P2

Next Dive Club Outing:

September 3rd - 5th - Labor Day

Big Sur, Plaskett Creek Campground

Call Curt or Carol to reserve your spot in paradise.

 

In Other Ocean News:

From Carrie Wilson, Communications Office, CalOutdoors@dfg.ca.gov

Question: If someone gifts abalone that are tagged but the tags are filled out improperly (or not at all), who gets the ticket, the person with the abalone or the original pickers?

Answer: Both individuals can be cited. The individual who took the abalone can receive a citation for failing to tag abalone or improperly tagging abalone. The individual who receives the abalone can be cited for unlawful possession of abalone that are not tagged or improperly tagged. (Fish and Game Code, Section 2002).

This months California Diving News had an article about the added Game Wardens and Roadblocks in Sonoma and Mendocino counties looking for poached ab and improperly filled out cards.


Question: I know there is a law prohibiting spear fishing in the ocean within 100 yards of a stream or river outlet. Is it ok to enter the water from the beach and swim out past 100 yards with our equipment before we start fishing? Or would we have to find a beach with no outlet at all?
Answer: The regulation you are referencing was designed to protect salmon and steelhead that are entering or exiting a river. FGC Section 28.90, which refers to diving and spear fishing, states that “no person may possess or use a spear within 100 yards of the mouth of any stream in any ocean waters north of Ventura County."

According to Lieutenant Dennis McKiver, because the regulation says "no person may possess ... within 100 yards," it would be unlawful to even stand on the beach with a spear in hand if you are within 100 yards of the mouth of a stream. This means that you will need to find an entry point more than 100 yards away from the mouth of the stream to enter the water to go spear fishing.

 

In Other, Other Ocean News

Marine Life & Awareness Brain Size Determines Whether Fish Hunters Or Slackers

Whether a fish likes to hunt down its food or wait for dinner to arrive is linked to the composition of its brain, a University of Guelph researcher has revealed. Prof. Rob McLaughlin has discovered that foraging behavior of brook trout is related to the size of a particular region in the fish's brain.
"We found that the fish that swim around in the open in search of food have larger telencephalons than the fish that sit along the shoreline and wait for food to swim by in the water column," said the integrative biology professor.
"This means there is a correlation between foraging behavior and brain morphology." The telencephalon is a brain region involved with fish movement and use of space. "It's responsible for a fish's ability to swim around to different places and remember landmarks in the environment so they don't get lost."

"It's a huge step towards understanding why different types of personalities exist in the same species and how diversity arises in a population. We tend to focus on our impact on the environment and how our actions are reducing biodiversity and overlook processes in the environment that may be creating diversity."

SCUBA Declared a Hazardous Activity to Limit Government Liability, Frivolous Lawsuits

SCUBA diving is now officially a “hazardous activity” that the government is not liable for, under a new law authored by Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point. to a bill. The law, AB 634 was signed Tuesday by Governor Schwarzenegger and releases the state and local governments from liability in lawsuits associated with SCUBA diving. The bill passed in the Legislature without a “no” vote.

AB 634 was created with shipwreck SCUBA diving in mind, specifically because diving on shipwrecks can be “hazardous, requiring special training and equipment beyond that for normal SCUBA diving,” according Harkey’s announcement. Because the government will no longer be held liable in lawsuits where a SCUBA diver was injured or killed while diving, coastal communities will be more likely to create more artificial reefs that benefit both adventurous SCUBA divers and the environment. Currently, California only has three ship-based artificial reefs.

The legislation was a two-year process and was backed by California Ships to Reefs, a nonprofit organization advocating for fishing and diving tourism along the California coast. AB634 takes effect January 1, 2011.

To find out more, log on to Harkey’s website at http://arc.asm.ca.gov/member/73
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