Ocean Explorers Society
March 2007 

Our next meeting will be held Thursday March 1st @ 6:30 at Chevy's Fresh Mex Restaurant, located in the Mission Valley West mall, 1202 Camno Del Rio North, SD 92108 (619) 297-5667. Please RSVP to Dave Ambrose so we can have enough seats. If you can't RSVP, come anyway, and we'll make room.  

From the President

Ah, guilty pleasures; we all have them. Mine runs on Court TV at 8PM on Monday nights. It's Beach Patrol San Diego. Kind of a COPS for lifeguards. It's over dramatized, and totally distorts a real lifeguard's day, but I'm having fun with strange situations occupying familiar scenery.

Diving conditions are pretty good at times. The water is getting downright chilly though. If follow our usual pattern, it'll get colder before it starts warming again in late April. In the meantime, the surf is pretty good and the beaches are rarely crowded. Mary and I were at La Jolla Shores President's Day weekend, and we actually found parking in the lot. Try that post Memorial Day any time after 8 AM. The weather was warm, the skies were clear, and it was really, really obvious why we wouldn't want to be living anywhere near the midwest.

Unfortunately, our urban runoff is the most polluted water we throw in the ocean. You have to stay out of the water for a few days after any kind of rain unless you enjoy diseases like hepatitis. On a more positive note, we're finally starting to study the runoff closer to its sources. It will take a few years, but if we can shup off the pollution at the source, we'll all benefit.

This month, go to the beach; while the tourists are still shivering in Ohio. If you really want to be sadistic, take pictures and sent them to your friends back east.  — Dave Ambrose

Flotsam

Dive Incident at La Jolla Shores - Saturday Feb 10, a shallow dive working on buoyancy went wrong. A woman did a controlled ascent after signaling to buddy/husband that something was wrong.  Through some mechanism, at the end of the incident (and perhaps during the incident) her tank was completely empty and during the incident she was on the surface, no air in her BC, negatively buoyant, and unable to stay on the surface.  Some, but not all, weights were ditched, but it's not clear whether this was on the initial surfacing or the second surfacing.  It APPEARS to be a drowning, although they did revive her. She spent the week in a medically induced coma, but is now out of the coma and doing well. Please think healthy happy thoughts for her and her husband. (www.divebums.com)
How Californians Can Help Sea Otters: State Tax Check-Off - In 1938, a lone colony of California sea otters, once feared hunted to extinction, was discovered off of Big Sur. Conservation efforts ensued, but by 1977 sea otters were listed under the Endangered Species Act. They remain there to this day, still threatened with extinction. This tax season, Californians can help sea otters through a simple act of generosity: checking a box on their tax returns that sets aside funds for otter research and recovery. The Ocean Conservancy helped pass legislation to create this easy check-off, but the box will disappear unless California taxpayers donate $250,000. So, this April, please give to the CA Sea Otter Fund when filling out your tax forms. Learn more about sea otter conservation in California:
http://www.oceanconservancy.org/site/R?i=Eoi67yDCGoHfGFaU9OXKOA..   (www.divebums.com)

Become a Grunion Greeter! - March 28 - Pepperdine University in partnership with Birch Aquarium at Scripps is looking for volunteers to help researchers study the spawning activity of grunion--small fish found along the coasts of Southern California and Baja. 

As a Grunion Greeter, you'll experience a grunion run and witness the remarkable behavior of the silvery little fish as they come completely ashore to spawn. Volunteers will monitor  San Diego beaches and collect basic information for about two hours during the grunion run. Greeters will submit their observations via an online form and a phone "hotline" and the data will be used to help assess grunion population.

Peak spawning season typically occurs from April through early June. The grunion runs occur at night, twice a month, after the highest tides associated with a full or new moon. You may pick your own night(s) and your own beach(es) to monitor.
No experience is necessary; however volunteers must age 18 or older, and attend the "Grunion Greeter" workshop on Wednesday, March 28 from 6:30-8:00 PM at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps (BAS) in La Jolla. Free admission of course, but reserve your spot by March 22! Send an email to melissastuder@san.rr.com to RSVP. For more details about grunion visit http://www.grunion.org

Grunion, the only marine fish that spawn completely out of water, are restricted to a narrow, long distribution in coastal California and Baja California. Their populations are difficult to assess because they are not caught in trawls and are difficult to locate except during spawning runs. In 2002, thanks to a California Sea Grant, Pepperdine researchers implemented the first systematic study of this charismatic fish and the impact of humans on the critical, sandy beach habitat. The resulting data was encouraging and fascinating, and effected significant and lasting change in official beach grooming procedures. The study prompted widespread public participation and governmental cooperation and involved the help of almost 200 volunteer San Diego citizens.

Navy to Continue Sonar Training - The Navy has decided to reject rules by the California Coastal Commission (CCC) to protect whales and other marine mammals from sonar training exercises. The CCC held a three day meeting last week in San Diego to discuss the next move in the dispute, which intensified last Monday when the Navy notified the CCC it would not comply with the rules. The CCC conducted part of the meeting behind closed doors to discuss the possibility of a lawsuit against the Navy. Meanwhile, the Navy is going ahead with the sonar training. The Natural Resources Defense Council has stated they are prepared to sue the Navy if the CCC does not. The Navy rejected the rules because "...any harm done to whales and other sea creatures is not significant enough to adopt the rules...".  Whales around the world have been found dead or dying following encounters with mid-frequency military sonar. In 2004, the world’s leading whale biologists examined the link between Navy sonar and whale strandings and concluded that the evidence of sonar causation is “very convincing” and “overwhelming.”  
Among the requirements presented by the CCC to the Navy were: avoidance of key marine mammal habitat, such as the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and the gray whale migration route; a requirement to power down at nighttime and in other conditions of low visibility, when whales are hard to spot; and expanded safety zones around ships to keep from blasting nearby whales. Yesterday the Navy agreed only to submit any monitoring reports it prepares to the commission. 
The exercises would take place in some of the most diverse and biologically rich waters off the continental United States -- waters that host blue whales, humpbacks, gray whales, dolphins, porpoises and other sensitive and iconic California species.
The Navy argues that any effects on whales caused by sonar training are "temporary" and harmful only to a few individual whales. A spokesperson for the Navy's Pacific Fleet in Hawaii, said the Navy would be conducting sonar training exercises in waters off Camp Pendleton by the end of February. (www.nctimes.com, www.nrdc.org) 

San Diego Oceans Foundation seeking volunteers and support for the Ships2Reefs program -  The U.S. Navy has hundreds of retired ships they are offering as artificial reefs. They are even offering funds to clean and prepare the ships for sinking, all that is needed is local support and interest. San Diego is a prime area to sink more ships, as we have successfully sunk the Yukon; the environmental reports prepared for the Yukon are on file and can possibly be used for future sinkings, and we have the experience to do so.

The benefits of artifical reefs are both economic and environmental. Sunk in 2000, the Yukon is dove over 10,000 dives per year, including 6,000 out of town divers. It is estimated that every year the local economy benefits by more than ten times the initial investment ($4.5M in revenues vs $435k investment).
The environmental benefits include significantly increased fish populations surrounding the artifiical reef. The Yukon has become a breeding ground and nursery for  sheephead and boccacio, two species whose numbers had been seriously depleted by overfishing. (www.sdoceans.org)

If you are interested in becoming involved with the Ships2Reefs program, contact the San Diego Oceans Foundation.
Whale Watching Season - This is the last month of the official whale watching season, so if you haven't made the time to do some serious whale watching, this is your last chance! There are a couple of options to view these magnificent creatures as they migrate through our coastal waters as they make their way south to the lagoons of Baja California. 

The most common way to view the migrating whales is on a whale watching boat. Beginning December 26 through March 31, The Birch Aquarium at Scripps offers twice daily naturalist guided cruises through the San Diego Harbor Excursion (619) 234-4111.  The naturalists will share gray whale biofacts and hands-on activities. Whale watchers will also receive a "whale-of-a-savings" coupon with discounts to local restaurants and attractions. RSVP recommended.
Another alternative is via kayak - San Diego Kayaking Tours offers kayak tours from La Jolla Shores to watch magnificent Grey Whales as they migrate from Alask to the birthing grounds in Baja, Mexico. The kayak tours are held daily between 9:00 am - 12:00 noon between December 17 - March 5.  
The cost is $65 for single kayaks or $55 per person tandem kayaks. If there is enough interest, perhaps we could organize a whale watching kayak tour.

The Current Sport Bottomfishing Regulations are now available:
  1. Summary tables for the 2007 recreational groundfish fishing regulations are posted to the Marine Region's website at:  http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/bfregs2007.html
  2. The Marine Region's California Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations map has been updated:  http:www//drf.ca.gov/mrd/fishing_map.html
  3. The recreational groundfish fishing regulations hotline (831) 649-2801 has also been updated with current bottomfishing regulations  (divebums)

Travel  - The Club is entertaining suggestions for 2007 travel destinations...

Current destinations under consideration:
Travel Websites - A couple of good websites to scroll through if you're planning a trip:
Got Passport?  A travel reminder that if you have plans to travel outside of the United States, it is a good idea to have your passport in hand. Beginning later this year, a passport will be required for all travel to or from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Central and South America. In December 2007, passports will be required for all air, sea and land border crossings. If your passport expires within the next six months, get it renewed now, as some countries will not let you in if you can't prove there's sufficient time left on your passport. For more information, visit www.travel.state.gov . (scuba diving.com)


 OES Membership - Renewal rates are $20 single; $30 for a family. 

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