Article: Kudos to Bob Bailey - NWGratefulDiver

[mselenaous]

Just a quick update I read this morning:
Fish and Wildlife Commission extends octopus protections and sets hunting seasons for migratory waterfowl | WDFW News Release

WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE Print Version NEWS RELEASE 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091 August 02, 2013 Contact: Commission Office, 360-902-2267 Fish and Wildlife Commission extends octopus protections and sets hunting seasons for migratory waterfowl OLYMPIA - The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission extended protections for giant Pacific octopuses in Puget Sound today by prohibiting the recreational harvest of the species at seven popular scuba diving sites from Whidbey Island to Tacoma....

Here's another link with video. http://westseattleblog.com/2013/08/giant-pacific-octopus-to-be-protected-at-seacrest-alki-elsewhere

 

[mselenaous]

Another article on the topic has been posted here.

 

[drbill]

Kudos to Bob!

May of us worked hard to get the Casino Point Dive Park declared a state Marine Protected Area (MPA) which it was this past January. However, you have to be careful what language legislators put into such bills. Here in California, many MPAs do not allow the removal of ANY living thing whether it belongs there or not! Many of us have wanted to try to control the non-native Asian seaweed Sargassum horneri which completely dominates the park and most other areas of my island during winter and spring. Due to the language the California Dept of Fish & Wildlife has made it far too difficult to attempt such control without devising a scientific process and two years of monitoring at our own expense. Very strange.