Monday, May 2, 2016

    Hey, did anyone go to the big abalone meeting today? The one in Santa Cruz? The public workshop that "As part of CDFW's efforts to encourage public participation in the plan development process" was announced on Friday and is being held today, Monday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM? Don't worry, it's being funded by The Nature Conservancy, so I'm sure it will be fair, impartial, and science based. Here's the press release:
Red Abalone Workshop to be Presented in Santa Cruz
abalone
Size limits have long been useful tools for abalone fishery managers. CDFW photo
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is currently working on a fishery management plan for the north coast's recreational red abalone fishery. As part of CDFW's efforts to encourage public participation in the plan development process, the Nature Conservancy and CDFW will jointly conduct a workshop on the topic. The Nature Conservancy is providing financial support for the event.
The workshop, which is open and free to the public, will be held on Monday, May 2, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the UC Santa Cruz Horticulture II Building, Arboretum Conference Room. Directions to the workshop location can be found online.
 

Fishery scientists, citizen scientists, anglers, and managers attending the workshop will discuss options for developing a control rule to manage the recreational red abalone fishery. Invited speakers will describe the use of control rules and available options for integrating abalone size measurements into a comprehensive framework for decision-making.

Other than that, we had a lot of wind this week. A lot. At least one boat slipped out for a quick report. Nick Mitten sent in this:

We had a fun trip. We were able to get out for a couple hours Friday before the wind kicked us out and picked up a few. My friends also went out for rock fish Sunday and did well. Short ling, no keepers but good quality rock cod.

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1 comment:

  1. Orca Attack Gray Whales North of Bodega BayMay 19, 2016 at 4:01 PM

    Hi all,

    My name is Dane Monell. My friend, and I (both from Petaluma) were coming back from fishing for Ling Cod North of Bodega Bay on Saturday, 15 May. It was grey, raining, and the seas were getting rough. Close by another boat was watching as a whale breached. We headed over for a closer look. As we got closer we saw an Orca and then another, but we definitely saw a grey whale. They were attacking the whale. As we watched we saw that 2 Orcas were attacking a baby whale, and the mother was trying to defend it. The Orcas just kept coming. They would attack and pile on the calf, biting and forcing her to drown. The mother kept putting herself in between the calf and the Orcas when they were biting and pushed them away so they couldn't drown her baby. When they would push the calf under water she would dive under it and raise it up from sinking. When she did that the biting attack would resume. The Orcas were relentless. At one point we got too close. The Orcas were as big as our 20' boat, and we had to back away. Because they were all whales the air was filled with their breathe. This was a once and a life time sighting for us and we feel very lucky to see this rare natural scene.

    Here is the internet link to our video of this incredible sighting:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBVDUCtcr2c

    Enjoy and Happy Fishing

    Dane Monell

    ReplyDelete