30 Mile Dive

[H2Ocean]

Yea it did sound like a huge feat of accomplishment to get like the 30 miles in 14hrs? And it would of been alot sooner had they not run into early trouble (these may not be accurate numbers, I glanced at the details kind of quick.) Whether it's one dive or broken up by needing to refuel on something to eat is kind of pointless to debate, even if it is claimed a single dive. So more accurately it's an assisted propelled (towed) diving day of being in the water for 14 hrs crossing the channel. Biggest story was the lack of sharks. The project interest was to record shark numbers. DivetheCoast in 2013 is another planned lengthy dive, something like over 800 miles along the coast of California, (Oregon and maybe Washington might get in.) So it's not gonna be a "Iron Man" dive, but more like a chain of divers taking 2 to 4 miles in their area with the option to also note the inshore shark species as an interesting subject to focus on. This 30 mile dive was a one diver deal, Dive the Coast is open for all you divers here to contribute your massive dive experience to raise awareness to the public, and funds to whatever non profit, conservation group, fishing group, oceanography, ichthyology whatever. I'm pretty confident that you won't be evaluating what someone tried to do or how they did it, because you're invited as california divers, and you being directly involved in the project, these threads in 2013 will be more celebratory in terms of what we've accomplished!! Dive The Coast :: index P.S. I'm gonna be trying to get as far around Palos Verdes as I can with surface support, kayak, small boat, carrying or towing as many tanks as I need (15?,)starting at RAT beach and aiming to get to cabrillo beach. 15 divers would be better because I know I'm gonna be distracted checkin all the beauty of Palos Verdes! I'll aim for 15miles, maybe make 4, who knows maybe 8? So are you 5 divers in or what?

 

[Mossman]

But lack of sharks isn't a big story, it's an old story. Getting dragged by a sled for 30 miles doesn't sound like a very scientific way of demonstrating anything. It's entirely possible that sharks are scared by sled riding divers surrounded by five boats and stayed the heck away. For all we know, there were hundreds of sharks surrounding the guy at all times, just remaining right outside the range of his viz, hoping the tow sled would slow down enough so they could close in for the kill.

I propose someone volunteer to be towed from mainland Costa Rica to Cocos, 30 hours at about 10 knots. No, I'm not volunteering for that one even with big sponsors, just putting it out there.

 

[VooDooGasMan]

30 miles under no matter how its done is one hell of a lot of sea time, and it is not easy. 5 miles hanging on my inflatable flying in the current is very hard to climb in afterwards, you work so hard not to hit anything, and see whats coming up, plus sometimes the wind and surface current pull the inflatable another way, now your the one towing not the inflatable.

Scott made a great dive its recorded and all went well except for no blues in sight. Now washington coast has a lot of blues, maybe not hundreds but there are plenty.

 

[H2Ocean]

I've seen groups of blues swim right under hulls under power, approx 75 lbs to 100lbs, in 1998 thru 2002 around Palos Verdes. Hmmm. What happened in 97? Oh yea El Nino brought in even dorado into Santa Monica bay by the thousands!!! Remember how colorful it was right under the kelp paddies? The yellowtail, white seabass, bonito, barracuda, sandbass, calico, calif halibut, rockfish species exploded huge, albacore, and record size & numbers of finfish were everywhere. What were they eating? Oh yea the massive influx of sardines, mackerel, and squid! I got a feeling it's a good time to get on the side of the now threatened shark species, although I cannot omit the impact of what another El Nino like in 97 would do for fish counts, including sharks in our area. It's funny that every time el nino is credited or mentioned as a major player in cycles of marine life- everyone gets quiet. Pacific decadal oscillation. It happens in all oceans. Sometimes in 30 yrs periods.

 

[H2Ocean]

We know that low shark numbers are old news. but not that old, and like the non existant white seabass for 15 yrs prior to 97's el nino, that just all of a sudden showed up in groves in sizes 75+lbs that indicated they weren't depleated in no way, and quite possibly just like the sharks, they may have been or be in other places throughout the ocean.

 

[Mossman]

Wasn't Marineland still operating back then? The blues were probably hanging around waiting for whale crap to be flushed out. Yum, yum.

If it were up to me, I'd ban El Nino, but I don't think that's the cause of shark depletion world wide. Banning shark fin soup would be a better start. Speaking of which, AB 376 was presented to Gov. Brown at 3 pm on 9/14, almost exactly a week ago. How many sharks have given their lives in California in the past week alone so someone can have soup? What's Brown so busy doing that he can't be bothered to sign the damn bill and save whatever sharks we still have left? Is he in SF slurping down shark fin soup?

 

[H2Ocean]

You're pretty close Mossman!!! Marineland closed in 1987. 1997 was the big el nino. 100% do I believe that sharks are and have been threatened for along time because of the soup demand and price. Like bluefin tuna, also does not stand a chance to ever recover to its once considered cat food quality fish (starkist was probably giving it's bycatch to skippy or purina), because of the price put on it's flesh. No matter if it's regulated, or placed on the endangered species list, even adding lengthy jail terms, super high fines to those in possession of the bluefin, the price will command an illegal fishery to continue. Save all your pictures of bluefin to show the grandkids, I think they're already too far gone, even though some 300lb+ cows keep up frozen, and now attempting to be captive raised in "pens. A 754lb giant bluefin in Jan 2011 sold for $526.00 per lb = $396,604.00 But did you notice how the subject of el nino was lost into a political subject of regulation. Not to sound like a hot shot or anything. An el nino event is small in comparison of the entire globe. Although I'm not claiming a return of the cycle that cause el nino will restore a hard-hit shark and bluefin population, but it does affect greatly the area that it presses into. And like magic. Fish and shark appear. You know what I think is alot better than the signature, would be taking the law into our own hands worldwide. Vigilantes. Everybody become sea shepherds, not with stinky butter or cut line to foul props or long lines, but with more effective attention getters. Waiting for political snail paced results? Ok sign the bill, and wait, for....hopefully less than 30 yrs another big el nino will surface and the results come immediately so we can say look what legislation has done! What about the megalodon? They didn't get finned, or maybe they did, but they're gone. Mark the shark ( is that his name? Or his operation?) If killing big sharks legally upsets a large earth population, as it is becoming, I'll tell you what...one, two other boats in comparison with his with alot of fuel, watch him go out, follow him, and I promise you he is not gonna catch a shark with one or 2 boats cirlcling his, cutting lines off as fast as they throw them in. His business will stop. End of Mark the Shark. There's alot in support of banning the finning or killing of sharks, but they're too busy on their own dives taking pictures and things like that. I'm not a violent person, it wouldn't be a violent act to travel across a fishing line, the lines just get cut. Forming a coalition. Sea Shepherd does it, seems to work.

 

[drbill]

H2Ocean... not sure how long your baseline is, but I can assure you that before the El Nino of the late 1970s, blue shark numbers were very high in our waters. We used to see them all the time, in large numbers (dozens and dozens) not far offshore from Catalina's leeward side and I had them follow me all the way into the surf line while diving the backside of the island for abalone in the early 1970s. Their numbers began to really take a beating in the 1980s (following the massive El Nino of 1982-84), perhaps due to longliners and gill netters but also the shark fishing craze that followed the release of Jaws in the mid 1970s. They have not recovered in that 30 year interval, at least not out here.

China's growing middle class made shark fin soup affordable to a much larger population than back in the days of the Emperors or Mao's strict communist economics. The demand for shark fin soup has skyrocketed because of this. Recent studies have shown that fishing blue sharks off Asia can affect populations here in SoCal. And, of course, the increasing demand in China is not satisfied by shark fins taken in Asian waters, but throughout the globe (and, of course, many of these are not blue sharks).

In the early days of Avalon, blue fin tuna were seen and caught right off Avalon. Fat chance of that happening today (although mainland boats still report catching a few on occasion). The markert for bluefin is largely Japan (although the US is the second largest market I believe).

 

[Mossman]

In the early days of Avalon, blue fin tuna were seen and caught right off Avalon. Fat chance of that happening today (although mainland boats still report catching a few on occasion). The markert for bluefin is largely Japan (although the US is the second largest market I believe).

We caught one off the Horizon on the way to San Benitos back in 2000 (before eating them was politically incorrect) and I ate a huge tuna steak that would be priced in the hundreds of dollars today, not to mention at least a hundred bucks worth of sashimi. Considering that, the dive trip was a bargain deal.

 

[H2Ocean]

Dr. Bill!! I agree with you 100% And I'm glad you answered, I was hoping to stir up your input. China, Japan has a destructive hunger we see and agree on. I know I was referring to a sometimes 30 yr cycle of decadal oscillations, but I know a recovery to what we have seen since only the 1960's is just very doubtful to ever happen, like the USA being what it used to be, or the world, it's not gonna happen. My baseline has been very connected with the very waters we're talking about since early 70s. Without any doctorate degrees, I'm only giving first hand observations from extreme surface contact, my diving began in 1999, because of the high number of fish count. I don't think I'd make up the significance of a single bubble you produce from one moment in time. I am never gonna get to share the same experience you had, and so I look up to you, and I'm honestly jealous I did not experience that, from your perspective. Right now I'm doing the best I can in support of the diving industry, and it's sensitive eco system that we explore. I live an hour and a half from the nearest California shoreline, I can only get so far 140 dives a year!! And I'm happy about that! These aren't just a sandy Redondo beach dive 140 times. I'm diving with HardcoreDiveTeam and we're doing some massive voluntary explorations! Having a blast too. I'll be looking for you during the week of Oct 10 thru 14th if you don't mind. I like to meet you. Hey what are the chances of you diving with me? I have plans for at least 15+ dives in that time, from a private boat, and some Park dives as well. I'm meeting for the first time a Canadian girl (I know now your interest has just been alerted!) that's flying into LAX for a dive vacation, it was gonna be Cabo, but because of my pushing the best diving in the world as California, she's agreed to come the Los Angeles, cool huh? My original response was not aiming at el nino, (it was a tangent, sorry) but it was the networking, linking to form a chain of divers to get together for a good cause of Dive the Coast, much like the 30 mile dive. We all know the conditions lately, and just like shark defenders this morning's petitioning to the whitehouse to ban shark trade in the USA for good. I'm number 16th signature. Shark Defenders emailed the info and link: http://wh.gov/gWs . By the way congratulations on a extremely excellent article in California Diver Magazine covering the invasive "sargassum horneri" devil weed!! For fun and alittle intertainment (trying to be modest) travel 10 more pages from your article go to page 34, its a little story that I wrote covering a simple voluntary research project that we at hardcorediveteam.com worked on last year. My name is brian