re-establish abalone. “I have been monitoring it for the last nine years, so I’m interested to see what happens in the next five years,” she said, referring to the new reserve’s current lifespan.

Kelly Boyd, the sole City Council member who voted against establishing a marine reserve in June 2009, expressed disappointment with the decision. “We’ve taken a livelihood away from a lot of people. At this time in our economy, it’s not the time to do that,” he said.

A different view came from reserve supporter and local resident Jinger Wallace. “It’s exciting that we are going to have this,” she said, anticipating a flourishing ecosystem similar to what occurred in the marine reserve first established in the Channel Islands in 2002. “We have every reason to expect it here,” she said.

Some among the fishing industry maintain the process unfairly penalizes them and ignores internal conservation efforts. “Fishermen have been the primary stewards of the ocean,” said local resident Bill Shedd, president of fishing gear maker AFTCO, citing license fees paid by recreational fishermen and 20,000 volunteer hours spent at white seabass hatcheries.

Urban runoff and over fishing by international fleets also threaten marine ecosystems, but the Marine Life Protection Act and the state Fish and Game Department fail to take on these issues which are beyond their jurisdiction, fishermen point out.

“At least in Laguna Beach we have gone a long way to addressing pollution,” said Council member Verna Rollinger.

As a measure of the issue’s divisiveness, the Sportfishing Association of California resorted to suing Fish and Game regulators earlier this year to obtain internal communications about the MLPA debate. Though they won release of the documents, no further legal action has yet occurred, said MLPA Initiative Director Ken Wiseman, who dismissed a threatened lawsuit as an attempt to derail the process.

Laguna resident Greg O’Loughlin, who favors the marine reserve, said, “I’m really hoping the fishermen will have better catches just outside the reserves, as has happened in other places.”

“What we’ve created is a great big poaching area,” said Shedd. “The legitimate guys will not go out there and fish and dive, but the cheaters will.”

Enforcement looms as the next test of the marine conservation law when the expanded protections take affect sometime next year. California’s warden-to-population ratio is already the lowest of any state, according to department records. Wardens struggle to keep up with current violations and command just three patrol boats capable of overnight trips for Southern California. One is based in Dana Point.

Laguna’s marine safety department is not legally responsible for enforcing marine reserve protections. Its focus remains the safety of beach-goers. In 2004, a single marine protection officer, who is not equipped with a boat, was added to the city’s staff, but enforcing marine protections goes beyond job titles said lifeguard Chief Kevin Snow.

“It’s a conglomeration of the police department, marine safety, Fish and Game, and volunteers. Obviously it’s going to be an issue because these areas have grown, but I don’t believe you can go into our reserve and poach and have an expectation not to be caught.” Lifeguards and volunteers cannot issue citations.

City Manager John Pietig said no additional enforcement resources are planned since the city is struggling to maintain current services amid a shrinking budget.

For tidepool educator Jake Bonus, stationed at Treasure Island, the new ruling changes little. Taking from tidepools was already illegal and though he lacks enforcement power, he makes sure visitors know the rules.

A potential increase in eco-tourism due to the marine reserve was oft-cited as a rationale by proponents. Caruso can envision such a change. “In five years I’m not sure what will happen. In 20 years I expect to see big, giant fish and beautiful kelp forests full of everything that is supposed to be in them. I’m very optimistic and I can’t wait to see what happens.”

Fish and Game Department guidelines for proposed reserve and conservation areas:

Crystal Cove SMCA

This MPA was designed primarily to protect the tide pools and kelp habitat in Newport Beach.

The recreational take of finfish [subsection 632(a)(2)] by hook and line or by spearfishing [Section 1.76], and lobster and sea urchin is allowed.

The commercial take of coastal pelagic species [Section 1.39] by round haul net [Section 8750, Fish and Game Code], spiny lobster by trap, and sea urchin is allowed.

Take pursuant to activities authorized under subsection 632(b)(111)(C) is allowed.

Beach nourishment and other sediment management activities, and operation and maintenance of artificial structures inside the conservation area is allowed pursuant to any required federal, state and local permits, or as otherwise authorized by the department.

Take of all living marine resources from inside tidepools is prohibited. For purposes of this section, tidepools are defined as the area encompassing the rocky pools that are filled with seawater due to retracting tides between the mean higher high tide line and the mean lower low tide line.

Public Safety. Public safety activities, including installation, maintenance and/or seasonal placement and removal of safety-related artificial structures, including but not limited to lifeguard towers, are allowed within any MPA classification pursuant to any required federal, state and local permits, or as otherwise authorized by the department

Laguna Beach State Marine Reserve

This MPA was designed to protect critical marine species and habitat in tide pools and off shore.

Take of all living marine resources is prohibited.

Laguna Beach SMCA

This MPA was designed to protect critical marine species and habitat in tide pools and off shore while allowing the operation of the Aliso Creek Outfall

Take of all living marine resources is prohibited except take pursuant to activities authorized under subsection 632(b)(113)(D).

Operation and maintenance of artificial structures inside the conservation area is allowed pursuant to any required federal, state and local permits, or as otherwise authorized by the department.

Operation and maintenance of artificial structures and facilities, beach grooming, maintenance dredging, habitat restoration inside the conservation area is allowed pursuant to any required federal, state and local permits, or as otherwise authorized by the department.

Dana Point SMCA

This MPA was designed primarily to protect the tide pools and kelp habitat in South Laguna Beach and Northern Dana Point.

Take of all living marine resources is prohibited except:

Only the following species may be taken recreationally below the mean lower low tide line only: finfish [subsection 632(a)(2)] by hook and line or by spearfishing [Section 1.76], and lobster and sea urchin.

The commercial take of coastal pelagic species [subsection 1.39] by round haul net [Section 8750, Fish and Game Code], and spiny lobster and sea urchin only is allowed.

Take pursuant to activities authorized under subsection 632(b)(113)(C) is allowed.

Operation and maintenance of artificial structures and facilities, beach grooming, maintenance dredging, and habitat restoration inside the conservation area is allowed pursuant to any required federal, state and local permits, or as otherwise authorized by the department.

Poaching threatens abalone population

2010-07-07T13:51:00.000-07:00

Poaching threatens abalone population
by Peter Fimrite

San Francisco — A rash of abalone poaching in Northern California combined with a huge increase in legally harvested mollusks has left so few of the delicacies clinging to the rocks that the population could be in jeopardy, state game wardens say.

Dozens of citations and arrests have been made along the Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino county coastlines over the past three months during a poaching crackdown by the California Department of Fish and Game and other law enforcement agencies.

The illegal gluttony is particularly troubling when one considers that the number of legally harvested abalone has doubled in both Sonoma and Mendocino counties over the past two years, officials said. The shoreline scramble for the big sea snails is so voracious that it could lead to the species’ demise, fish and game wardens said.

“Despite our cooperative efforts, the abalone resource is struggling,” said Nancy Foley, fish and game’s chief of law enforcement. “Abalone are being harvested from the two counties — via both legal and illegal means — at an unsustainable rate.”

More than 700 vehicles were stopped at checkpoints near abalone hotspots in Sonoma and Mendocino counties in May and June. Authorities issued 57 citations and seized 84 abalones in Sonoma County. In Mendocino County, they gave out 41 citations and confiscated 85 abalones.

Two weekends ago, National Park Service rangers busted six people who illegally collected 17 abalones at Tomales Point during low tide.

The commercial harvest of wild abalone has been banned in California since 1997. There are size requirements and limits on the number of abalones recreational divers and collectors may take. The use of scuba gear is also prohibited.

The fine for a first offense is usually in the $1,000 range, but repeat offenders can be convicted of felonies and sentenced to jail. The problem, wardens say, is that a single abalone can fetch $100 on the black market, so the poachers keep coming back.

“It is a big deal,” said Spencer Brady, the chief deputy district attorney for Sonoma County. “People are aware of” the seriousness of abalone poaching. “Juries don’t like it.”

Red abalone can be legally harvested in California for personal consumption as long as the harvester tags and documents that each abalone is the appropriate size using a special punch card.

About 50,000 red abalones were legally taken off Fort Ross in Sonoma County in 2009 and 60,000 were taken at Fort Ross Reef, said Patrick Foy, a California game warden. Those numbers, he said, are double the amount harvested in the same areas in 2007.

Foy said periodic checkpoints screening the harvests of licensed abalone divers have, on average, found that about 10 percent of the abalones that were supposedly legal violated some aspect of state law, including size requirements and limits on the number taken by an individual.

“The percentage of the actual number of violations we catch is impossible to document, but it is pretty low,” Foy said. “We are stretched very, very thin, and there is no relief in sight.”

There are about 100 fewer state fish and game wardens than there were in 2001. The 230 or so California wardens cover 1,100 miles of coastline and protect wildlife 200 miles out to sea. It is the lowest per capita number of wardens in the U.S., Foy said.

With California facing a $19 billion budget deficit, the situation is not expected to improve.

Abalone poaching has been a major problem for a long time. In 2009, 11 people were arrested and 120 citations were issued in Sonoma and Mendocino counties after an elaborate ring of abalone poachers with headquarters in a hotel room was discovered. That same year, two people were arrested in Monterey County after they were caught with 51 rare black abalones, a federally listed endangered species.

“We’re very concerned about the long-term sustainability of the abalone resource,” Foy said. “One of the defendants in our latest sweep was on probation for the same offense, so whatever he was fined and whatever jail time he got the first time wasn’t enough for him to stop poaching. At this rate, the abalone may not be able to replace themselves fast enough to keep up with the harvest.”

Sacramento-area men arrested

2010-06-28T08:08:00.000-07:00

Sacramento-area men arrested in abalone poaching case

mkawahara@sacbee.com Published Saturday, Jun. 26, 2010

State Department of Fish and Game wardens arrested four Sacramento-area men on suspicion of poaching abalone in Mendocino County early Thursday morning.

Wardens spotted the men wearing headlamps and wetsuits at Moat Creek Point – a popular abalone harvesting spot – between 1 and 4 a.m. Thursday, according to a report provided by department spokesman Patrick Foy.

It is illegal to harvest abalone at night.

The men returned to their car wearing wetsuits and backpacks, then drove away with no lights on, the report said.

Fish and Game wardens stopped the car and found a total of 26 abalone, Foy said. State law allows harvesting by individuals with recreational fishing licenses, but prohibits people from taking more than three abalone per day.

Also, 13 of the abalone had shells smaller than the legal limit, Foy said.

"This is not an issue of 'I didn't know,' or something like that," Foy said. "It's very, very much an indicator of intent when you're abalone diving between 1 and 4 in the morning, sneaking around with red lights."

The suspects are Jerry Sayrham, 29; Nai Choy Saelee, 26; Alounseng Thong Rasabout, 25; and Jackson Soukasene, 26.

All four men were booked into the Mendocino County Jail in Ukiah, Foy said.

Saelee posted bail, according to the Mendocino jail. He could not be reached for comment.

The meat of abalone – a large sea snail – is a delicacy, while the iridescent shell is often used in jewelry.

Harvesting abalone with a recreational license and then selling it is banned. But abalone sell for $100 or more each on the black market, according to a Department of Fish and Game release.

Steve Lackey, who has given abalone diving tours in Mendocino County for 20 years, said there is evidence that a "substantial amount" of poaching is going on in the area.

"There's little off-the-track coves, where we see abalone stacked on top of one another's backs," Lackey said. "And then you go back in two years and there's hardly an abalone there. And you know that wasn't natural, and it wasn't recreational diving."

Lackey also said he often sees discarded piles of abalone shells, evidence that a diver has shucked the abalone meat underwater.

Meanwhile, legal harvesting in Mendocino and Sonoma counties has increased in recent years to an "unsustainable rate," the Fish and Game release said.

Anyone with a recreational license can take up to three abalone per day and up to 24 per year. The abalone's shell must be at least 7 inches long, and each abalone taken must be identified with a tag, which denotes the date, time and location of the abalone harvest.

The four suspects did not tag their abalone, Foy said.

In Mendocino County's Moat Creek area alone, 14,000 abalone have been taken over the past two years – double the harvest of only a few years ago, the release said.

As a result, the Department of Fish and Game, as well as Mendocino County, have increased their efforts to crack down on abalone poaching. Mendocino County now has "some of the most aggressive anti-poaching prosecutors in California," the release said.

Last month, a Mendocino County judge sentenced three men to jail time for poaching abalone while they were on probation for the same offense, the release said.

Two of the men – Christopher Michael Kern, 27, and Philip Michael Horch, 27 – were from the Sacramento area. Both received at least 180 days in jail, as well as a $20,000 fine and a lifetime prohibition from fishing in California, the release said.

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Abalone poaching case results in prison

2010-06-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

FORT BRAGG – A Lake County man convicted of failing to reattach an undersize abalone has been sentenced to probation and a fine, the latest in a series of abalone poaching cases prosecuted by Mendocino County officials.

Judge Jonathan Lehan sentenced Rye Davis Gilley, 31, to 12 months probation, a $1,315 fine and a prohibition from fishing during his probation term on Monday.

Mendocino County District Attorney Meredith Lintott office's reported that on June 4 a six-man, six-woman jury convicted Gilley of failing to reattach an undersize abalone.

Gilley, a Lake County who works as a millwright in Redwood Valley,

Warden Patrick Freeling testified that at around 7 a.m. May 23, 2009, he was patrolling for abalone violators in the cove adjacent to Greenwood Beach in Elk.

Freeling, who was wearing camouflage, hid in a bush on the bluff and made observations through his binoculars. He first observed Mr. Gilley, 100 yards away, return to the surface holding up two legal-size abalone, according to testimony in the case.

Gilley is then alleged to have emerged holding what the warden determined was an undersize abalone – or one that is less than 7 inches in diameter. Freeling testified that Gilley placed the abalone on top of his dive tube for four minutes. After drifting 30 to 40 feet, he then “palmed” the abalone into the water. Four seconds later he dove into the water, where he stayed for seven seconds.

The abalone regulations require that an undersize abalone be reattached “immediately” to the “same surface” of the rock from which it was detached, Lintott's office reported. Based on his training and experience, the warden believed that it would have been impossible for Gilley to comply with that regulation, so he issued Gilley a citation.

Gilley testified he did not know the abalone was undersize until he measured it upon emerging from the water, and that he then waited to catch his breath before diving down to reattach it. He denied palming it or dropping it into the water.

He claimed in court that he properly reattached the abalone during his dive, which took 10 seconds, by attaching it to the same surface of the same ledge as the one from which he took it.

Prosecutor Tim Stoen argued that Gilley broke the law in two respects – he did not return it “immediately” in light of his good physical condition, and that returning it to the same ledge, given his drifting 30 to 40 feet, did not constitute the same surface of the rock from which it was detached.

Stoen argued that even though the case involved only a single undersize abalone, it was a serious one, for failure to enforce this regulation would be one more “nail in the coffin” of the Mendocino Coast's abalone population.

Defense attorney Mark Kalina argued it was reasonable for Gilley to take four minutes to catch his breath before diving to reattach the abalone, given the extremely rough ocean conditions, including 4 to 6 foot swells. He argued that the continuous ledge constituted, as a matter of reasonable interpretation of the regulations, taking into account ocean conditions, the same “rock” from which the abalone had been detached.

The jury deliberated one hour and 15 minutes before retuning its verdict of guilty.

Judge Lehan gave Gilley the same sentence he would have received if he had pleaded guilty or no contest.

Stoen also prosecuted a case in which an abalone poacher was sentenced late last month to three years in state prison, a lifetime prohibition from fishing and a $20,000 fine.

Judge Richard Henderson meted out that sentenced to Randy L. Appleyard, 26, of Waterford, who pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to take abalone for commercial purposes, Lintott's office reported.

Appleyard's convicted co-conspirators in the case were Christopher Michael Kern, 27, of Orangevale, and Philip Michael Horch, 27, of Fair Oaks.

Kern previously pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy and was sentenced to three years supervised probation, 270 days county jail, a $20,000 fine and a lifetime fishing prohibition, while Horch – who acted only as a lookout – also previously had offered a plea and received the same sentence as Kern, but with a county jail term of 180 days.

On Aug. 11, 2009, Fish and Game warden Don Powers was on uniform patrol on the north side of Jughandle State Park when, from a hidden position, he observed the three men walking down a trail to the ocean, with Horch behaving as if he were a lookout. Powers contacted Fish and Game Lieutenant Dennis McKiver and Warden Erick Bloom, who also took observation positions.

Between them, the three wardens observed Appleyard and Kern make three trips up from the ocean, the first time carrying dive gear and the second and third times carrying heavy sacks. Each time they deposited the items behind a large bush.

The wardens later apprehended Horch, who had left the area to get his vehicle in order to pick up Appleyard and Kern with the abalone. The wardens then discovered, behind the bush, four blue mesh bags containing a total of 45 abalone, they testified.

Stoen, who charged the case, noted that Appleyard had in 2007 been convicted of an identical felony conspiracy charge, and was on probation for it, which carries with it a term requiring a year in county jail.

Following his sentencing, Appleyard – who was defended by attorney Bert Schlosser – was immediately remanded to the California Department of Corrections to begin his prison term, Lintott's office reported.

North Central Coast Marine Protected Areas

2010-05-20T07:36:00.000-07:00

California's North-Central Coast Marine Protected Areas took effect May 1, 2010, from Alder Creek, near Point Arena (Mendocino County) to Pigeon Point (San Mateo County). The series of 21 marine protected areas (MPAs), three State Marine Recreational Management Areas, and six special closures, covers approximately 153 square miles (20.1%) of state waters in the north central coast study region. Approximately 86 square miles (11%) of the 153 square miles are designated as "no take" state marine reserves, while different take allowances providing varying levels of protection are designated for the rest.

North-Central Coast MPAs (the second of five study regions along the coast) include:

* 11 State Marine Conservation Areas (SMCA), which limit recreational and commercial fishing
* 10 "no-take" State Marine Reserves (SMR), which prohibit recreational and commercial fishing
* 3 State Marine Recreational Managed Area (SMRMA)
* 6 Special Closures

Publications for Fishermen

Brochure: Marine Protected Area Information for Recreational Fishermen
Alder Creek, Mendocino County to Pigeon Point, San Mateo County

* Lower resolution version (suitable for online viewing)
* Higher resolution version (suitable for printing) File size 1.5 MB

Notice to Commercial and Recreational Fishermen and Processors
Includes a table stating which existing MPAs have been removed, replaced, or have modified take regulations and/or boundaries, and which are entirely new areas being established.

Maps

Note: Map Datum used is North American Datum 1983 (NAD83) and position format is in Degrees Minutes Decimal Minutes (DDD MM.MMM).

* North-Central Coast MPAs (all): JPEG | PDF
* North-Central Coast MPAs (northern): JPEG | PDF
* North-Central Coast MPAs (southern): JPEG | PDF

* Point Arena State Marine Reserve
* Point Arena State Marine Conservation Area
* Sea Lion Cove State Marine Conservation Area
* Saunders Reef State Marine Conservation Area
* Del Mar Landing State Marine Reserve
* Stewarts Point State Marine Reserve
* Salt Point State Marine Conservation Area
* Gerstle Cove State Marine Reserve
* Russian River State Marine Recreational Management Area
* Russian River State Marine Conservation Area
* Bodega Head State Marine Reserve
* Bodega Head State Marine Conservation Area
* Estero Americano State Marine Recreational Management Area
* Estero de San Antonio State Marine Recreational Management Area
* Point Reyes State Marine Reserve
* Point Reyes State Marine Conservation Area
* Point Reyes Headlands Special Closure
* Estero de Limantour State Marine Reserve
* Drake's Estero State Marine Conservation Area
* Point Resistance Rock Special Closure
* Double Point/Stormy Stack Special Closure
* Duxbury Reef State Marine Conservation Area
* Egg (Devil's Slide) Rock to Devil's Slide Special Closure
* Montara State Marine Reserve
* Pillar Point State Marine Conservation Area
* North Farallon Islands State Marine Reserve
* North Farallon Islands Special Closure
* Southeast Farallon Island State Marine Reserve
* Southeast Farallon Island Special Closure
* Southeast Farallon Island State Marine Conservation Area

To see all the links go to this link

Abalone diver dies off Point Arena

2010-04-16T16:14:00.000-07:00

By MARY CALLAHAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Friday, April 16, 2010 at 9:26 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, April 16, 2010 at 4:02 p.m.

A Daly City man who went diving with friends off the coast of Point Arena on Friday morning became the first victim of the abalone season on the Sonoma/Mendocino coast.

The 28-year-old man was pulled out to sea and away from his companions after two large waves struck some time around 8 a.m., emergency officials said.

His friends weren't able to swim to him and quickly lost sight of him, according to various reports made to rescue personnel.

“That was kind of the last time they saw him,” Redwood Coast Fire Protection Chief Mike Suddith said.

By the time they swam ashore and called for help he'd already been missing about 30 minutes, officials said.

Authorities said a CALSTAR medical helicopter - one of three scrambled for a rescue attempt - spotted the man face down in the surf 200 to 300 yards offshore around 9:22 a.m.

Paramedic Dmetri Menzel, part of the Sonoma County sheriff's helicopter crew, was dropped from the helicopter on a long line and recovered the body, officials said.

The victim's name was not immediately released.

It was unclear Friday what caused his death.

He had no known medical history and was said by friends to be a good swimmer, Suddith said.

Surf conditions also were good, with clear skies, minimal winds and swells of 2-to-4 feet, Petty Officer Gabriel Tait said from the U.S. Coast Guard's Noyo Harbor station in Fort Bragg.

“Conditions were pretty favorable,” Tait said.

Dozens of people have perished along the North Coast in past years while rock picking or diving for abalone.

Some succumb to heart or other health conditions, while others are swept offshore or simply drown.

At least four divers died last year off the Sonoma and Mendocino coasts. In 2008, there were eight deaths.

Mendocino County emergency personnel faced their first rescue this year barely an hour after the abalone season opened April 1.

In that case, a San Francisco diver who entered the water in stormy conditions was swept half a mile from shore, where rescue personnel found him weak and hypothermic, fire personnel said.

Friday's victim came to the coast with three carloads of friends who parked near Moat Creek, south of Point Arena, and went diving from there, Suddith said.

The weather “definitely was a very calm day for sport fishing generally,” Tait, of the Coast Guard, said. “We probably have 50-to-60 boats out in Noyo Harbor alone, which is a pretty busy day for us.

“But obviously if someone's diving in the surf zone, even a two to four foot wave can knock somebody under and they can hit a rock. I don't know exactly what is the main cause of what happened today, but the ocean's dangerous at any time, even when it's flat.”

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter Everyone

My wife teaches third and forth grade combo class. Every year they do Life Science, so they hatch chicken. This is some one of the first baby chicks from this years hatchlings. The kids in the class named this one after me, since I played chicken herder this year and got all the fertilized eggs for them to hatch. 102 or 9 dozen eggs for six third grade classes.

Every year I go into the my wife's class and do a chick fashion shoot. I do a different theme. The first year was KFC Box theme. Last year was a KFC Bucket theme, this years theme is Easter.

The eggs in the basket are real. They came from the same hens that laid the eggs that these baby chicks were hatched from.

Here is the link to the Chicks set

Abalone Season Opens at Dawn - April Fools Day

2010-04-01T10:56:00.000-07:00

Abalone season opens today in California. The real April Fools Joke is on the divers and rock pickers. If you pick Abalone in the wrong spot... you become the April Fools with a hefty fine and a mandatory court appearance.

Abalone hunters ready for Thursday opening
Expected restrictions in diving areas delayed

BY DEREK MOORE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Monday, March 29, 2010 at 5:28 p.m.

Abalone season opens on Thursday amid uncertainty about where diving and rock-picking will be prohibited under newly created state marine reserves.

The restrictions, which will outlaw the taking of abalone off Point Arena, Stewarts Point and other popular spots along the North Coast, were supposed to coincide with Thursday's season opener.

But that has been delayed because of a problem processing the paperwork needed for the rules to go into affect, according to a California Department of Fish and Game spokeswoman.

“We don't know exactly when they (the restrictions) will go into affect, but it probably will be in the next couple of weeks,” said Carrie Wilson, an associate marine biologist with the state agency.

Abalone enthusiasts fear their favorite past-time will suffer as a result of the new reserves, which were approved by the state Fish and Game Commission last year.

About 85 square miles of ocean between Half Moon Bay and Mendocino County fall under the new guidelines. The restrictions vary but in the most protected areas include a permanent ban on fishing within 3 miles of the coast in areas where populations of rockfish, northern red abalone, seabirds, sea lions and other marine mammals live.

The state Legislature passed the Marine Life Protection Act in 1999. The North Central Coast is the second of five regions in California where wildlife and habitat reserves are planned.

The reserves will have a “significant impact” on abalone diving along the North Coast, said Gary Baumoel, vice-president of the Redwood Empire Divers Club.

Nevertheless, he predicted enthusiasm for the start of the new season. He also urged caution, saying ocean conditions usually are not ideal for diving this time of year and forecasters are predicting stormy conditions through the week.

He referenced the so-called Sacramento Syndrome whereby people feel like they have to go into the water even if conditions are not good because of the distances they've driven to get to the coast.

Baumoel said “there are plenty of good breakfast spots” as an alternative to wading into dangerous surf.

The rules governing abalone diving or rock-picking along the shore otherwise remain the same as last year, according to Wilson.

Three abalone are allowed to be taken per day and they must be at least seven inches in size across the longest part of the shell.

Wilson said people must tag their abalone immediately after they exit the water. She advised divers to carry tags and a pen with them.

The rules are designed to keep people from hiding abalone they've taken and then going back into the ocean for more.

“It's another checks-and-balances process that we use,” Wilson said.

Copyright © 2010 PressDemocrat.com — All rights reserved. Restricted use only.

California's Endangered Black Abalone

2010-03-24T07:20:00.000-07:00

Suit Filed to Protect Habitat for California's Endangered Black Abalone, Pushed Toward Extinction by Fishing, Disease, and Ocean Acidification

SAN FRANCISCO— Today the Center for Biological Diversity sued the Obama administration for failing to designate critical habitat for the endangered black abalone, an edible shellfish once common in Southern California tide pools that has declined by 99 percent since the 1970s. On January 14, 2009, in response to a Center petition, black abalone was listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. With that listing, federal agencies by law must protect the abalone’s critical habitat.

“Critical habitat protections have a proven track record helping endangered species to survive,” said Catherine Kilduff, a staff attorney at the Center. “Black abalone is on the cusp of extinction, and further delay of habitat protection may seal the species’ fate.”

Recent studies have shown that species with critical habitat are twice as likely to be recovering as species without. Experts predict that without effective conservation measures, black abalone will be extinct within three decades due to the combined effects of overfishing, disease intensified by global warming, and ocean acidification.

“The loss of black abalone along the California coast is a warning: Our oceans are in trouble,” said Kilduff. “Habitat protections are needed to improve the black abalone’s chances for surviving the triple threat of fishing, disease, and ocean acidification.”

Once among the most visible invertebrates in Southern California tide pools, black abalone populations have declined as much as 99 percent since the early 1970s. While fishing for them is banned in the state, overfishing initially depleted the population, and poaching continues to hinder recovery.

Now the outbreak and spread of a disease called withering syndrome has caused black abalone virtually to disappear from the Southern California mainland and many areas of the Channel Islands. Ocean warming is causing the disease to spread northward and become more virulent. Meanwhile, ocean acidification threatens to dissolve the abalone’s protective shell and impair its growth and reproduction.

Congress has emphasized the importance of critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act by stating that “the ultimate effectiveness of the Endangered Species Act will depend on the designation of critical habitat.” The National Marine Fisheries Service, by law, had one year to identify critical habitat after listing the black abalone.

More information on the black abalone is available at
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/invertebrates/black_abalone/index.html

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with 255,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

How to Sex an Abalone: A Sea Snail's Story

2010-03-10T07:25:00.000-08:00

How to Sex an Abalone: A Sea Snail's Story

It has inspired smuggling rings and sells for $50 a pound in Japan. The ins and outs of an aquatic enigma.
By Ryan Bradley

1. Pick up the abalone. This may require prying the abalone from its hold, and using a stainless steel putty knife is recommended.

But let's back up for a minute, because maybe you're wondering, What is an abalone? Or, Isn't it a board game? And maybe, Why should I care about the sex of a board game you crazyperson? To answer: It is both a sea snail and a board game. But you can't sauté the board game in butter or sell it for $50 a pound in Japan. People don't form international smuggling rings or get themselves eaten by great white sharks over the board game. So we'll concern ourselves with the sex of the sea snail, which matters because the females are worth more. That's the simple answer. But the real reason behind sexing an abalone is more nuanced, and explaining how to do it in five easy steps will take up the rest of this article. The story begins at a farm.

The farm is on the California coast, about 20 minutes west of Santa Barbara on Highway 101, near some old ranches and strands of eucalyptus trees in a canyon called Dos Pueblos. It isn't much of a canyon—more of a sump, really—and there are turkey vultures circling above some cattle, and the hills are as green as County Kerry after last year's fires and last week's rain. Here, beneath a railroad viaduct near the shoreline, under five great black tarps spread across four acres, is the abalone farm. It's run by a man named Benjamin Beede. If you met him, you'd care about sexing abalones too.

Beede is an environmental biologist. How he came to farm abalone is indicative of the creature's unfortunate history. You see, abalone are delicious. For plenty of animals, this is problematic. For a slow moving sea-snail with not much in the way of a personality and a shell that makes a really nice soap dish, it's catastrophic.

When Beede began researching "abs," as they're called, in the mid-1970s, he was working with a team of abalone divers and scientists to bring them back to the wild. The disappearance of the species off the California coast, though terrible (particularly for the abalone), coincided with a serious economic boom in the most seafood hungry nation in the world: Japan. This is all to explain that although Beede is a really nice guy, from the outset he and plenty of others have had an interest in the species because there's money in it. It's always been that way.

2. With the top of the abalone's shell in the palm of your hand, turn the abalone upside down. Do not be alarmed.

The first abalone eaters were ancient. Shell piles (middens) from California's Channel Islands reveal evidence of abalone gobbling from more than 10,000 years ago. But abalone were so numerous, and people so scare, that there wasn't much of a dilemma then. After the Spanish set up shop in Point Lobos, in Northern California, in 1769, they started an abalone cannery—and so began the abalone's long descent into obscurity.

By the late 19th century, abalone were being harvested in earnest: in 1879, 2,000 tons of abalone were removed from California waters, roughly 1,000 times more than the state now produces, farms included. They were taken for their meat, of course, but also cultured for their pearls, and their shells have an iridescent nacre still prized by jewelers and makers of fancy guitars. With the California shallows stripped bare, hard-hat divers ventured deeper, into the kelp forests. Callum Roberts, in his The Unnatural History of the Sea, writes that these divers, in their heavy suits and lead boots, tethered to boat by rope and air hose, "often collected five or six hundred abalones per person per day." In the kelp beds there were "piles five to twelve animals deep."

No longer. By the time diving for abalone for sport came along, in the mid-20th century, abalone hatcheries were irrevocably damaged. Recreational ab divers are too often blamed for the demise of California's abalone. Really, they just delivered the death blow.

3. Stick the thumb of your free hand between the far side of the abalone's shell and its "foot." It's that black wiggly thing.

We are not the only animals that find abalone so tasty. As plankton, they're gobbled up by any number of unimpressive predators—muscles, barnacles, and a many-tentacled worm-like creature called a terribilis that is the Kobayashi of abalone eating, and can take down 10,000 abalone larvae in an afternoon. Beede and his colleagues discovered the terribilis's eating habits the hard way. After figuring out how to spawn abalone in a lab, they let hundreds of thousands of baby abs free in the wild ... and watched them get got by every predator on the food chain. At this point Beede and company reconsidered their tactics and took the fight back to tanks, where we're more in control of things.

4. The upside-down abalone, in an attempt to right itself, will begin crawling toward your wrist. Do not freak out: It's a snail, so the worst it can do is slime you. Besides, you need to pay attention to the underside of the abalone's shell. Focus.

Beede started farming abs in 1978. His operation today is radically different from back then. As he tells it, "We had these big rectangular tanks and the abalone wouldn't grow nearly as well." Now, the abalones are transferred from one tank to another based upon weight, size, and age. But that's not even the half of it. Beede pumps 2,500 gallons of seawater through his farm every minute. The intake is further out and deeper than it used to be, after an El Niño in 1997 when the temperatures rose and killed about 40 percent of his abs. There's also a UV system on the intake that kills 99.9 percent of all the microscopic marine life that comes in. Every few years he dries out his tanks and flushes them with fresh water.

Beede does all this because of the sabellid worm, which was brought over through the abalone-trade from South Africa and decimated California's farms. In Australia, farmers were not so cautious and the worm got into the wild and wrecked havoc. Beede also keeps cats around to hunt the rats that would eat his abs. The black tarps cover his tanks not because abalones require shade, but because a few years back some crows discovered the place, told their friends, and Beede had himself a situation that would've inspired Hitchcock.

This is all to say that the abalone is sensitive. So attuned is it to environmental conditions, and so easily preyed upon, that it has become a bellwether—its very presence proof of a healthy marine environment. Even the bands on the abalone's shell bear evidence of water conditions, and the abundance of the algae and kelp it feeds upon. Abnormal abalone larvae are proof that something is amiss. All of which brings us back to the importance of sexing.

Beede sells some of his female abs to science, and the profit margins are 25 percent higher than if he were to sell them for meat. Scientists—working on aquariums, or coastlines, even in wetlands—are after the eggs, which are used to ensure water quality. So the species we ate to the brink of extinction, and decorated our necklaces and guitars with, is now getting farmed on land to help keep our seawater less toxic. I don't think the abalone had a choice in any of this, but it still seems awfully noble for a lowly sea snail.

As for the sexing:

5. Look on the far end of the upturned shell: creamy white bands are sperm; dark bands prove it's female. Now put the abalone back in the water, where it belongs.

This article available online at:

Ref: http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2010/03/how-to-sex-an-abalone-a-sea-snails-story/37198/
Copyright © 2010 by The Atlantic Monthly Group. All Rights Reserved.

ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTY CONVICTED

2010-01-30T09:44:00.000-08:00

Categories: Eye on DP
     Date: Jan 29, 2010
    Title: Lobster Poacher Pleads Guilty

Orange County District Attorney Press Release

ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTY CONVICTED OF POSESSING TOO MANY ILLEGAL LOBSTERS *Co-defendant on-duty deputy was convicted earlier of obstructing an officer to protect this defendant

SANTA ANA - An Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) deputy pleaded guilty today to illegally possessing too many lobsters, ending a case that resulted in another deputy's conviction for obstructing an officer. William Robb III, 39, the off-duty deputy, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count each of possessing an excessive number of spiny lobsters and possessing undersized spiny lobsters. Robb was placed on one year of informal probation and was ordered to pay $800 plus penalties and assessments and a $500 donation to the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) among other terms and conditions.

Co-defendant then-Deputy Phillip Glenn Romero, 39, pleaded guilty Dec. 2, 2009, to one misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer for falsely claiming that his friend Robb, who was off-duty at the time of the incident, was a confidential informant to protect him from being cited by the CDFG for illegal lobster poaching. He was sentenced to 100 hours of community service, 18 months of probation, was ordered to pay $1,700 in restitution, fines, and donations to victim and witness services and the CDFG Preservation Fund. He was also ordered to write a letter of apology to CDFG.

On Nov. 18, 2008, Robb, who was off-duty and not in uniform, pulled up to a launch ramp on a fishing vessel in Dana Point Harbor after illegally fishing for lobsters with two other deputies, who were also off-duty and not in uniform. The law preserves and protects the lobster population by requiring that no more than seven lobsters may be caught per person and each lobster must measure three and a quarter inches or more in length.

Robb had in his possession a bucket containing 13 undersized, illegal lobsters. As CDFG Warden Justin Sandvig spoke with Robb, on-duty OCSD Deputy Romero arrived in uniform in the parking lot and requested to speak with the Warden alone. After learning that Sandvig had not yet identified Robb, Romero made up a story that Robb was a confidential informant for OCSD and Romero did not want him identified in front of the other two men. Believing this was a legitimate request by a law enforcement officer, Sandvig allowed Romero to handle the situation with Robb.

After confirming that the other two deputies on the vessel were not in possession of any illegal lobsters, Sandvig allowed them to leave. In the following days, Sandvig was in contact with Romero and attempted to obtain Robb's name for his report and in order to issue a citation. Romero continued to claim Robb was a confidential informant and refused to provide his name.

On Dec. 8, 2008, after learning the identity of Robb and the circumstances surrounding Romero's attempt to unlawfully interfere in the investigation, Sandvig submitted a report to the Orange County District Attorney's Office

(OCDA) requesting investigation and criminal charges against the defendants in this case. The OCDA investigated this case.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Olivieri of the Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted this case.

Case #09CM08236

Game wardens come and go on coast

2010-01-13T23:17:00.001-08:00

Game wardens come and go on coast
By Greg Thomas [ greg@hmbreview.com ]
Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 10:41 AM PST

Ryan McCoy served two years on the Coastside, working as a warden for the state Department of Fish and Game. Now he’s moving on. The 28-year-old warden, beloved by many Coastside fishermen and farmers, packed it in at the end of December. He’s relocating to the East Bay, a setting closer to family and more compatible with his paycheck.

McCoy’s departure isn’t surprising to anyone familiar with the turnover of wardens in the county. But it’s a painful reminder of problems with short-staffed and inexperienced law enforcement authorities that have plagued the Coastside for decades. A blended variety of urban and rural issues make the county “non-traditional from what a lot of the game wardens think of as a traditional district,” says Fish and Game Lt. Don Kelly, who supervises wardens here.

Rather than focusing their efforts in one area – say, deer hunting – wardens are tasked with combating a litany of assorted offenses and keeping watch over hundreds of square miles of coast. Preventing abalone and steelhead trout poaching, cleaning up pollutants, inspecting commercial fishermen, seafood restaurants and pet shops, and monitoring stream bed alterations near farms are among the most common duties of a San Mateo County warden, Kelly says.

Fish and Game officials say the county is considered a steppingstone where wardens fresh out of the academy hone their skills before putting them to use elsewhere. “It’s pretty much been that way since time,” Kelly said.

Like clockwork, wardens leave as soon as they’re eligible for transfers – after two or three years. Unfortunately for Coastsiders, observers say that means wardens are heading out right around the time they hit their strides.

“They get to know the territory, and where the poachers go, and then the new guy comes on and we have to show him where everything is again,” said lifelong Pescadero fisherman Steve Simms, airing his frustration with the high turnover.

In general, the high cost of living in and around San Mateo County drives out wardens on the low end of the pay scale. In Kelly’s seven years as a supervisor he’s seen five of seven wardens rotate out.

When asked what it would take for a warden to stay put, Kelly replied frankly, “Money and mo’ money.”

State Parks rangers fill a similar role of resource protection and law enforcement on the Coastside, but turnover isn’t nearly as common. That’s because the agency has housing on its parklands for its workers.

“That makes a huge difference,” said Paul Keel, State Parks San Mateo Coast Sector superintendent. “We keep employees longer because of that.”

The state’s widespread budget cutbacks add another layer to the conundrum: understaffing on all levels of the department.

Between Humboldt and San Louis Obispo counties there are 90 positions at Fish and Game. Only 57 are currently filled. In San Mateo County, with McCoy’s departure, two wardens now patrol an area meant for four.

The Coastside has been undermanned for about 40 years, says county Farm Bureau Manager Jack Olsen. And even with local farmers and fishermen chipping in to report and occasionally confront poachers unlawfully scooping animals from streams and tide pools, crime persists, undermining local wildlife restoration efforts.

Depleting fish populations on the South Coast has troubled recreational fishermen there for more than a decade. Pete Congdon, an avid angler and member of the Native Sons of the Golden West, Pebble Beach Parlor in Pescadero, periodically stumbles onto dragnets in backcountry creeks. He said wardens are simply “not effective” at deterring poachers.

“I know it’s tough,” Congdon said. “You have to make a full-time job out of this, which is kind of what our tax dollars are supposed to do with Fish and Game.”

Kelly and McCoy are cognizant of such issues, but wardens can’t be everywhere at once. When calls come in they’re forced to prioritize, which often means taking care of immediate issues and, begrudgingly, letting go of long-term pursuits.

“When you don’t have enough people to cover the things that need to be covered … it takes you away from anything that would be an in-depth investigation,” Kelly said.

A solution to keeping wardens on the coast might be recruiting people who have personal roots in the area. The tactic has proven successful elsewhere and Kelly thinks it could work here as well.

“We’re hoping to entice people who are in the area into the job, especially if they want to stay here,” he said.
All Materials Copyright © 2010 Half Moon Bay Review

News : Game wardens come and go on coast : Half Moon Bay Review, California

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California Court Slams Wardens for Illegally Stopping Motorists Over Lobsters

2010-01-09T15:07:00.000-08:00

California Court Slams Wardens for Illegally Stopping Motorists Over Lobsters

California Court of Appeal smacks down Department of Fish and Game for stopping and searching cars without authority.

California spiny lobsterThe California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District on Tuesday ruled that a state agency may not pull over and search a motorist on a mere hunch that a lobster might be hidden in the vehicle. The court considered the case of Bounh Maikhio, a motorist stopped by Department of Fish and Game Warden Erik Fleet on August 19, 2007 at 11pm. That evening, Fleet had been spying through a telescope on the Ocean Beach pier in San Diego when he saw Maikhio put something into his bag.

Fleet testified that he did not "necessarily" suspect Maikhio of a crime because he had no way of knowing whether the man had been fishing legitimately or not. Regardless, Fleet waited until Maikhio had driven away from the pier to stop him. While searching through his car. Fleet found Maikhio's bag, which contained a spiny lobster. Maikhio was handcuffed and cited for lobster possession during closed season.

The case is of particular interest because California Attorney General Jerry Brown argued that a state warden has the right to stop any driver "without reasonable suspicion that he committed any crime." Maikhio, in contrast, could not afford to hire an attorney and was represented by the public defender's office which argued no such authority existed. The appeals court agreed, citing a 1944 attorney general's ruling. The court argued that wardens could enforce the law without harassing motorists.

"It may be fairly implied from sections 1006 and 2012 that a DFG warden generally has the implied power to stop people who are fishing on a pier to demand they exhibit their catch and to inspect their receptacles (e.g., tackle boxes, pails, etc.) in which fish may be stored," Justice Alex C. McDonald wrote for the majority. "However, contrary to the people's conclusory assertion, it cannot be fairly implied from the DFG's express statutory powers that its wardens have the power to stop a specific vehicle on a public street and detain its occupants to make a section 2012 demand and conduct a section 1006 inspection."

The court went on to explain that because the warden had no individualized suspicion that Maikhio had been involved in criminal activity, the stop was just as unconstitutional as setting up a roadblock to search every passing vehicle for lobsters.

"Although the people argue Fleet's method of using a spotting scope to observe fishing activity and then stop vehicles on public streets to check compliance with fishing laws and regulations is the most effective means of promoting the government's interest in protecting fish, the fact that a certain method of promoting a government interest is the most effective does not necessarily make it reasonable under Fourth Amendment, particularly if a less intrusive method exists," McDonald explained.

Justice Patricia D. Benke disagreed, arguing that Constitutional protections do not apply to motorists who may also be hunters or fishermen.

"Because of the highly regulated nature of hunting and fishing and the consequent diminished expectation of privacy of hunters and fisherman, there is no requirement in our statutes or under the Constitution that a game warden believe that any crimes have been committed or that any game regulations have been violated before exercising his or her powers of inspection," Benke wrote in her dissent.

A copy of the decision is available in a 90k PDF file at the source link below.

Source: California v. Maikhio (Court of Appeal, State of California, 1/5/2010)

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T01:35:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year 1/365, originally uploaded by Kirk Howard.

California Fishing License Futures Contract

2009-12-31T00:01:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year when we need to renew or get a new California Fishing License. This time you may want to consider a Lic's futures contract. A What? you might ask, but this is how it works.

Just like a futures contract in the stock market, except it's is a California Fishing or Hunting License that will last your entire life. You buy a life time license, the price of said license will very depending on your age. The money goes into an escrow account tagged with your name, and over the following years the DFG or the State Controller will take the appropriate amount out of the account every year to pay for that years annual license.

Here is the gamble. It's not cheap to pay all up front. So, if you expire before your time the state wins and they keep the remaining funds. However, if you out live the dirt you occupy, and like we have seen in the recent years as the license fee's increase, you could make out like a bandit.

Another catch for those of us that fish in the sea, their is an extra charge for the "Ocean Enhancement Stamp" which is an additional lump of cash. Click Here for a list of the Fee's

Ref: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/lifetime/lifetimeinfo.html

Merry Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T01:33:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas 2009, originally uploaded by Kirk Howard.

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope everyone is enjoying their day with family and friends.

Kathlene and I are enjoying Christmas in San Clemente this year with my Family. As you can tell from the image I took on Christmas Eve the weather is great.

Merry Christmas, and I hope Santa brought everything on your Christmas list.

Costco to get Big Isle abalone

2009-12-16T12:25:00.001-08:00

Big Island Abalone Corp.'s made-in-Hawaii abalone will be available in Costco stores on Oahu beginning tomorrow.

The first Costco run will be tomorrow through Sunday at the Costco in Hawaii Kai and Monday through Dec. 24 at the Costco store in Iwilei. The abalone will be brought to other Costco stores in January.

Orange County deputy convicted in lobster-poaching case

2009-12-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

An Orange County sheriff's deputy was convicted today for falsely claiming a fellow off-duty deputy was a confidential informant to protect him from being cited for lobster poaching.

Deputy Phillip Glenn Romero, 39, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer, prosecutors said.

Romero was sentenced to 100 hours of community service, 18 months of probation and was ordered to pay $1,700 in restitution, fines and donations, including a payment to a preservation fund of the California Department of Fish and Game. He also was ordered to write a letter of apology to the state agency, according to the Orange County district attorney's office.

Deputy William Robb, 39, is charged with one misdemeanor count each of possessing an excessive number of spiny lobsters and possessing undersized spiny lobsters, prosecutors said. If convicted, Robb faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail. He is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Dec. 17 at the Santa Ana courthouse.

Robb, who was off-duty, allegedly had a bucket with 13 undersized lobsters when he was questioned in November 2008 at the Dana Point harbor by a state game warden. At that point, prosecutors said, Romero arrived in uniform and realized that the agent had not identified Robb.

Prosecutors said Romero told the agent that he did not want Robb identified because he was a confidential informant for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

-- Robert J. Lopez

Ref:http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/12/orange-county-deputy-convicted-in-lobsterpoaching-case.html

Crews on California coast search for abalone diver

2009-10-22T07:54:00.000-07:00

The Associated Press
Posted: 10/20/2009 02:02:26 PM PDT
Updated: 10/20/2009 02:02:26 PM PDT

SEA RANCH, Calif.—Search crews on the Northern Californian coast are looking for a missing abalone diver after finding diving gear and fresh abalone abandoned on a beach.

State fire crews on Tuesday were searching the bluffs near Sea Ranch for a body or other clues.

The search began Monday when a rope was found dangling from a nearby bluff above a beach where free diving, or diving without oxygen tanks, is permitted. Investigators then found the gear, including a flotation device, and abalone on the beach.

There have been no missing persons reports and no abandoned vehicle found. The U.S. Coast Guard also has found no signs of a diver in distress.

ref: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_13602421?nclick_check=1

Sea Ranch Sunset

2009-10-01T21:20:00.001-07:00

Sea Ranch Sunset
Originally uploaded by Kirk Howard

Sunset on our first night of the G.W.S.H. Great White Snail Hunt of 2009, Sea Ranch, CA

Tsunami Warning

2009-09-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

Date: Tuesday September 29, 2009
Time: 4:45 PM
An 8.3-magnitude quake struck at 17:48 GMT (10:48 PDT), generating 5.1ft waves in Apia and Pago Pago, American Samoa. This has, according to the BBC, resulted in at least 20 deaths there.

The National Weather Service has issued a Tsunami Advisory for all coastal areas of California and Oregon.

According to the NWS warnings, a possible Tsunami could hit the SoCal coast around 9:30 this evening. This wave event is not a surfable event, but instead, should be viewed with caution. Although wave size has not been great, the surge could penetrate inland, so coastal flooding is of concern. Please note also that the Tsunami may only generate a few inches of height for the California coast, but caution is still warranted, and the NWS and Tsunami warning center are continuing their advisories at this time.

For more information, please visit the NOAA Tsunami Warning Center at wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov.

Largest Natural Abalone Pearl

2009-09-28T07:53:00.000-07:00

Description: This is a close to perfectly formed Natural Red Abalone Pearl found off the coast of Northern California. It is over 4 inches long, and 2-1/4 inches wide at its widest point, and this pearl is slightly less than 300 carats. Abalone pearls are very rare - possibly 1 out of 1.5 million may possess a small pearl, but something of this size would definitely qualify as a unique find. Though typical clam pearls are round, however, Abalone pearls are known to have a horn shaped figure. This pearl possesses the beautiful unique greenish blue luster common to the Nornthern California Abalones.

Thanks to Snorage for the link...

Ref:Guinness World Record

Marine Life Protection Act Initiative

2009-09-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

Chesbro says unity key in MLPA process

John Driscoll/The Times-Standard

Posted: 09/15/2009 01:24:15 AM PDT

Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro said Monday that the North Coast's best strategy to handle the oncoming Marine Life Protection Act Initiative is to stay united in the face of an administration bent on pressing forward.

Chesbro, D-Arcata, said that California Natural Resources Agency Secretary Mike Chrisman was surprised at the reception the initiative received on the North Coast. That cohesive front, Chesbro said, presented by fishermen, environmentalists, tribes and governments, was born out of longtime efforts by locals to protect regional fisheries.

”That's the strength that we have,” Chesbro said. “That's the power we have.”

The MLPA looks to protect a range of habitats along the California coast, such as rocky areas and kelp forests and species that live in them. There are three different types of marine protected areas, one which would allow no fishing or harvesting of marine life, one that would allow some sport fishing only, and one that would allow some limited sport and commercial fishing. The areas are expected to work as a network.

Earlier this month, Chrisman answered a letter sent by all local governments, tribes and special districts in the area, in which they voiced concerns about the science, economics and approach behind the initiative. They asked Chrisman to consider delaying the process in light of California's budget crisis and a lack of data to support the creation of marine protected areas.

Chrisman said that the planning process currently has no funding problem, thanks to the public-private partnership backing the initiative. He also insisted that adequate data and science are available.

”It is encouraging that with adequate resources and time you are willing to work proactively with the state to implement the MLPA,” Chrisman wrote.

Chrisman wrote that while the state is unlikely to have the funds to implement and enforce marine protected areas, it will continue to look to public-private partnerships to fund the program.

But Chesbro, who voted for the MLPA in 1999, said that he had no idea at the time that private interests would end up being the force behind the initiative, and that he objects to how it's been implemented. But since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger insists on going forward with the plan, Chesbro said his aim is to redesign how it goes forward. That means it should be shaped by local communities and have the North Coast's economy at its center, he said.

Local commercial fisherman Dave Bitts said that every effort should be expended to develop a single, unified proposal to submit to the MLPA Initiative. But he also said that it's important to try to stop the implementation of the plans because of the horrible financial condition of what he called a nearly “failed state.”

Bitts said that the California Department of Fish and Game can't successfully keep people from poaching abalone -- and that's one of few violations wardens concern themselves with.

”How in the hell do they think they're going to administer marine reserves when they can't keep people from poaching abalone?”

ref: http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_13339859

B.V. Poke...

2009-09-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

1. Tuna (Cut in Chunks or Cubes)
2. Thin Green Onions
3. Garlic (Chopped)
4. ½ Red Onion (Sliced)
5. Seaseme oil
6. Wasabe
7. Red Chili Flakes
8. Ginger
9. Lemon Juice
10. Lime Juice
11. Seasme Seeds

Sea sick

2009-09-16T00:01:00.001-07:00

It isn’t obvious from the beaches on the scenic Sonoma Coast, but the health of the world’s oceans is tenuous.

From declining fish stocks to rising levels of acid to a swirling vortex of discarded plastic in the northern Pacific, there are signs that the world’s oceans could present the next environmental crisis.

A new emphasis on protecting streams offers hope for restoring fisheries, as do plans to remove dams on the Klamath River and elsewhere that have kept salmon from reaching their historic spawning grounds.

This summer, California created 22 marine protection zones along the coast from San Francisco Bay to Mendocino County, which should help restore stocks of rock fish and abalone, offering more hope to the state’s beleaguered fishing industry. Similar ocean sanctuaries already were established between Santa Barbara and Half Moon Bay, and more are likely along California’s 1,100 miles of coastline.

Meanwhile, scientists at UC’s Bodega Bay Marine Lab are focused on the threat to marine life from the changing chemistry of ocean water.

Researchers say rapidly rising levels of carbon dioxide in the air — a result of global climate change — are being replicated in the ocean. That, in turn, results in higher levels of acid in ocean water.

Scientists have found evidence that mollusk shells are dissolving and mussel beds are disappearing. Their current study is focused on oysters, but they’re also concerned about long-term consequences for abalone, urchins, clams and other shellfish.

The threat is economic as well as environmental: California’s shellfish industry recorded more than $16 million in sales last year.

“Very little is known about how ocean acidification is unfolding, other than it is,” Susan Williams, the director of the Bodega Bay Marine Lab, told Staff Writer Bob Norberg. “We are already seeing dramatic effects.”

Another dramatic effect of human activity is the huge field of discarded plastic trapped in a gyre of ocean currents between Hawaii and Japan. Known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, by some estimates it covers an expanse of ocean the size of Texas and includes as much as 100 tons of plastic, most of it discarded on land.

UC San Diego researchers recently visited the zone and found some large pieces, including stuffed toys, buckets and bottles. But the small pieces, many smaller than a thumb nail, concern them most because they’re easily swallowed by seabirds and marine mammals. Japanese scientists recently reported that the plastics break down faster in the ocean water, releasing contaminants that may add to the threat to marine life. Scientists fear there may be another patch of plastic waste in the south Pacific.

It may be impossible to clean up the plastic that’s already there, but it’s one more good reason to think twice about how you dispose of trash.

Ahi Tuna Poke

2009-09-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

2 pounds fresh or sashimi-grade Ahi tuna steaks, cut into bite-size pieces*
1/2 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup chopped green onions (tops included)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 to 2 chile peppers, cored, seeded, and finely minced
Coarse salt to taste
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds**
1 tablespoon finely chopped toasted macadamia nuts***
Boy choy or romaine lettuce leaves

* If you cannot buy freshly caught fish, purchase only fresh sashimi or sushi-grade fish.

** To toast sesame seeds: Place sesame seeds in a small dry saucepan over medium heat; stirring occasionally, toast 3 minutes or until golden brown (watch closely as seeds burn easily).

*** To toast whole macadamia nuts: spread whole nuts on a baking or cookie sheet and toast in a preheated 300 degree F. oven for 5 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned (watch closely as nuts burn easily).

In a large bowl, combine tuna, soy sauce, green onions, sesame oil, ginger, chile pepper, salt, sesame seeds, and macadamia nuts; mix lightly. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

To serve, tear leaves into comfortable holding sizes and spoon approximately 3 tablespoons of poke onto each piece. either eat with your fingers or use a fork or chopsticks.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Pokemon...

2009-09-15T16:00:00.000-07:00

Brian didn't make any of his famous Hawaiian Poke this year so here is a recipe that I found that would go great with that left over tuna we all took home from last weekends F.O.O.T.S meeting and Great White Snail Hunt.

Hawaiian Poke

Poke (pronounced POH-kay) is served in most Hawaiian homes and restaurants as a side dish, and no gathering in Hawaii would be complete without a few bowls of poke. In Hawaiian, poke means "cut piece" or "small piece." Poke is bite-size pieces of raw fish doused in seasonings. Poke is actually the Hawaiian version of the elegant Japanese sashimi (a combining of the Hawaiian and Japanese taste for raw fish). The fish for poke is sometimes even lightly seared or fried.

For centuries, Hawaiian fishermen cut their catch of raw fish into cubes and seasoned it with whatever ingredients they had. Modern versions make use of seasonings brought by the many different cultures of the Islands, such as soy sauce, onions, tomatoes, and chilies. Poke is so common in the Hawaiian culture, that you can stop at a local grocery store and choose from several freshly made varieties.

Mention regional foods to Hawaiians, and people think of poke. It is considered a local food or "local grind" - comfort food to the Hawaiians. Normally local food is not the cuisine that is served in upscale hotels and restaurants of Hawaii, but poke has crossed such boundaries. Poke is still evolving in the Hawaiian Islands. It was not until the 1970s that the recipes for poke started appearing in cookbooks.

In September of each year, Sam Choy, one of Hawaii's most famous chefs, hosts an annual 3-day poke festival. The contest draws over 2,000 entries from Western Canada, the mainland United States, Hawaii, and the South Pacific. From these, 75 entries are selected as finalists, with many wildly inventive variations of the basic poke. The public is invited to taste after the judging, and it does not take long for the poke to disappear amidst a murmur of "mmmms" and "ahhs."

Brian Vann's Poke recipe. Click... Here

Great White Snail Hunt 2009

2009-09-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

Haven’t you heard that the time is near? In a little less then a week the annual meeting of the F.O.O.T.S. Fraternal Order of the Snail will commence in an undisclosed location. OK, it’s been disclosed...

As we are making final preparations to gear, grocery list and a five star menu prepared by the Master Chef Daryl, here is the teaser I posted after last years F.O.O.T.S. meeting.

Teaser Great White Snail Hunt 2008 from KiHo on Vimeo.

Freedive the Red Sea

2009-09-07T22:36:00.000-07:00

Since we are gearing up and packing for our Great White Snail Hunt 2009, I thought I would post a little inspirational video.

The first no fins, no suit freedive through the Arch, a 30m long tunnel connecting Dahab's Blue Hole to the Red Sea at a depth of 55m. William Trubridge is the world record holder in unassisted freediving.

DFG Abalone Regs Video

2009-09-04T07:57:00.000-07:00

Here is a video I ran across from the California Department of Fish and Game website. If you can get through the very lame acting and dialogue the information content provided is informative. Link: ABALONE SPORT FISHING REGULATIONS PAGE

P.S. Look at the mask in the opening credits, man is that "Old Skool". It looks like something Brian would dive with...

Free Fishing Day in California

2009-09-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

Free Fishing Day in California This Labor Day

Labor Day is just about here, which means no work and, better yet, free fly fishing for all in California.

That's right, if you've waited this long to buy your fishing license this year (shame on you by the way), you'll get a free pass on Monday, Sept. 7, 2009, which has been designated a Free Fishing Day by the Department of Fish and Game.

This free day only applies to anglers fishing in California, although a similar day is planned in Georgia on Sept. 26.

While anglers aren’t required to have a fishing license in California this coming Monday, the appropriate report card is necessary when fishing for abalone, steelhead, sturgeon, spiny lobster, or salmon in the Klamath-Trinity River System. All other rules, including daily bag and possession limits, must be followed. Call (209) 957-4867 for more information.

Read more about free fishing days in California and rules that affect the state you fish in.

Dana Harbor Poaching

2009-08-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

Sheriff Deputies Charged After Dana Harbor Poaching

August 26, 2009

The Orange County District Attorney's Office

SANTA ANA - An Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) deputy has been charged with falsely claiming an off-duty officer was a confidential informant and using his law enforcement position to protect his friend from being cited by the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) for illegal lobster poaching. The off-duty deputy has been charged with violating lobster fishing laws. Deputy Phillip Glenn Romero, 39, is charged with one misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer. Deputy William Robb, 39, is charged with one misdemeanor count each of possessing an excessive number of spiny lobsters and possessing undersized spiny lobsters. If convicted, Robb and Romero both face a maximum sentence of one year in jail. Both defendants are scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 14, 2009, at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. The time and Department are to be determined.

On Nov. 18, 2008, OCSD Deputy Robb, who was off-duty and not in uniform, pulled up to a launch ramp on a fishing vessel in Dana Point Harbor after illegally fishing for lobsters with two other deputies, who were also off-duty and not in uniform. The law preserves and protects the lobster population by requiring that no more than seven lobsters may be caught per person and each lobster must measure three and a quarter inches or more in length.

Robb is accused of being in possession of a bucket containing 13 undersized, illegal lobsters. As CDFG Warden Justin Sandvig spoke with Robb, on-duty OCSD Deputy Romero arrived in uniform in the parking lot and requested to speak with the Warden alone. After learning that Sandvig had not yet identified Robb, Romero is accused of making up a story that Robb was a confidential informant for OCSD and Romero did not want him identified in front of the other two men. Believing this was a legitimate request by a law enforcement officer, Sandvig allowed Romero to handle the situation with Robb.

After confirming that the other two deputies on the vessel were not in possession of any illegal lobsters, Sandvig allowed them to leave. In the following days, Sandvig was in contact with Romero and attempted to obtain Robb's name for his report and in order to issue a citation. Romero is accused of continuing to claim Robb was a confidential informant and refusing to provide his name.

On December 8, 2008, after learning the identity of Robb and the circumstances surrounding Romero's attempt to unlawfully interfere in the investigation, Sandvig submitted a report to the Orange County District Attorney's Office (OCDA) requesting investigation and criminal charges against the defendants in this case. The OCDA investigated this case.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Olivieri of the Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting this case.

Ref: DP Times

Fish and Game deploys new K-9 teams

2009-07-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

Gina Tenorio
The Desert Sun

Five police service dogs and their warden handlers have graduated from the Department of Fish and Game's K-9 Academy in Riverside County recently and were scheduled to begin patrolling.

Those new teams bring the number of canine teams with the department to 20. Teams were to be deployed to counties throughout the state including Riverside County.

Teams aim to stop poaching and criminal activities that harm the state’s habitats, species and resources, according to a DFG news release. Dogs are trained to detect scents including bear, deer, lobster, abalone and firearms, according to the release.

They can also search vessels for Quagga and Zebra mussels, invasive fresh water mussels that could threaten California's environment and economy.

The DFG's K-9 Program is funded largely through private donations, officials said.

Information: www.dfg.ca.gov/enforcement/K9.

Aloha...

2009-07-27T17:36:00.000-07:00

Aloha, we all made it back from Maui, Hawaii in one piece. I think I speak for all that went (Kathlene, Karla, Krista, Kirk) we are none too pleased to be back on the mainland.

Vacations no matter how long they are, they never seem long enough. It felt like yesterday we were on our way to Hawaii. Unfortunately all good things come to an end and so did our Maui vacation.

If you didn't know and you may not really care I have a travel blog on TravelPod.com. If anyone is interested to read more about our trip you can follow this link to the My TravelPod Blog.

Here is a little video I shot on Saturday our last full day on Maui. I had been snorkeling earlier in the day at Black Rock Point with Kathlene and Krista. During that snorkel session we saw some Green Sea Turtles. The turtles had surfaced for air while we were there.

I decide I would go for one last snorkel session during the evening before dinner. I walked to Black Rock and slipped into the water at 5:30 PM. I was the only person in the water.

I swam over to where I had last seen the turtles earlier in the day. I was pleased to see that one turtle was in his little hidy hole.

Now I would just wait for him to surface for air, which could be a 30 minute wait. Fortunately I only had to wait about five minutes. The turtle surfaced and then proceeded swim along the face of Black Rock...

I will let the video tell the rest of the story. I hope you can enjoy it half as much as I did filming it.

Mahalo

Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle from KiHo on Vimeo.

Abalone Cook-Off & Festival

2009-07-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

Abalone Cook-Off & Festival — Oct. 3; Noyo Harbor, Fort Bragg. Enjoy abalone tastings, food, wine, live music, craft fair and more. www.mendoparks.org/abalone/default.html.; 707-937-4700.

Swim for His Life

2009-06-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of a friend of mine Greg Farrier. Greg and I grew up in San Clemente. We went to school together in Junior High and High School. As things happen in life we grew apart and went our separate ways. Greg has always lived to swim. Swimming for Greg is a great love like surfing or Abalone Diving for others.

Last year while I was at work in San Francisco I came across an article on SFGate.com about Greg and his heroic swim from Catalina Island to Palos Verde. His swim was heroic in that Greg didn't swim for himself, but for memory of the untimely death of a local San Clemente boy.

9 year old Evan Cousineau is really the real hero in this story. Evan was diagnosed with Adrenoleukodystrophy, or ALD – a genetic disorder that progressively deteriorates brain function. Evan lost the battle with ADL on November 2, 2007.

If you have the time watch the three videos of Greg's swim. He started at midnight and finished 9 hours and 54 minuets after he left the sandy shores of Catalina Island.

The boat they used for the support boat was the Bottom Scratcher. Some of you may have heard of the Bottom Scratcher and her infamous captain, Captain Greg Elliott. Towards the end of the second video you will see Captain Greg break the dawn silence by playing his bag pipes.

A few years back in my single years, I was doing a limo run for my friends company, to the Queen Mary in Long Beach. The Bottom Scratcher is berthed in nearby Long Beach berth 55. I popped by to say hello. I have been a frequent visitor/diver on the Bottom Scrather and Captain Greg's pervious love, the Golden Doubloon. While I was there Greg took out his pipes and played me a tune. If you have ever heard bag pipes played you know they are loud. Imagine having them played for you in the confined space, like the wheel house of the Bottom Scratcher. Yikes...

1 of 3

2 of 3

3 of 3

Thanks for watching...

SENTENCED

2009-06-08T21:20:00.000-07:00

COURT REPORTS

The following was compiled from information prepared by the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office.

SENTENCED -- Los Angeles-area abalone divers were sentenced recently for their illegal take of abalone on the Mendocino Coast in May 2008.

Ricky Sco, Kun Chung, Hak Kim and Weon Lim pleaded guilty in a May 28, 2009 hearing. Judge Ronald Brown sentenced the four to pay a $20,000 fine each, probation and 45 days in jail, and a lifetime ban on harvesting abalone in California, according to a report from the DA's Office.

At a hearing earlier this year, California Department of Fish and Game warden Eric Bloom testified as a witness for the DA's Office. An anonymous tip led to the discovery of 62 abalone inside coolers in the back of an SUV in Fort Bragg. In the front seat of the vehicle there was $3,257 in cash, according to the DA's Office.

The four defendants admitted that what they had done was illegal and said the abalone were planned for a party and to give as gifts to friends, the DA's Office stated.

There is a presumption in the law that any person possessing 12 abalone is guilty of commercial poaching. Cases like this one require quick police work so that the abalone are not successfully hidden, the DA's Office said. Fish and Game wardens Gary Combes and Don Powers also helped in the 2008 arrest.

Suspected abalone poachers cited

2009-05-30T19:47:00.000-07:00

131 suspected abalone poachers cited on North Coast

11 people arrested during four-day operation

By GLENDA ANDERSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Friday, May 29, 2009 at 12:19 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, May 29, 2009 at 8:11 p.m.

Eleven suspected abalone poachers were jailed and another 131 people were cited and released during a four-day enforcement operation along the Sonoma and Mendocino coasts.

“This was a very aggressive effort and it paid off in a big way,” California Department of Fish and Game spokesman Patrick Foy said Friday.

Several hundred abalone were seized during the operation, including 166 of the protected mollusks from the 11 men and women arrested near Caspar in Mendocino County, he said.

The 11 people who were arrested are suspected of working together, he said.

Their names were not available Friday. Two were from Chicago, two were from Los Angeles and the rest were Bay Area residents, Foy said.

They will be charged with felony conspiracy to harvest abalone for commercial purposes.

Under state law, when someone is caught with more than 12 abalone, it is assumed the abalone is intended for commercial sales, Foy said.

Game officials watched as the suspects, working in groups, would catch, hide and then transport the abalone.

They took mostly undersized abalone from the ocean at low tide and then hid them in tall grass on the beach.

The abalone were later picked up by a van and taken to a hotel for storage.

Officials confiscated 50 abalone from the van. Another 79 were seized from a motel in Caspar, south of Fort Bragg.

Each abalone can fetch up to $100 on the black market.

Divers are legally allowed three abalone per day. The annual total is 24.

Foy said the enforcement operation included about 18 wardens. It was conducted because of the low tides over the weekend.

“It brings abalone divers out in droves,” Foy said.

Of the citations issued during the operation, some were for exceeding the abalone limit while others were for taking undersized abalone or failing to fill out the required reporting cards, he said.

The wardens camped out at chilly Fort Ross during the operation because of the state budget cuts, he said.

“It’s a sad state of affairs, but we’re not giving up,” Foy said.

Poachers arrested in NorCal

2009-05-29T20:09:00.000-07:00

11 suspected abalone poachers arrested in NorCal

By JASON DEAREN Associated Press Writer
Posted: 05/29/2009 11:46:06 AM PDT
Updated: 05/29/2009 04:13:11 PM PDT

SAN FRANCISCO—Eleven suspected abalone poachers are under arrest after state game wardens watched the group catch, hide and transport the protected mollusks off the North Coast, officials said Friday.

California Department of Fish & Game wardens first noticed suspicious divers exiting waters near Caspar, south of Fort Bragg, at about 6:15 a.m. on Wednesday. The wardens had been on alert for increased poaching in Mendocino County because the tide was unusually low, exposing areas of reef usually underwater, officials said.

Fish & Game Lt. Kathy Ponting, who runs the special operations unit, said her team drove to a spot near the suspicious divers and began surveillance. They watched the divers take abalone and place the mollusks in tall grass near the beach, she said. "Then a large van pulled up near the dive area and we watched them load up a bunch of abalone in plastic bags into the van," Ponting said.

While the divers went back to the sea, wardens said they followed the van, pulling it over. Inside the van, Ponting said they found 50 abalone. Divers are legally allowed three abalone per day—which can fetch up to $100 each on the black market. The annual total per person is 24. When the van did not return to the dive spot, the alleged poachers loaded a pickup, said Ponting. Again wardens followed them back to a nearby hotel. Inside the room officials found coolers loaded with abalone, most under legal size limits.

Strict controls are placed on catching abalone, prized for their flavor and scarcity, because they take a long time to develop. It can take 12 years for an abalone to grow to legal size. The wardens found a total of 166 abalone with the group, Ponting said. State law forbids collecting abalone from the wild for sale, and anyone caught with a dozen or more are considered to possess them for commercial sale.

Despite the arrests, officials said efforts to control abalone poaching are just scratching the surface. "We always only catch the tip of the iceberg, there is so much abalone poaching going on because of the black market," Ponting said. "We can pick almost any group and watch them poaching abalone. It's really unsettling."

The suspects were each booked on charges of felony conspiracy to harvest abalone for commercial purposes, which carries a fine of up to $40,000, said Game Warden Patrick Foy. Two vehicles also were seized along with $6,000 cash.

The status of the suspects and their names could not immediately be confirmed as the Mendocino District Attorney's Office was closed Friday.

Open Season

2009-04-01T08:41:00.001-07:00

Open Season, originally uploaded by Kirk Howard.

Abalone Season Officially starts ½ hour before sunrise April 1, 2009. You know a 1/2 hour before sunrise there was a huge collective splash as Ab divers hit the water.

Umm UM! I can already taste that delectable white meat sautéed in Oil, Butter and Crushed Garlic.

Keeps your Fin Tips up and your Snorkel Dry

Open Season

2009-04-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

Good Morning… Up and Adam… It’s Abalone Season! Keeps your Fin Tips up and your Snorkel Dry.

Lomo Macaw - Featured in Diablo Magazine

2009-02-02T13:23:00.001-08:00

Lomo Macaw, originally uploaded by Kirk Howard.

Diablo Magazine in their infinite wisdom has selected this photo for the Feb. 2, 2009 "Photo of the Day".
______________________________________________________

In the September 2008 issue of Popular Photography, Digital Toolbox there was an article “Cheap Shots” that described how to recreate Lomography.

Lomography started about 17 years ago in Austrian photographers got their hands on some cheap Russian made plastic cameras called Lomo LC-A. This came gave them extra contrast, saturation and big vignette. Lomography has expanded from these cheap little cameras.

This is my version of the Photoshop remake of the Lomography PS tutorial.

Black Abalone Protected

2009-01-13T12:31:00.000-08:00

January 13, 2009

Black Abalone Protected as an Endangered Species

California Marine Species Threatened by Overharvesting, Disease,

Global Warming, and Ocean Acidification

SAN FRANCISCO— The federal government today designated the black abalone as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act. The action comes in response to a formal administrative petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity in December 2006, which sought protection of the species. The black abalone — an intertidal mollusk historically ranging from near the California/Oregon border to Cape San Lucas, Baja California — has declined by as much as 99 percent in most of its range.

Once occurring at densities of up to 120 per square meter, the black abalone was among the most common and visible invertebrates in Southern California tidepools. But the species has now virtually disappeared from the Southern California mainland and from many areas of the Channel Islands where it was once most abundant.

“The plight of the black abalone speaks volumes about the way we treat our oceans,” said Brendan Cummings, ocean program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The combined effects of overfishing, disease, global warming, and ocean acidification have pushed this animal to the brink of extinction.”

The primary drivers of the decline of black abalone are commercial fishing, which severely depleted most populations, followed by the outbreak and spread of a disease known as withering syndrome, which has devastated remaining populations in the Channel Islands and Southern California and is continuing to spread northward through the remaining range of the species.

While fishing of black abalone is now banned in California, withering syndrome has yet to be controlled and remains a dire threat to the continued existence of the species. Because the disease is more virulent in warm water, as the sea temperatures off California rise in the face of global warming, the deadly symptoms of withering syndrome are likely to spread to currently unaffected abalone in the northern portion of the species’ range.

Ocean acidification — the lowering of the pH of seawater as a result of the absorption of excess CO2 in the atmosphere — also poses a growing threat to the species. California’s waters are growing more acidic at an alarming rate, and unless CO2 emissions are dramatically curtailed, the ability of the black abalone and other shelled marine species to build their protective shells will be impaired.

“The black abalone is positioned to be the first of California’s marine species to be driven extinct by our thirst for fossil fuels,” said Cummings. “Unless we quickly address global warming and ocean acidification, we will lose not just the black abalone, but also salmon and sea otters and the very fabric of California’s ocean ecosystem.”

The National Marine Fisheries Service, the federal agency charged with implementing the Endangered Species Act for marine species, must now designate critical habitat for the black abalone and convene a recovery team to develop a plan to protect the species.

The black abalone joins the white abalone and elkhorn and stag horn corals as the only marine invertebrates protected by the Endangered Species Act. Each of the species has achieved legal protection following Center for Biological Diversity petitions.

More information on the black abalone petition is available at
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/invertebrates/black_abalone/index.html

The National Marine Fisheries Service’s finding, issued today, is available at
http://federalregister.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2009-00635_PI.pdf

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 200,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

5 Arrested

2009-01-11T12:23:00.000-08:00

5 arrested in abalone poaching bust on North Coast

The Associated Press
Posted: 01/10/2009 06:43:11 PM PST

SANTA ROSA, Calif.—State Fish and Game officials say they have arrested five suspected abalone poachers on the North Coast.
Officials collected 31 of the mollusks in the bust, and identified those arrested as 20-year-old Charles Miller IV; 19-year-old Michael Ray Phipps; 19-year-old Joshua Stockman; 19-year-old Joshua Berto and 20-year-old Corin Devlin.
Three suspects are being held on felony abalone possession and conspiracy to poach abalone for commercial sale, among other charges. Berto and Devlin were released on bail.
Officials say a warden saw Miller diving at Fort Ross on Thursday. The warden later found a sack of abalone hidden on the beach.
Fish and Game set up a night surveillance, and witnessed the suspects returning to get their stash. Officials followed the men, and say the men threw abalone out of their car windows when they realized they were being followed by authorities.

Ref: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_11425414?nclick_check=1

Holiday Message...

2008-12-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

Save the Date

2008-12-14T16:07:00.000-08:00

2009 Great White Snail Hunt

The purpose of this email is to inform you that I booked the house for the 2009 Great White Snail Hunt. Arriving Friday, 9/11/09, Departing Monday, 9/14/09.

As is our custom, those who attended the last hunt have "first right of refusal" on the 2009 hunt. That's you guys. If you tell me you can't make it by June, then we'll find someone to take your place. I do not need a commitment or a deposit until June. I'll send another email in May.

The house is "Graceland" (the one with the poles in the living room). Some of us met John, the owner, last year. He is very much in favor of abalone hunters. He has also reconditioned the house, inside and out.

Click on the photo to zoom in "Graceland". Our house is in the lower left of the zoomed photo.

Keep your snorkel dry.

Bruce Rausch

Abalone as big as a turkey

2008-12-02T17:19:00.000-08:00

Dinner was an abalone as big as a turkey

By CHRIS SMITH

Published: Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at 4:21 a.m.
There's little room for Thanksgiving leftovers in Craig McMahon's fridge because the other day he pried from the ocean near The Sea Ranch the Butterball of abalones.

The Santa Rosan said the sea was rough and night was falling as he and buddy Peter Consulter of Petaluma forced a brand-new pry bar beneath the giant, and yanked. The bar bent nearly 45 degrees.

"We spent 45 minutes getting it," McMahon said. He said the abalone measured nearly 10 inches long and weighed 10.5 pounds. The record-holding California ab was just over 12 inches long and weighed 11.6 pounds.

McMahon said he and seven friends ate their fill of abalone Sunday night and didn't finish half of it. It'll be a week at least of ab, mayo and cranberry sandwiches.

'HOME' FOR THE HOLIDAYS: The most remarkable thing about this weekend's Open House at Luther Burbank Home & Gardens may be that it really will be open.

As harrowing as Santa Rosa's finances have become, volunteers at the gem of a city park at Sonoma and Santa Rosa avenues won't charge even for the customary spiced tea and fresh-baked cookies.

That doesn't mean there won't be anything at the two-day Open House (www.lutherburbank.org) for folks looking to shop.

On top of everything else they do to preserve and share this historical treasure, some volunteers create gift items and donate them for sale at the holiday event.

Worth special attention: the glorious birdhouses that volunteer chairman Richard Russ constructs of scrap wood and then passes on to fellow volunteers for hand-painting.

DECEMBER 7, AGAIN: One more time, a dwindled group of veterans who survived the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor will gather in Santa Rosa to remember that Sunday morning in Hawaii and all the buddies they lost then and in the intervening decades.

And one more time, the old Pearl vets -- the junior members of the bunch are in their mid-to-late 80s -- suspect that this may be their last Dec. 7 observance.

Members of Chapter 23 of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association invite the public to come out Sunday morning and join as many of them as are physically able to make it to the memorial breakfast at the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building.

The doors will open to the dining room at 7:30 a.m. If you'd like to have breakfast with the Pearl survivors, bring eight bucks.

The program will start a bit past 9 a.m. The vets will shoot to wrap it up by 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time, the moment that unfamiliar planes appeared over Pearl Harbor and everything suddenly changed.

MY OLD SOLDIER: I need to take a few days off because my favorite member of the Greatest Generation died on Thanksgiving morning.

When Pearl Harbor was attacked, my father, Donald C. Smith, was a young chemist completing work on his Ph.D. He didn't go to war but stayed and contributed to the effort by working on military technology such as high-temperature silicones.

He worked many years in the aerospace industry and helped put the Surveyors on the moon ahead of the Apollo missions. He didn't pry himself off the job until he was 72.

The day before he died, he arose at about 6 in his room at a homey assisted-living residence in Nevada, read the paper and ate breakfast, then drove to his favorite casino and played bingo, winning $60. He ate a banana split after dinner and watched TV before he turned in and slept until about 6. It appears he was rising from bed as his heart stopped.

I believe my dad would have no complaints about the death that came at age 91 years and nine months, though he was looking forward to Thanksgiving.

2008-11-17T11:28:00.001-08:00

A B A L O N E Shells, originally uploaded by Kirk Howard.

Local landing cashing in...

2008-11-13T05:47:00.000-08:00

Local landing cashing in at the Cortez Bank
By George Van Zant, Correspondent
Article Launched: 11/12/2008 11:32:25 PM PST

The local offshore fishing has been excellent. The boats that are going about 100-miles offshore to the Cortez Bank and offshore are catching plenty of yellowtail and big to bigger rockfish.

The sportboat Freedom from 22nd Street Landing recently landed two 50-pound yellowtail at the Cortez and a 10-year-old boy caught a 16-pound bonito. That is an amazing feat and has to qualify for some kind of record. The California record is 21 pounds caught in 2003.

Personally, I have never seen a bonito over six pounds but I will vouch for their fighting ability because pound for pound they are number one on my fighting list.

Jim Cutter of 22nd Street Landing said the landing will be sending the Freedom on a day-and-half trip next Monday and Saturday to the Cortez. Don Ashley at Pierpoint Landing reports they will also be sending boats in that direction.

Four sportboats from Pierpoint fished San Nicholas Island last week for limits of large tasty rockfish. When the weather eases up all the landings expect the super fish bite to continue. Ashley reports the local fishing is red hot with limits of 4-5 pound bonito being caught. There is no shortage of bait with all the receivers reporting plenty of firecracker sardines available.

The Central Section groundfish season is closing Nov 30. I can't help but feel remorse for the sportfishing fleet in the Central Section. In the past, the Central fleet switched to rockfish when the salmon season ended. The sportsboat fleet now has a rough time fishing because along with the rockcod closure the salmon season has been cancelled for the next two years.

Read more here...

Q & A with F & G...

2008-11-12T12:04:00.000-08:00

I’ve decided to avoid the obivious news of the Sunnyvale man that went missing while diving for abalone over the weekend. Instead I found a little Q & A… This Q & A comes to you from the Redwood Times.

Q & A with Fish & Game
Redwood Times
Article Launched: 11/12/2008 08:24:58 AM PST

Q: I know a guy who was abalone diving off his kayak and took three nice abalone that all measured around nine inches. He was diving for big abs and so was using a nine-inch gauge, but had his required seven-inch gauge in his goody bag. When he finished up and got back to the beach with his tagged abalone and his gauges in his goody bag, there was a game warden waiting there who had been watching him and wrote him a ticket for using a nine-inch gauge instead of a seven-inch gauge. Why did he get a ticket?

A: Abalone divers are required to “carry a fixed caliper measuring gauge capable of accurately measuring seven inches” and are required to retain any legal-sized abalone they detach and add them to their bag. It is fine to use a gauge larger than the required seven-inch gauge to measure over-sized abalone when trophy hunting. The problem occurs when a diver detaches and brings an abalone to the surface, measures it with only a nine-inch gauge, and then ejects it for being smaller than their personal target size even though the abalone may still be of the minimum legal size, seven inches or larger. This practice puts the diver in violation and this practice is considered “high-grading.”

To avoid this kind of ticket, divers should not return any abalone before first measuring with a seven-inch gauge to be sure they are smaller than legal size. A seven-inch gauge should be in the immediate vicinity of where the diver surfaces (in hand, float tube or kayak) so that the abalone can be readily measured and if they then turn out to be short, the diver can then return it to the same location where originally taken. The violation occurs when divers detach and then reject legal sized abalone because they are seeking only the oversized ones.

Waiting...Waiting... and more Weighting...

2008-10-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

Hey... It's almost done... Actually my part is done. I am just waiting for George to send the video file to add to the extended video. I think I may need to do some more editing...

If anyone hears anything from George let him know I am waiting for the videos. He can send a CD or DVD to my home address.

Here is a little teaser to keep the masses satisfied...

Teaser Great White Snail Hunt 2008 from KiHo on Vimeo.

NOAA News

2008-10-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

NOAA Completes White Abalone Recovery Plan
October 20, 2008

NOAA’s Fisheries Service has made available the final recovery plan for white abalone, a marine mollusk listed in 2001 as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

This recovery plan outlines reasonable actions which are believed to be required to recover and/or protect white abalone, and is required by the ESA as a guideline for the conservation and survival of ESA listed species. The primary goal of this recovery plan is to establish self-sustaining populations of white abalone in a number of locations throughout its historic range.

The plan recommends a number of actions. NOAA scientists will work closely with the state of California, other federal agencies, private organizations and the Mexican government to monitor white abalone. They will use acoustic remote sensing technology to identify and learn as much as possible about potential white abalone habitat and will continue to expand the captive program, so more can be released into the wild.

The white abalone is the first marine invertebrate to be listed as endangered under the act. It was once abundant off the coasts of Baja and southern California, where it thrived in waters from approximately 15 to 200 feet deep, making it the deepest occurring abalone species in California.

Abalone reproduce by releasing eggs or sperm into open water. Usually, large groups of abalone gather in a single location to do this, increasing the chance of fertilization. At the height of the commercial fishery in the 1970s, divers harvested abalone in large quantities - resulting in a decreased population able to reproduce.

Today, scientists’ estimates of white abalone densities show much lower numbers than historic estimates. There may be just a few thousand left in southern California. The white abalone population in Mexico is thought to be depleted based on commercial fishery data, but the status of the species in Mexico remains uncertain.

The final plan is available on the web or by emailing: whiteabalone.recoveryplan@noaa.gov. NOAA made the draft recovery plan available for public comment in 2006.

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.

ref: www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/20081020_abalone.html

A Must See...

2008-10-21T05:41:00.000-07:00

I found this on Vimeo. I thought it was awesome. It's seven minuets long but worth watching. Kirk Out!

Galapagos from Darek Sepiolo on Vimeo.

When Sea Ranch Nazis' Stirke...

2008-10-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

Abalone divers challenge seizure of prized catch

The Associated Press
Article Launched: 10/19/2008 05:21:24 PM PDT

SEA RANCH, Calif.—A group of abalone divers who had their prized catch confiscated by a sheriff's deputy and given away to firefighters is vowing to challenge the seizure in court.
Jasper Monti, an attorney representing the five men, says the Sonoma County sheriff's department cited his clients for trespassing on a private beach, then took away a dozen mollusks. Conti says the seizure was improper because his clients were not cited for abalone fishing violations.

However, the sheriff's department says the men trespassed, and therefore caught the abalone illegally, making the catch eligible for confiscation.

Abalone fishing is tightly regulated, with laws requiring that fishermen immediately tag and document their catch when they exit the water. Officials also say the men were warned that they did not follow proper abalone fishing procedures.

Monti says at least one of the men wants to challenge the trespassing charge so that the matter will be heard in court.

He says the fishermen hope to prove that authorities improperly seized the delicacies, which are caught by diving in the frigid, kelp-laden waters off California's north coast.

ref: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_10762651?nclick_check=1
_________________________________________________________________

I thought the coastal commission said that the beaches are to remain public, and that use of beach access trails are also deemed for public use? -KiHo

Abalone divers in a perilous quest...

2008-10-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

Abalone divers in a perilous quest for a succulent snail

Diving for slow-moving abalone has become one of California's most hazardous recreational activities. Seven divers have died so far this year off the rugged coast of Sonoma and Mendocino counties.

By Richard C. Paddock
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

October 18, 2008
MENDOCINO, CALIF. — Shaun Stratton pulled on his wetsuit, grabbed his inner tube and headed to the beach to take part in one of California's riskiest pastimes: hunting for abalone.

It's not that abalone is an elusive quarry. The giant snail inches its way across the rocks in relatively shallow water. Even so, diving for abalone has become one of California's most hazardous recreational activities.

At least seven abalone hunters have died so far this year along the rugged coast of Sonoma and Mendocino counties, authorities say. Last year, seven died in Mendocino County alone.

"When you throw yourself into the food chain, there are a lot of factors," said Stratton, 54, a general contractor fro

m Chico. "You lose your advantages. You can't just pull yourself out if you get in trouble."

Some divers say the danger is compounded by a ban on the use of air tanks by abalone divers and a lack of education about the hazards divers face.

One recent casualty was Richard Baer, a former U.S. Coast Guard rescue crewman and California Highway Patrol officer. An experienced diver, the 57-year-old businessman drowned Sept. 12 near Sea Ranch in Sonoma County after he got tangled in thick kelp.

"I spent a lot of time training for this kind of thing and I have dealt with a lot of death," said Ron Long, a certified diving instructor who tried to save Baer. "But there was nothing that prepared me to go down in 12 feet of water and stare at the face of my best friend who was drowned."

Long added: "I am not ever going abalone diving again."

The quest for abalone brings thousands of people to the Northern California coast during the season, which runs from April 1 to Nov. 30 with a month-long break in July. The divers swim down and pry the abalone off rocks in water as deep as 15 feet.

Abalone aficionados rave about the slow-growing mollusks' "velvety tenderness" and "succulent flavor." Divers often come to the coast in groups -- renting a house or camping out -- and cook their catch at the end of the day. Some divers return year after year.

As the numbers of abalone have declined over the years, the state has banned commercial harvesting and imposed ever stricter regulations on recreational hunters.

Abalone divers must have licenses and can take only one species, the red abalone, north of San Francisco. Divers are limited to three abalone a day and 24 a year. Each one must be at least 7 inches in diameter.

Divers are allowed to use a mask, snorkel and flippers. Typically, they also wear a weight belt and take along a covered inner tube to hold their gear.

Click here to read more.

richard.paddock@ latimes.com

Lobsters In His Pants...

2008-10-13T07:39:00.000-07:00

Is that a Lobster in your pants... or are you just happy to see me?

SAN DIEGO, CA—It’s a good thing that lobsters in the San Diego area don’t have pincers.

A game warden with the California Department of Fish and Game says a man accused of lobster poaching was caught with six live lobsters stuffed down his pants.

Wardens say Binh Quany Chau, 33, who has already been cited four times for poaching, took the lobsters from the La Jolla State Marine Conservation Area. Chau was arrested after wardens said they saw “odd bulges” in the man’s pants. They found six lobsters wrapped in newspapers stuffed in Chau’s pants. The lobsters were returned to the ocean. 10-12-08

NORTH COUNTRY GAZETTE

Think about and train yourselves for that emergency...

2008-09-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

Dead fish Divers,

Fellas, I don't know many of you and fewer of you know me. I was with Paul Baker Friday the 12th, when Rich Baer of Scottsdale drowned. Rich was my lifelong best friend. So...why am I writing to a bunch of people who I don't know?? Read on if you will, and bear with me.

This is NOT intended to be a lecture, just some food for thought. Like most of you I've spent considerable time in the water in oceans all over the world, and am therefore pretty confident and rarely consider the risks. Kind of spent most of my life thinking "it can't happen to us." Sound familiar???? In an instant it happened, and as I sit here I can tell you it is not at all a fun situation. Paul and I have sat for hours and talked through this tragedy discussing the "what ifs" as well as the actual situation over and over. We aren't done going back through it because at least for me it helps to talk about it. All I can say about that is I hope none of you EVER have to talk about it as we have.

How do you avoid having to deal with a situation such as this??? First off change the way you do things in that ocean. Don't take the risks for granted.......think strongly about the possibilities. One of you wrote that "we are all aware of the hazards and risks when we slip on that wetsuit." Just a note to this; NOT at all intended to be a boast, I was a Coast Guard Helicopter rescue crewman and am a PADI certified scuba Instructor, I am aware of the risks related to that ocean, but like some of us I chose to ignore them. So...start talking to your friends about what to do if something happens out there...have a plan B...have a plan C. Dive together...two is ALWAYS better than one in an emergency. Think about and train yourselves for that emergency.

Next.....and this is going to be my mission, I hope to have some of your support, get Dept. of Fish and Game to modify their stance on supplied air around abalone divers. I can say with certainty if I would have had an air source (scuba) say in my float tube I would have quite probably saved Rich's life. He was under for less than a minute and a half when I reached and saw him, kelp entanglement made it immediately impossible for me to surface him. With an air source I could have untangled and surfaced him sooner. Who knows???? I may have shoved a regulator in his mouth prior to him taking that fateful last gasp.

How do you have supplied air and not use it to harvest abalone contrary to the sport version of abalone diving? Simple, a DFG seal around the regulator that is only removed in a bon-fide emergency and your day is over. I know there is a way to do this to offset drownings. One other thought...what if Paul and I couldn't get Rich surfaced? We would have had to mark the body and wait for a Sheriffs diver or Coast Guard diver to find and recover him, with air at hand recovery would be possible.

-Ron Long

Abalone diver dies near Sea Ranch...

2008-09-22T10:01:00.000-07:00

By NATHAN HALVERSON THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Sunday, September 21, 2008 at 10:59 p.m. Last Modified: Sunday, September 21, 2008 at 11:02 p.m.

An abalone diver died Sunday near Sea Ranch after apparently suffering a medical emergency just minutes after entering the water.

The 38-year-old San Francisco man, whose name was not released pending the notification of relatives, complained of being extremely tired moments after entering the ocean, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department.

The man’s two companions swam him to a rock about 100 yards from shore and pulled him out of the water. The man quit breathing, and his friends administered CPR and shouted for help, according to reports. A fisherman passing on shore spotted them and called 911.

Rescuers called the the sheriff’s helicopter, which flew the man to shore. Paramedics were unable to resuscitate him.

The death was the seventh this year related to abalone diving on the North Coast. An Arizona man died two weeks ago near Sea Ranch after becoming caught in kelp.

At least two of the abalone-related deaths are suspected of being caused by heart attacks.
Last year, heart attacks also were suspected in at least three of seven abalone-diving-related deaths on the North Coast.

New Bug Rules...

2008-09-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

The lobster season arrives next week. At 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning Sept. 27 you can throw those hoop nets over.

Remember to take the measuring devices and your Report Card along with you. Regulations require that prior to fishing activity, the card holder must record the month, day, location and gear on the first available line on the report card. When the cardholder moves to another location or finishes fishing for the day he or she must immediately record on the card the number of lobster kept from that location. An additional card may be purchased in the event an individual fills in all the lines and returns a lobster report card. All undersized lobster must be returned immediately, seven is the daily limit.

Divers must have their license on the boat or 500 yards from the point of entry if diving from shore. The card costs $7.90.

The fishing license costs $38.85 and an Ocean Enhancement Stamp $4.45 (yes you have to buy it).

The card expires December 31, 2008 at which time you will have to buy another one even though you have lines left on the old card.

Abalone diver dies off Sea Ranch

2008-09-13T22:48:00.000-07:00

Does anyone know if this was anyone from PB's crew?

Published: Saturday, September 13, 2008 at 8:37 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, September 13, 2008 at 8:38 a.m.
An abalone diver apparently drowned off Sea Ranch on Friday afternoon, the sixth person to die in pursuit of the mollusk on the North Coast this year.

The victim’s identity was not available.

Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department and Cal Fire emergency crews responded to a report of an abalone diver unconscious and without a pulse about 4 p.m. Later, the Sonoma County coroner was called out to the scene.

Reports indicated the diver may have become separated from his two diving buddies and was missing before friends found him and pulled him from the water.

The three men were diving off Galleons Reach, about 5½ miles north of Stewarts Point, sheriff’s officials said.

The drowning was the sixth on the North Coast this year related to abalone diving.

Three of the drownings have been in Sonoma County, and three were in Mendocino County.

Last year, seven abalone divers drowned in ocean waters along the region’s coastline.

Abalone is a prized catch that draws divers from the Bay Area, Central Valley and elsewhere beyond the North Coast.

Abalone can be taken during two seasons. The first runs April 1 through June 30, and the second season from Aug. 1 through Nov. 30.

Secret Location of the G.W.S.H.

2008-08-19T13:44:00.000-07:00

You all know how to get to Sea Ranch. Get up. Sober up. Shower up (optional). Gas up and go

Eat on the way. Dinner on Friday won't be until someone bags some snails. Tri Tip is on the menu for another night, but we could move that up in the case of extreme surf on Friday.

Turn left at Vantage Road at mile marker 54.4

Go to Breakers Reach and turn left.

Follow the smell of abalone to the house located at 37779 Breakers Reach.

The phone number at the house is (707) 785-2818. We should be there about 1 PM.

Fearless Leader,

Bruce

My cell number is (949) 275-7602

MAP:

View Larger Map

Abalone diver drowns

2008-08-11T06:28:00.000-07:00

Abalone season has restarted from a brief break and bad news abounds.

____________________________________________________

Abalone diver drowns in Sonoma County
By MIKE McCOYTHE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Saturday, August 9, 2008 at 6:49 p.m. Last Modified: Saturday, August 9, 2008 at 7:02 p.m.

A 54-year-old man diving for abalone near Stillwater Cove off the Sonoma County coast died Saturday, the victim of an apparent drowning.

Witnesses on shore reported seeing the man struggling after apparently getting entangled in kelp, sheriff’s deputies said. Other divers in the area swam to the victim, who deputies say may have been under water for as long as 10 minutes, and pulled him to shore, where they began CPR.

Rescue personnel from Timber Cove fire, state parks and the Sonoma County sheriff’s helicopter arrived and took over resuscitation efforts, but the victim was declared dead at 12:40 p.m.

Sheriff’s personnel declined to identify the victim pending notification of next of kin.
The drowning was the fifth abalone-related death this year on the North Coast. Last year, seven people died.

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Barque Eagle...

2008-07-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

Once again my office window presents a unbelievable view. The USCGC Eagle is parked outside my office window at the moment here is a snapshot of the 295 ft. Barque class sailing vessel, ordered and commisioned by Adolf Hitler, built for Nazi Germany and used by the Third Reich as a training vessel.

Kelp is Key...

2008-07-11T10:09:00.001-07:00

SAN ONOFRE: Kelp forest in the makingBy PAUL SISSON - Staff Writer

SAN ONOFRE ---- On the surface, it just does not make much sense. A yellow bulldozer pushes boulder after boulder into the Pacific Ocean like a bored kid chucking rocks into a lake. But, for the San Onofre artificial reef project, magic happens as the rocks pile up on the sandy bottom at a depth of 30 to 40 feet.

Soon, kelp spores will drift onto the submerged rock piles from the nearby San Mateo kelp beds. They will use the submerged structures as a foothold for a new 150-acre underwater forest that marine biologists hope will soon house a complete ecosystem of sea creatures, from lobster to kelp bass.

Kelp is the key. "This is a good kelp year, we're seeing a lot of spores, and we think it should take about two years to grow once we're finished building," said Pat Tennant, a marine biologist who works for Southern California Edison, the power producer building the $40 million kelp project. Read more...

The snails did go quickly...

2008-07-10T16:24:00.000-07:00

If you get a chance read this article. Read more, jump here...

Curse Of The Sea Snail

2008-07-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

Curse Of The Sea Snail
Poachers Are Chasing Abalone To The Brink Of Extinction. Cops Can't Stop Them, And Environmentalists Don't Seem To Care
NEWSWEEK
Updated: 2:24 PM ET Oct 29, 2007
As the boat nears the beach at Hawston Harbor, a group of South African plain-clothes cops wearing jeans and sneakers jump out of a double-cab pickup truck with shotguns and handguns drawn. But the poachers, seven or eight of them, must have gotten wind of the bust. From the boat, one fires a pistol in the air. The officers dive behind a red car for cover and lob a container of tear gas at a hostile crowd now gathering on the beach. After a few tense minutes, one of the cops emerges from behind the car, almost daring the shooter to fire again. "It was only a scare tactic," he scoffs, "while they ditch the 'pearlies'." But the tactic succeeds. By the time the cops reach the shoreline, the boat is racing off again, and there's nothing left to confiscate.
The battle over abalone is not typically as sexy as other African wildlife crusades. This overgrown sea snail doesn't set pulses beating among environmentalists in Europe or the United States. Yet the abalone--known on Africa's southern tip as the perlemoen--is master of its realm, king of the kelp forest. And like the elephant and rhino, it will soon go extinct without protection. Gourmands in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Taiwan pay $60 a plate for the delicacy--and prices are still rising. That has spurred criminal gangs to bear down on the world's least-protected abalone fishery, a 200-kilometer stretch of the South African coastline. "The authorities are understaffed, underpaid, outgunned and outnumbered," says Thomas Peschak, a University of Cape Town marine biologist studying the effects of the decline of the local abalone species, Haliotis midae. "The way things are going now, I give the species three or four years."
That would be the end of a long road. Archeological remains show that southern African aborigines dined on Haliotis midae as early as 4,000 years ago. Commercial fishing began in 1952 in South Africa, and around the same time in other prime breeding grounds off Canada, California, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. In recent years over fishing has led all those countries to severely limit or end harvests of most of the more than 50 commercial species of abalone.
Partly as a result of reduced supply, prices have skyrocketed. That may ultimately make commercial abalone farming economically viable despite the heavy capital investment it requires, say industry analysts. Unfortunately, these creatures grow slowly: it can take a dozen years for an abalone to reach reproductive maturity, when it's about the size of a bowl of cereal.
This slack between supply and demand has drawn Asian criminal gangs to the region. Exploiting the newly open borders and spotty law enforcement of post-apartheid South Africa, they have established working relationships with local gangsters, who sometimes take their pay in guns and drugs. Black-market "beach" prices for shucked abalone have shot up from about $12 per kilo in 1996 to an average of $35 this year, says Peschak. An experienced scuba diver can strip the sea floor of 50 kilograms of shucked abalone in an hour. (Using a sharp knife and a screwdriver, the diver first pops the gripping foot of the mollusk off the sea floor, then slices it cleanly out of its shell.) Lately the Hong Kong price for dried abalone has gone as high as $90 a kilo. The black-market trade may approach $100 million per year.
South African authorities have tried to rise to the challenge. Since August 2000 a special police unit has arrested 2,377 poachers and confiscated 548,394 abalone. Prosecutors have moved to confiscate convicted poachers' property, and authorities are considering a total ban on the fishery. But the effort has been hamstrung by corruption--several police officers have themselves been charged with poaching--and the fact that profits remain high in comparison with the penalties, which seldom include jail. A former high-school teacher admits privately he has gone into poaching full time "for the money." One suspect, caught in his spanking-new pickup, tells NEWSWEEK, "I'm a conservationist, but when there is so much money at stake, who cares about some fish?"
If the poaching persists, the environment will suffer. Abalone constitute the dominant species along the coastal marine ecosystem, and if they go, says Peschak, it will have a dramatic knock-on effect. For instance, without abalone to clean the silt off kelp, urchins and mussels would have no place to settle. Over fishing has already reduced the abalone's average size, which has degraded the sea floor. "An area rich in biomass is turning into underwater desert," Peschak says. The abalone's obscurity makes that no less of a loss.

URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/62955

Buenos Dias...

2008-06-12T06:52:00.000-07:00

Good Morning,

Here I am at work waiting for the opening bell to ring. I looked out the bay window as the sun was rising, and this is what I saw @ 5:59AM.

The count goes to 3...

2008-06-11T05:34:00.000-07:00

Abalone diver died of heart failure
By Glenda Anderson THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 10:23 a.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 2:48 p.m.

The Sacramento man who died while hunting for abalone along Mendocino County’s south coast Thursday succumbed to heart failure, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

Larry Hashigami, 64, of Sacramento, had been diving for abalone with a friend in a cove near Point Arena when he died.

The friend said they stopped diving and were walking on rocks on their way back to the Arena Cove parking area when he lost sight of his friend. He located him in the water.

Hashigami is the third person to die while abalone diving on the North Coast this year. The death of one of the others, Yasufimi Hamamoto, of Fresno, also is believed to be heart-related.

At least three of the seven abalone hunting deaths last year on the North Coast also are suspected of being heart-related.

June 7 Will Be First Of Two Free Fishing Days

2008-06-05T06:06:00.000-07:00

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- They say nothing in life is free, but on June 7 the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will waive the license requirement for fishing in California.

The June Free Fishing Day is the first of two offered by DFG this year, and will allow people 16 and older the opportunity to fish on all freshwater and ocean waters in California, officials said.
Joe Ferreira, coordinator of the Sacramento area Fishing in the City program said he encourages experienced anglers to become instructors and to approach the event as a "share the sport day."
"It is a perfect opportunity to take friends who have never fished out to give it a try," Ferreira said. "You won't have to ask your new students to purchase a license at this time and it should prove to be great fun for all of you."

DFG's Fishing in the City program started in 1993 and uses the free days to offer an opportunity to discover the joy of fishing in metropolitan areas.

On Free Fishing Day, however, every angler must have the appropriate report card if they are fishing for abalone, steelhead, sturgeon or salmon in the Klamath-Trinity river system.

All other fishing regulations, such as bag and size limits, fishing hours, stream closures and gear restrictions remain in effect.

SFGate.com/Free Fishing Days

K-9 Nose...

2008-05-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

K-9 abalone bust: On the Sonoma coast, DFG wardens spotted what appeared to be two poacher look-outs on a bluff with binoculars, apparently in contact with nearby abalone divers. After tracking the suspects to a campsite, Warden Lynette Shimek arrived with her dog, Ellen, recently trained and certified to sniff out hidden abalone. The dog proceeded to discover hidden garbage bags that contained vacuum-sealed abalone. Wardens counted 58 abalone and arrested eight individuals for overlimits and other infractions. The limit is three.

Shark Conspiracy...

2008-04-30T09:16:00.000-07:00

It's a shark conspiracy. On Feb. 15th 2008 Monterey Bay Aquarium released the juvenile White Shark they had in their big tank. Since the release they have tracked the sharks movement. Here is an interactive of the sharks route. As of the last recorded Data the shark was in the right spot for a Surfer Snack. Last known position

Who's Next...?

Local triathlete killed in shark attack
By Karen Kucher and Debbi Farr Baker
UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM
and Terry Rodgers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
1:48 p.m. April 25, 2008
SOLANA BEACH – A retired veterinarian who was swimming with members of a triathlon club was killed Friday morning in a shark attack north of Fletcher Cove.

A marine expert said the wounds appeared to be from a great white shark, an attack he described as “practically unprecedented” in the area.

The victim, 66-year-old David Martin of Solana Beach, a member of the Triathlon Club of San Diego and a father of four, was attacked shortly after 7 a.m. as he was swimming about 150 yards offshore in water 20 to 30 feet deep, officials said.

Read more…

Shark attack in Mexico kills American surfer
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
(04-29) 19:53 PDT ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) --
A U.S. surfer was killed in a shark attack off Mexico's southern Pacific coast, officials said Tuesday.

The San Francisco man bled to death on Monday after a gray shark bit his right thigh, leaving a 15-inch (38-centimeter) wound, the Guerrero state Public Safety Department said in a statement. Read more…

Third Florida Shark Attack Leaves 18-Year-Old Surfer Hurt
Tuesday , April 29, 2008
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. —
There have been three shark attacks in as many days in the Atlantic Ocean off New Smyrna Beach.
Eighteen-year-old David Alger was getting on his board when Read more…

Save the Date...

2008-04-15T13:55:00.000-07:00

This years Great White Snail Hunt has been announced. The G.W.H.S. open ceremony will commence on September 5, 2008. The four days of feeding will continue until September 8, 2008 or until all the food and beverages are consumed, whichever comes first.

Stay tuned for more detail to follow.

Abalone Jerky

2008-04-15T13:40:00.000-07:00

ABALONE JERKY

1 Large raw abalone
2 cups teriyaki sauce
2 & ½ tablespoons garlic powder
2 & ½ tablespoons meat tenderizer
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon salt*
*Teriyaki has a lot of salt so the recommended ¼ tspn. may not be needed.

Use an electric meat slicker to cut the abalone into slices 1/8-inch thick, the cut slices into 2-inch wide strips. Marinate for 30 minutes in teriyaki sauce. While marinating mix garlic powder, meat tenderizer, salt and pepper in salt shaker.

Remove the abalone from marinade one piece at a time, and sprinkle heavily with spice mixture. Tenderize the abalone well, beating the spices into the meat. Be carefule not to pulverize the abalone. Turn the meat over, sprinkle heavily with spices, and finish tenderizing. Place each strip on a cookie cooling rack with the edges just touching.

Place racks in an oven preheated to 200 degrees. For moister jerky, bake for 2 hours; for crisper jerky, bake for 3 hours or to suit your taste.

Substitute other sauces for teriyaki marinade if desired. This recipe works well for those darker abalone that tend to be tough when cooked.

Abalone diver rescued from cliff

2008-04-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

Abalone diver rescued from cliff

By RANDI ROSSMANN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
April 07, 2008

Opening weekend for this year's abalone season brought mollusk hunters to the North Coast, including one found clinging to a cliff in need of rescue.The Sonoma County sheriff's helicopter crew, patrolling the coast Sunday morning for signs of divers in trouble, spotted the man.

He was about 30 feet from the top of a 300-foot cliff south of Fort Ross known to locals as "Cardiac Hill."Harold Ng, 56, of Daly City may have been stuck for as long as two hours on the crumbling cliffside before he was found, Sheriff's Sgt. Sgt. Eric Thomsen said. Friends had reported Ng missing.

Leaving the cove below, Ng had gotten separated from a friend and missed the trail to the top. Still in his wet suit and carrying his gear, he was picking his own path."He'd obviously slipped a couple times," said Thomsen, who supervises the helicopter crew. "He was all muddy.

"After the diver was spotted from the air, Thomsen was placed at the end of the helicopter's long rescue line and slowly lowered alongside Ng. The cliff was so steep Thomsen said he couldn't get a foothold in the slipping shale. He put a harness around Ng and the helicopter pilot carried them to safety."When we set him down, he was just exhausted," Thomsen said.Ng apparently didn't need medical care.

The helicopter crew then returned to patrolling the coast. It was part of the annual effort by the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department, state park rangers, life guards and volunteers who roam the coast on the first weekend of abalone season, looking for signs of trouble and trying to educate divers to the sport's dangers.

Last year, six abalone divers died off the Mendocino County coast in the first three months of the season. Mendocino County Sheriff's Sgt. Dan Edwards Sunday said no deaths or major problems were reported from the weekend dive there. The Sonoma County coast watchers were out at 7 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.About 30 members of the sheriff's search and rescue team joined the effort. Carrying radios to call for help if necessary, they took up posts from Fort Ross to Fisk Mill, watching divers go in and making sure they came out, Thomsen said.

While Saturday was windy and the water was choppy, early Sunday brought a decent low tide and calmer water. That brought out the crowds, state Ranger Karen Broderick said."We were pretty busy today," said Broderick, noting however, that it was a good day, with the only action being the successful cliff rescue.

The spring season opened April 1 and runs until June 30. After a one-month hiatus the season resumes Aug. 1 through Nov. 30.

Open Season...

2008-04-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

California's sport divers and pickers will soon be back in the water along the north coast in pursuit of the elusive and highly desirable red abalone. April 1 marks the opening of the state's seven-month split-season for this popular mollusk in waters north of San Francisco Bay, announced the Department of Fish and Game (DFG.)

Abalone divers and pickers are required to have a California fishing license (if 16 years of age or older) and an abalone permit report card. The 2005 abalone permit report card is currently available for $16.00 through all DFG offices and most license vendors.

The sport season for abalone runs each year during the same split-time periods. The recreational bag limits for abalone - three per day, 24 per year - remain the same as last season.

North coast red abalone can only be taken for personal consumption and not for sale or barter. Regulations include a 7-inch minimum size limit, measured along the longest shell diameter, and require possession of a fixed measuring device. Sport divers are prohibited from using SCUBA or other surface-supplied air equipment to catch abalone, and cannot possess abalone on board any boat, vessel, or floating device on the water that contains SCUBA or surface-supplied air. Abalone and scuba gear may be transported together on land, however divers working from boats, kayaks, float tubes or other floating devices who wish to use SCUBA equipment to take finfish or other animals will need to make a separate trip to take abalone.

Here is some important information concerning abalone permit report cards (also known as “punch cards”):

The license agent is responsible for writing the abalone punch card number on the angler's sport fishing license, and the sport fishing license number on the abalone punch card. Divers and pickers should verify that this happens.
The fishing location code and other required information must be completed immediately upon returning to the shore or boat with abalone.
Paper "chads" that result from punching holes in the abalone punch card must be completely removed (no “hanging chads”).

It is mandatory to return abalone punch cards to the DFG,either at the end of the season or when no further abalone will be taken for the season.

Abalone punch cards should be sent to:
DFG
19160 South Harbor Drive
Fort Bragg, CA 95437-5798.

Cards must be received within 30 days of the Nov. 30 season closure, regardless of whether any abalone were taken.

For the full set of abalone fishing regulations, visit DFG's Marine Region Web site at www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/sportfishing_regs2005.html. For more information on California's abalone, go to the Marine Region's abalone resource Web site at www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/abalone.html.