BARBARY COAST DIVERS
News and Events
Christmas Party at Pete's House- directions to follow!
Check out the latest edition of the California Department of Fish and Game's online newsletter, the Marine Management News. They're proud to bring you all the latest Marine Region news quickly and efficiently! Just go to: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/newsletter/1003.html to find the October edition of the newsletter, or click on a link below to go to a specific article.
Over 3,000 acres of ocean around Little Water Caye Island in southeast Belize is to be set aside as sanctuary for whale sharks. The area is known to divers as the only predictable gathering point for whale sharks, and is an important breeding ground for many species of reef fish. To read more: http://www.divernet.com/news/stories/whaleshark101003.shtml
MILLIONS PLEDGED TO CLEAN UP RUSSIAN ARCTIC - A new international project to clean up the Russian Arctic has been announced in London. The $30m project will, among other things, make abandoned military bases safe, investigate the use of algae to clean up oil spills and involve indigenous peoples in environmental protection. The Arctic is threatened by a number of pollutants, including poisonous heavy metals, radioactive leaks and run-off of industrial chemicals. And the Russian shores are more affected than any other part of the region. The new project is funded by international bodies and Western governments, and coordinated by a number of environmental organizations, including the Advisory Committee on the Protection of the Sea. To read the entire story, go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3203719.stm
--SOURCE: BBC News, World Edition. October 22, 2003.
WILD ATLANTIC SALMON AT RISK FROM FISH FARMS - A new study from Ireland has found that farmed salmon that were released and then bred with wild salmon created hybrids that die at a younger age. The study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London by P. McGinnity et al., found that salmon created by interbreeding survived 27-89% as long as wild salmon. The ten-year study involved releasing into a river known numbers of farmed salmon and eggs of wild-farmed hybrids. Fish were later recaptured and their parentage identified using DNA profiling. ---SOURCE: Nature, Vol. 425, October 23, 2003.
CHINOOK,CHUM and COHO SALMON SPAWNING IN MARIN'S LAGUNITAS WATERSHED. SEE SPAWNING SALMON ON A NATURALIST LED CREEK WALK. We have observed three different species of salmon spawning in the Lagunitas Watershed this winter so far - Coho, Chinook and Chum. Salmon could be seen from Samuel P. Taylor Park to below Lagunitas. Salmon were seen at Lagunitas Creek upstream of Irving bridge, Lagunitas Creek near Devil's Gulch, Lagunitas Creek Below Devils Gulch. The public is invited to come on a creek walk with one of SPAWN's Creek Naturalists to view the spawning salmon. Visitors will learn about the fascinating life history of endangered salmon, the stream ecosystem, and
the impacts that these and other species face in the Lagunitas Watershed. WHEN:
The first NATURALIST LED TOUR will be on November 15 and continue every
weekend from November 22 through January 31 You must make a reservation for a tour - they fill up fast!
CALL SPAWN (415) 488-0370 between 9 and 5 weekdays to make a
reservation. WHERE: Lagunitas Watershed, Marin County - Call to make a reservation and hear
where to meet. http://www.spawnusa.org/ PRICE:
MEMBERS -FREE - Plus priority reservations
NON-MEMBERS - $2 (KIDS); $4 (ADULTS) NO ONE TURNED AWAY FOR LACK OF FUNDS
BACKGROUND:
These salmon species spawn in the Lagunitas watershed each winter. The
two to three foot fish leave the ocean and travel miles up local streams
to lay their eggs. The Lagunitas Watershed, located in West Marin
County is reported to have one of the largest populations of wild coho
left in California. A number of sites in the watershed will be visited.SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Rome may be the Eternal City, but San Francisco could be home to the eternal fish. On Tuesday, aquarium officials at the Steinhart Aquarium honored an Australian lungfish, aptly named Methuselah after the Old Testament's millennia-old character.Methuselah arrived at the aquarium in 1938 as a fully grown adult. That makes it at least 65 years old, aquarium officials said. http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/11/19/offbeat.old.fish.ap/index.html
Elementary school students watch as 65-year-old Methuselah swims by on Tuesday.
The Divers Alert Network OnLine Auction is Underway!- Thousands of dollars worth of donated equipment, clothing, artwork, liveaboard and resort trips, charters, courses, books and much more are available through the an on-line auction which began November 1st. All dollars raised from winning bids will support DAN programs. All visitors to this site are welcome to bid. The DAN Auction will be open to your bids until December 1st, 2003. DAN has asked our donors to contact the winning bidders by December 20th, 2003, which means that when you bid we really must have your contact information. Most items will be delivered through your local dive shop. To learn more or to bid on an item just visit: http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/
Updated 11/1/03