Barbary Coast Newsletter
News and Events
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Department of Fish and Game
NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 04:061 July 6, 2004
Contacts: Carrie Wilson, (831) 649-7191
Deb Wilson-Vandenberg,(831)-649-2892, DFG Marine Region
DFG Schedules Sheephead Stock Assessment Review Meeting
The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has scheduled an independent
peer review meeting of the first California sheephead stock assessment.
The meeting is set for July 8-9 at the NOAA Fisheries Laboratory in Santa
Cruz.
With
their thick, protruding canine teeth and powerful jaws, sheephead
can smash hard-shelled animals like barnacles, mussels and clams to
get a meal—even the spines of sea urchins don't bother them. Sheephead,
in turn, provide meals for harbor seals, sea lions and Brandt's cormorants.
The peer review will begin at 8 a.m. on Thursday July 8, and will last
through Friday. The NOAA Fisheries Laboratory, Southwest Fisheries Science
Center is located at 110 Shaffer Road in Santa Cruz. Opportunities for
public comment will be provided on both days.
California sheephead is an important component of the nearshore live fishery
and the recreational fishery in the southern part of the state. A team
of scientists including University of California at Santa Cruz researchers
and DFG staff conducted the assessment.
Review panel members were selected as recognized authorities in quantitative
science, and they are independent from the DFG or the assessment team.
The completed stock assessment will improve our understanding of the status
of the sheephead stocks that support California’s fisheries.
The results of the review will be used by the DFG to formulate management
recommendations for the fishery, under provisions of the California Nearshore
Management Plan (NFMP). This is the first nearshore species under sole
California jurisdiction to be assessed, and it will be the first assessment
review to be conducted in accordance with the NFMP and Marine Life Management
Act.
Connecticut Town Seeks to Develop Quarry for Divers
The town officials of Portland, CT are seeking a proposal about how to turn a local brownstone quarry into a scuba diving destination. The goal is to turn the north quarry into a tourist dive site for area divers as well as to attract divers from out of state locations especially the New England states. The closest similar dive experience is offered by a quarry in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.Haigh Quarry in Illinois
The north quarry is now used by the state police for the training of police divers. The town hopes to expand the quarry's use in this area of specialty diving and also include recreational dive opportunity. Commercial potential of the quarry for recreational divers is the focus at this time.
Paddlefish in Haigh Quarry
pictures stolen from: http://www.haighquarry.com/under.htm
Copyright © 2004 Haigh Enterprises, Inc.
Ghostly Images Shape-Shift
in the Clear Water 
Every July and August near Manitoba, Canada over 3,500 beluga whales migrate into the mouth of the Churchill River near Hudson Bay. Every summer, these amazing white creatures migrate from the frigid waters of the Hudson Bay to the mouth of the Churchill River. The river is about 10 to 20 degrees warmer than the bay and here they give birth, breed and add to their fat layer courtesy of the plentiful fish supply.
This time and space offer the nature lover and dive enthusiast a one of a kind experience with whales. This whale trip is not of the variety that we are familiar with... sitting on a boat seeing pieces of a whale and hearing its calls. No the beluga connection in Manitoba is quite different and very interactive. Here you become the belugas and connect by kayak, Zodiac or even snorkeling!
pod of Belugas
Dive Centers Ordered to Leave Sipadan
"Pulau Sipidan: off the North Eastern coast of Borneo lies this tiny jewel of an island, with a marine ecosystem so perfect and unique that it is world renowned as arguably, one of the best dive spots in the world. This world renowned island offers a combination of magnificent wall and drift diving."
The Government responded to demands that the Sabah island be emptied of dive resorts. Why? Because boats and divers mooring in and out of the sea has caused the most destruction to the northern reef of Sipadan. The shallow reef there has essentially been reduced to a pile of rubble. Renowned marine photographer Michael Aw who first dive Sipadan in 1985, told the local press that he has has seen the coral's downfall. “What it is now is about 30% of its former glory.
these boats ain't overnighting
In the reefs, there used to be 90% live coral. Currently it is barely 30% . The diversity of species is more or less the same although density has somewhat deteriorated by about half. Aesthetically, the reef looks very tired.” Apart from sewerage, pollution and runoffs, Aw explained that heavy boat traffic and anchoring have been a large part of the cause of the serious reef damage. All six operators are to leave the world-famous dive site by the end of the year. The authorities explained that the dive operators can relocate to other islands in the area. They can then make daily dive trips to Sipidan.
Great News for Great Barrier Reef
All commercial and recreational fishing boats were banned yesterday from huge sections of Australia's Great Barrier Reef marine park as a new zoning plan went into effect. The celebrated Reef had its protected area increased by over one-third, officially becoming the world's largest marine protected area. Under the new plan, protection of the reef system will rise from 4.6 percent to 33 percent of the existing marine park and World Heritage area, adding more than 42,000 square miles to the current locale - approximately the size of Pennsylvania.
"As of THURSDAY 1 JULY 2004 all zoning in the Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park has changed; this may affect what you can do, and in some
limited cases, where you can go.As of THURSDAY 1 JULY 2004 all zoning
in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park has changed; this may affect what
you can do, and in some limited cases, where you can go. New
Zoning "
The new network of highly protected areas will reduce pressure on the Great Barrier Reef and enhance its capacity to overcome large-scale threats such as overfishing, pollution and coral bleaching, which kills coral as water temperatures rise. WWF researchers said that, without successes like this, 60 percent of global coral reefs will likely be lost by 2030.
In a WWF study, published in 2003 and condensed in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, Dr. Fiona Gell and Professor Callum Roberts of the University of York (UK) examined the findings of 300 studies of more than 60 different marine protected areas around the world. They found that marine protected areas offer twice the profits for fishermen while safeguarding species and their habitats and supplying fisheries beyond their boundaries.
"We believe that marine reserves are a major boost for fishermen and the environment," said Roberts. "They are the most powerful tool available to restore fishery productivity. New evidence makes it clear that we can design effective reserves for almost anywhere that is fished."
Ecologists say the increased and stricter protection of the Great Barrier Reef has already set precedent for other countries to take similar measures in key marine regions such as the Sulu-Sulawesi Sea in South-East Asia and the Meso-American reef in Central America.
In the United States, the Commission on Ocean Policy's report (May, 2004), has asked the U.S. National Ocean Council to develop national goals and guidelines for the design and implementation of marine protected areas.
Look at Florida's Dry Tortugas, where 191 square miles were set aside and protected by state law - thanks to a diverse group of Florida fishermen, scientists, politicians and conservationists working together to help replenish depleted fisheries throughout the Keys and beyond," Burns said. "We need more examples like this to show that, like Australia, we're serious about restoring our coastal communities and surrounding seas."
Source: World Wildlife Fund
updated 7/1/04