FishRap

Fishing

fishrap.com

TOP CORNER

Caught in the Act

OCEANSIDE—On a half-day trip out of Oceanside an angler trip out of Oceanside an angler was taken by surprise when was taken by surprise when he brought in a lingcod that he brought in a lingcod that was caught in the middle of was caught in the middle of lunch. The 13-pound fi sh lunch. The 13-pound fi sh had a rockfi sh half way had a rockfi sh half way down when Adam Mealey down when Adam Mealey brought up the fi sh in front of 17 other anglers. “Adam Mealey anglers. “Adam Mealey from Vista Ca. came out from Vista Ca. came out fi shing for the fi rst time on the fi shing for the fi rst time on the (New) Southern Cal 1/2 day trip (New) Southern Cal 1/2 day trip out of Oceanside Sea Center out of Oceanside Sea Center in Oceanside,” said Jolene in Oceanside,” said Jolene Thompson in a May 6 email to Thompson in a May 6 email to the Log. “We were south of Box . “We were south of Box Canyon when we brought in Canyon when we brought in this 13-pound LingCod that this 13-pound LingCod that ate a Barber Pole Rockfi sh ate a Barber Pole Rockfi sh from a piece of baited squid! from a piece of baited squid! Deckhand Jakob Wolfe gaffed it Deckhand Jakob Wolfe gaffed it and everyone was in awe!! It was and everyone was in awe!! It was an exciting catch that 17 anglers an exciting catch that 17 anglers witnessed!”

Photo provided by Oceanside Sea Center in Oceanside

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FISHING NEWS

FISHING NEWS UPDATES

tight lines

By Lindsey Glasgow

Senators Introduce Bill to Protect Forage Fish

The bill would require, among other things, that the impacts on fi sh populations and the marine ecosystem be considered before allowing harvest on any currently unmanaged forage species, something already being done on the West Coast.

By: LINDSEY GLASGOW

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On April 29,

Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) introduced the Forage Fish Conservation Act, a bill aimed at improving federal conservation and management measures for forage fish, fish or invertebrate species that contribute significantly to the diets of other fish, marine mammals, or birds.

Blunt and Blumenthal said in a joint statement the legislation would lead to healthier wildlife communities and help communities that depend on commercial and recreational fishing.

A bill was also introduced in a previous legislative session, but did not pass.

“For years, the recreational fishing community has advocated for better conservation of our nation’s forage fish populations because a healthy forage base fuels healthy sportfish populations,” said Mike Leonard, vice president of government affairs for the American Sportfishing Association, in a released statement.

The American Sportfishing Association is one of several fishing and boating organizations that have thrown their support behind the bill, others include the Center for Sportfishing Policy, Coastal Conservation Association, National Manufacturers Association, and BoatUS.

“A significant number of the 12 million registered boats in the United States are used for recreational fishing,” said Chris Edmonston, vice president of government affairs for BoatU.S. in a released statement. “For many families, their fishing boat is their single biggest investment in outdoor recreation. Protecting the resource that keeps this family-friendly pastime viable is good policy.”

The Forage Fish Conservation Act would amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), the primary law governing fishing in the United States, to require the Secretary of Commerce to develop a definition of forage fish, as well as improve the conservation, monitoring, and management of these fish species, which include sardine, anchovy, smelts, squid, and krill. It would require that the impacts on fish populations and the marine ecosystem be considered before allowing harvest on any currently unmanaged forage species, something already being done on the West Coast, and that predator needs be accounted for in existing management plans for forage fish.

When the MSA was enacted in 1976 it established eight regional fishery councils to recommend fishery management measures in individual regions. The Pacific Fishery Management Council recommends fishery management measures in the Federal waters off Washington, Oregon, and California. While the MSA does not currently require regional councils include forage fish in their management plans, the PFMC said it has a long history of managing and protecting forage fish species.

“We have a lot of measures in place,”

The Forage Fish Conservation Act would require the Secretary of Commerce to develop a defi nition of forage fi sh, as well as improve the conservation, monitoring, and management of these fi sh species, which include sardines, anchovies, smelts, squid, and krill.

Forage

From page 24

said Jennifer Gilden, staff officer for outreach, habitat & legislation for the Pacific Fishery Management Council.

The PFMC provided a letter in 2019 in response to a request for comment from Senator Maria Cantwell on the 2019 Forage Fish Conservation Act. The letter said the comments of the PFMC were not intended to provide support or opposition to the legislation but just discuss potential effects on their management responsibility.

The letter detailed some of the forage fish management practices the PFMC already has, including a Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan that considers the impact of forage fish to the ecosystem and fishing communities and that is used to inform optimum yield and annual catch limit decisions for managed forage species. Gilden said to a certain extent they are accounting for predator needs, as would be required by the Forage Fish Conservation Act, but said fully accounting for predator needs would likely require more science funding and research, because they don’t currently have a good idea of how much predators are consuming.

Other measures the PFMC has adopted include a complete ban on commercial fishing for all species of krill and a prohibition on the development of new directed fisheries on unmanaged forage species until an adequate assessment of the fishery is conducted.

“I think forage fisheries off the West Coast would already be in compliance with this legislation but we’re going to have to remain vigilant as NMFS [National Marine Fisheries Service] adopts regulations to implement this legislation [should it pass] to ensure that fisheries that are dependent upon forage fish aren’t adversely effected,” said Mike Conroy, principal at West Coast Fisheries Consultants.

Shutterstock

Dungeness Crab Fishing has a New Depth Constraint

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife released an advisory and depth constraint for commercial Dungeness crab fishing season that went into effect on May 10 in Northern California.

By: JORDAN B. DARLING

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA— The California Department of Fish and Wildlife implemented a depth constraint for commercial Dungeness Crab fishing that went into place at 12 p.m. on May 10.

The depth constraint at 30 fathoms and shallower is implemented in fishing zones one and two from the Oregon state line to the Sonoma/Mendocino county line.

Commercial fleets are also required to carry an onboard electronic monitoring system to record the vessel’s location while engaged in fishing activity using GPS coordinates at a frequency of no less than once per minute.

The monitoring must be available to the CDFW upon request for the duration of the fishing period and up to 60 days after.

The department is encouraging the best fishing practices, things like minimizing knots, line scope, and to immediately remove all gear when it is no longer in operation. In a recommendation published on May 3 by the CDFW, they requested that zones one and two should pay particular attention to the location of set gear and to be aware of whales in the area to avoid entanglement as much as possible. The implementation came after the most recent marine life entanglement risk assessment that took into account various marine mammals that utilize California coastal waters.

According to the report released by the CDFW on May 3, bi-weekly reporting showed most fishing gear is at depths between 13 and 31 fathoms with some gear at lower depths.

Humpback whales, which utilize Northern California waters as a winter breeding ground, tend to hang around 30 fathoms or deeper; the assessment predicts that the depth constraint will not significantly impact commercial fishing.

Zones one through six are still under Fleet Advisory and the CDFW was expected to go forward with another risk assessment on or around May 14.

“The Department will perform additional risk assessments throughout the spring and respond to changing entanglement risk as appropriate should new data indicate increased entanglement risk for Humpback whales, Blue whales, or Pacific leatherback sea turtles in the Fishing Grounds,” said the May 3 report. For more information visit the CDFW website at http://www.wildlife. ca.gov/crab.

Commercial crab fishing uses several methods to catch crabs like, large nets, traps, and pots.

FEATURED CATCH

Fish from the Deep Washes Ashore

On May 7 this deep-sea fish washed up on shore in Crystal Cove State Park’s Marine Protected Area (MPA). Crystal Cove State Park wrote in a Facebook post they believed it is most likely a Pacific Football Fish, one of the 200 species of angler fish that exist worldwide. Angler fish live-in pitch-black waters up to 3,000 feet below the surface. The distinguishing feature many will recognize is the long stalk on the head with bioluminescent tips. Only females have the peculiar appendage, and use it as a lure to entice prey. Their teeth, like pointed shards of glass, are transparent, and their large mouth is capable of sucking up and swallowing prey the size of their own body. “To see an actual angler fish intact is very rare and it is unknown how or why the fish ended up on the shore,” wrote Crystal Cove State Park in the Facebook post. “Seeing this strange and fascinating fish is a testament to the diversity of marine life lurking below the water’s surface in California’s MPAs and as scientists continue to learn more about these deep sea creatures it’s important to reflect on how much is still to be learned from our wonderful ocean.”

san diego fish report

WHEN WEATHER COOPERATES, BLUEFIN TUNA AND YELLOWTAIL HIGHLIGHT SPRING FISHING!

By Bob Vanian of 976Bite.com

Southern California offshore anglers have been enjoying some fine spring fishing, but the past several days have seen unsettled weather conditions get in the way of anglers being able to get out to the offshore banks to fish areas where the bluefin tuna and yellowtail have been biting. The weather is improving though and today there are some boats back out on the offshore fishing grounds that are finding success once again targeting bluefin and yellowtail.

ƒPrior to the recent stretch of bad weather, there were good numbers of bluefin tuna biting out by San Clemente Island for boats working the region of the 381 Spot which is located off the back side of the island outside of China Point. The 381 Spot is located at 70 miles, 260 degrees from Point Loma. Most of the bluefin were in the 18 to 60-pound range with some bigger fish in the mix that were going to 200-plus pounds.

ƒI just got some information about how some of the boats are doing fishing offshore waters for bluefin tuna and yellowtail on May 23. Fisherman’s Landing reports that Outrider provided an early update from a 2.5-day trip. The update was that they had 16 bluefin tuna aboard that ranged in size from 80 to 200pounds. Fisherman’s Landing also reports that Pegasus provided an early update from a 1.5-day trip. They had 19 anglers aboard that had caught 8 bluefin tuna and 15 yellowtail. Their bluefin ranged in size from 30 to 150-pounds with 5 of the bluefin up over the 100-pound mark. Both Outrider and the Pegasus were still fishing at the time of those reports.

ƒSeaforth Sportfishing reported getting an early update from Polaris Supreme that is out on a 1.5-day trip. They had 9 bluefin tuna aboard, and that 8 of the bluefin were in the 100 to 205pound range. Polaris Supreme was still fishing at the time of that report.

ƒPoint Loma Sportfishing reports getting an early update from American Angler that had 6 bluefin tuna aboard that ranged in size from 120 pounds to 224-pounds. American Angler was still fishing at the time of their report.

ƒBoats fishing offshore waters within 45 miles or so of Point Loma had been finding good numbers of kelp paddie yellowtail and a few bluefin tuna biting while fishing areas such as the Upper Hidden Bank, the 371 Bank, the 230 Spot, the 302 Spot, the 224 Spot, the 182 Spot, the Corner, the San Clemente Basin Weather Buoy, and the 43 Fathom Spot. This is a wide area that had boats spread out fishing areas ranging from 15 to 45 miles 185 to 260 degrees from Point Loma. The banks outside of Los Coronado Islands such as the Upper Hidden Bank, 371 Bank, 230 Spot, 302 Spot, and 224 Spot were the best. The yellowtail found around kelp paddies were ranging in size from 5 to 15-pounds and most of the bluefin in this sector were in the 18 to 60-plus pound range. breezing fish, spots of breaking fish, and spots of working birds. Once bluefin are located they have been biting well on Flat Fall jigs, Colt Snipers, flylined sardines, and sardines fished with a 4-ounce torpedo sinker.

ƒThe fishing around Los Coronado Islands has been good for a mix of yellowtail, barracuda, calico bass, bonito, reds, lingcod, and an assortment of rockfish. A recent fish count posted aboard San Diego out of Seaforth Sportfishing saw 24 anglers on a full-day trip catch 41 yellowtail, 17 calico bass, 10 barracuda and 52 rockfish. Seaforth Sportfishing reports that San Diego was having success with the yellowtail while using flylined sardines and surface iron. Good choices for surface iron for yellowtail and barracuda include Salas 7X lights and Tady 45’s in blue and white, mint and sardine colors.

ƒProductive yellowtail areas have been the South Kelp, the north end of South Island, the Lighthouse at the south tip of South Island, the Middle Grounds and the weather side of North Island. Yellowtail have been located by finding sonar marks, meter marks, spots of fish under working birds, trolling strikes on deep diving Rapalas and slow trolled sardines.

ƒGood places to try for calicos are the South Kelp, the Ribbon Kelp, the north end of South Island, the back side of South Island, the Middle Grounds and Pukey Point at North Island.

ƒThe bottom fishing around Los Coronado Islands continues to be good and some of the best spots have been at the hard bottom to the northwest and north of North Island in 30 to 50 fathoms. Also productive have been hard bottom spots to the northeast and the east of North Island in 20 to 30 fathoms as well as fishing along the outside dropoff of the South Kelp Ridge in 25 to 50 fathoms.

ƒThe fishing along the San Diego County coast has been good for a mix of rockfish, reds, whitefish, sculpin, sand bass, calico bass and an occasional bonus lingcod, yellowtail or halibut.

ƒThe best area for a chance at a yellowtail along the San Diego County coast has been fishing off the upper end of La Jolla. There have been occasional showings of yellowtail in the area and if you are fortunate enough to be at the right spot at the right time when some yellows decide to show, there has been a chance at hooking a 15 to 25-pound class yellowtail. Surface iron, yo-yo iron and slow trolled mackerel have been good choices to try for the occasional yellowtail hookup with surface iron usually working best when cast to breaking fish.

ƒCalico bass have been providing the best surface fishing along the San Diego area coast and the kelp beds at the upper end of La Jolla have been best for the calicos. Other productive kelp bed areas for calico bass have been the kelp at the upper part of the Point Loma Kelp Beds, the Roundhouse at Sunset Cliffs, the Jetty Kelp outside of Mission Bay, Leucadia, and South Carlsbad.

The full report will be published online.

Para Sail

From page 23 al Regatta was first held in August 2003 with the help and support of Clagett’s daughter and granddaughter Judy and Stephanie McLennan.

The event is sanctioned by US Sailing and the organizing authority is Sail Newport. In 2003 there were five New England teams sailing in Sonars and in 2006 the regatta was a USDST qualifier for the SKUD18, by 2010 The Clagett became its own charitable organization.

The regatta is governed by the Racing Rules of Sailing, eligible competitors have to be members of US Sailing or members of the national sailing authority in their home country.

Registration is $200 before July 20 and there will be a $50 late fee per person added between then and Aug. 24.

Afloat and ashore clinics will be held Aug. 25 and 26.

Races will be held Aug. 27 through Aug. 29 with awards passed out on the 29. For more information visit the US Sailing website at https://bit.ly/3uVFF2j.

Historical PHOTO

Port of Los Angeles Harbor Day May 31, 1957

By: LINDSEY GLASGOW

SAN PEDRO— This photo, courtesy of the Los Angeles Harbor Department Virtual Historical Archives, was taken on May 31, 1957 at the Harbor Day event at the Port of Los Angeles. Newspaper records show the Harbor Day event was held as far back as 1928. Articles from the San Pedro Daily News and San Pedro News Pilot reported the event was held during “Foreign Trade Week” and aimed to educate the general public on foreign commerce and give the public an inside look at the busy center of ocean commerce. According to an April 19, 1937 San Pedro News Pilot article, the event featured open houses of the docks, ships and industrial plants of the harbor; yacht and speed boat racing; free sightseeing rides around San Pedro and Long Beach waters; and music, games and contests at Cabrillo Beach. The Port of Los Angeles still hosts free, educational boat tours in San Pedro and Wilmington to help educate the public about international trade during World Trade Week, which occurs during the third full week of May. This year’s events were virtual due to COVID-19 and can be accessed at portoflosangeles.org/community/ events/world-trade-week-2021.

World Sailing Holds Mid-Year Meeting, Votes on Olympic Alternatives

World Sailing voted on the alternatives to the Mixed Offshore event for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

By: JORDAN B. DARLING

INTERNATIONAL— The World Sailing MidYear meeting held May 10-14 was dominated by the vote for an Olympic event alternative to the Mixed Offshore event.

The four-day remote meeting was dominated by alternative event proposals for the Mixed Offshore Event at the Olympics in Paris for 2024 after a request was put out by the International Olympic Committee.

The Council’s final decision was to make the Men’s and Women’s Kiteboarding the first alternative and the Men’s and Women’s Two-Person Dinghy (470) the second alternative event.

The decision came 12 days before the May 26 deadline put forth by the International Olympic Committee who voiced concerns about the sailing event.

World Sailing put out the Mixed Offshore event to replace the Finn class in the 2024 Olympics before the IOC met in December.

The IOC raised concerns about the event quoting “discipline - field of play, scope and complexity, broadcast cost and complexity and the organization not yet holding an Offshore World Championship - had been indicated by its Olympic Programme Commission,” according to an April 15 article from Inside the Games.

After the IOC’s decision in early April, World Sailing put out an April 26 deadline for proposals to replace the 10th medal event.

The Council received 23 proposals and narrowed it down to 15, and settled on two decisions after a week of Committee discussion and voting.

The Council voted on the two alternatives, ranking them by preference for the IOC’s consideration.

The Council received recommendations from the Events Committee, who voted for the 470 as the first alternative and kiteboarding as the second, and the Equipment Committee who voted for kiteboarding as the first alternative with the 470 following it up as the second alternative.

In the end, Men’s and Women’s Kiteboarding was approved as the first alternative with 33 votes in favor, two against, and six abstentions. The Men’s and Women’s 470 was approved as the second alternative with 37 votes in favor, one against, and two abstentions.

The council remains positive about the Mixed Offshore Event and have noted that it is the preferred event but acknowledged the request from the IOC.

The IOC set to confirm the sailing program at the Executive Board meeting on June 8.

The next council meeting will be at the 2021 World Sailing Annual Conference set for the end of October in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Charters

From page 18

force compliance with for-hire ventures operating in San Diego,” said Frank Ursitti, president of United Sportfishers of San Diego Inc. and operator of H&M Landing, in a public comment supporting the ordinance at the meeting.

Troy Sears, owner of Next Level Sailing and The Yacht America, also spoke in support of the ordinance in a public comment at the meeting. While Sears said he supported the ordinance, he raised concern that it provided amnesty for charters that have operated illegally in the past and provides amnesty for illegal charters in the future.

“It definitely produces negative emotions for me as I watched over the weekend operators who have been performing unregulated charters for years will never have to pay the port for those charters,” said Sears.

“It certainly doesn’t correct something that may have happened in the past but we’re really looking forward to clear, established rules leading to again, in our view, an even playing field going forward,” said Simon Kann, deputy general counsel at Port of San Diego. Throughout the first year, staff will collect data and report back with findings and recommended adjustments or changes.

“As Annett said it’s not perfect at this time but it’s a giant step forward and we’re moving in the right direction,” said Commissioner Garry Bonelli.

Redondo

From page 17

gested possibly offering these temporary permit holders a trailer to use as a storage facility for an additional fee to resolve the issue.

With the wheels back in motion to redevelop the harbor area, Proud said the Commission could discuss the idea of storage trailers in future planning of public amenities in the harbor.

“Maybe we continue with the permit process and as we take up this public amenities dialogue as the year progresses, maybe that’s something important that we can cover,” said Proud.

Proud said since there wasn’t any significant issue that warranted it going to the City Council, he would take the Harbor Commission’s direction.

From page 16

41.74 percent outside of protected areas.

Octavio Aburto-Oropeza, the senior author of the paper and associate professor in the Marine Biology Research Division at Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla, said one of the big findings of the paper is that the diving industry has a similar economic impact as the fishing industry, another major industry that relies on the ocean. The paper cited findings that gross revenues of the Mexican artisanal and industrial fisheries were $700 million in 2019 (Martinez Estrada et al).

Aburto-Oropeza said he hopes this research starts new conversations about how to strike more of a balance between extraction activities, such as fishing, and non-extraction activities, such as diving.

“We are generating a lot of money without extracting all these resources and in the case of diving, a fish or a shark can be seen or can used multiple times, infinitive times compared to other sectors like fishing,” said Aburto-Oropeza.

He said unlike other industries, the diving sector has largely not organized together to influence public policy. According to the study, there is also no public policy that encourages diving activities - aid in starting the business, tax cuts, bonuses for environmentally friendly activities, ect. - or stimulates them to be sustainable and aid in the protection of the marine environment.

“In the big scale they don’t have a strong political voice and that is because they are not organized as an economic sector,” said Aburto-Oropeza.

Aburto-Oropeza emphasized he didn’t believe it should be fishing versus diving, but that there should be conservations about other economical benefits of the ocean and ways the sectors could work together on a collaborative vision that results in higher earnings for both while reducing pressure on marine biodiversity.

The study found the small-scale diving business model, which makes up 90.65 percent of Mexico’s diving industry, if sustainably managed and regulated, represents an opportunity to spread ecotourism across coastal ecosystems in Mexico and, coupled with a focus on scuba diving, generates more net revenues for the operators. In contrast, in general, largescale tourism causes cascading ecological problems and leads to overuse, and degradation, of natural ecosystems, which can result in a lower ecotourism potential over time, according to the study. The study found the diving industry generates gross revenues of $455.94 million annually when the large-scale businesses are excluded.

“Especially because their assets for their businesses are the reefs that they use to bring all this tourism and if these reefs or if these marine populations are impacted or in a very bad shape the hypothesis is that that business or the revenues of that business will decrease,” said Aburto-Oropeza.

Aburto-Oropeza said he hopes this study will encourage more divers and diving shops owners to get involved in public policy that aids in the protection of these reefs and ocean.

“Scientists working with society to solve problems, especially problems about sustainability and sustainable development goals, this study intends to be part of this proactiveness or this pro-action that scientists also need to do to solve this problem,” said Aburto-Oropeza.

Aburto-Oropeza said they are continuing this work, conducting a new study about ways to protect these diving sites and to establish collaboration with other sectors including the fishing sector.

Co-authors of the study were Ramiro Arcos-Aguilar, Fabio Favoretto, and Victoria Jiménez-Esquivel of Centro para biodiversidad Marina y la Conservación, Joy Kumagai of Scripps Oceanography, and Adán Martinez-Cruz of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The Oceans 5 Foundation, the Wyss Foundation, USA, and the National Geographic Society supported the research.

Oil Drilling

From page 27

of cost-effective energy sources for Oil a time of need and economic depression.

“Today’s hearing is particularly tonedeaf to the needs of American families at a time when there are lines of cars at gas stations stretching blocks, this is reminiscent of the Carter administration,” said member Congressman Pete Stauber from Minnesota. “...We should be discussing how we should harness domestic resources to provide secure affordable energy for American families.”

Representatives stated that California already has a dependence on imported energy and the removal of offshore drilling would increase the issue. According to Representative Paul Gosar from Arizona, California imported nearly 30 million barrels of oil from Colombia just last year.

Representative Garret Graves of Louisiana led the opposition to the bill, pointing out the flaw of renewable energy technology that has not been tested and the danger of using tankers that could also have an environmental impact.

“All this talk about this great technology and its affordable and, this what we need to be doing and it’s not even in place in California,” said Graves “Number two I want to remind folks that California is the most dependent state upon imported energy, meaning energy coming from other countries or other states if we’re not going to produce, then what it does is it requires that it be brought in by tanker...tankers are a less safe mechanism of transportation, than let me actually quote Energy Secretary Granholm who just said days ago that pipes are the safest way to transport energy and so she’s talking effectively about using a less safe way to transport that would potentially have environmental consequences on the state of California.”

The committee has not made a decision since the hearing on May 12, to learn more or watch the full hearing visit, http://www.hillheat.com/articles/