DOT raiding dive centers in Monterey?

[Drin]

That means you, as Joe Diver, carrying a cylinder in your trunk to Monterrey Bay to go get an abalone for dinner are not subject to DOT regulations...

1. It's "Monterey Bay". "Monterrey" is in Mexico.

2. Abalone diving is illegal in Monterey Bay. It's only legal north of San Francisco to the Oregon border.

3. No matter WHERE you're diving for abalone in California it's a breath hold activity. Using a tank for it is illegal.

I'm not arguing your DOT points Wookie, just the factual errors in the post.


-Adrian

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

How do you guys know it wasn't the banked cylinders for the compressor they were inspecting?
Scuba cylinders are another thing, they come and go. Unless somebody filed a complaint saying the shop filled an out of hydro tank.
How many customer tanks were in there? Maybe they were after the rental tanks? who knows.

I don't think annual VIP's are a waste of time at all. I bought a brand new tank from a shop and they gave me two free air cards. I filled that one tank exclusively with them for a year. The annual VIP came up so I figured I would have them look at it. They pulled the valve off and the whole inside was brown. They denied doing it and I told them they were the only ones who ever filled the tank, and the tank was spotless when it was new a year ago. They offered to send it out to have it tumbled at their full marked up price then they explained it would need a VIP after that and that would be another $20 for the sticker then $6.00 for the fill. So I took my tank and left and never went back. That's when I started doing my own cleaning and VIP's.

 

[Wookie]

1. It's "Monterey Bay". "Monterrey" is in Mexico.

2. Abalone diving is illegal in Monterey Bay. It's only legal north of San Francisco to the Oregon border.

3. No matter WHERE you're diving for abalone in California it's a breath hold activity. Using a tank for it is illegal.

I'm not arguing your DOT points Wookie, just the factual errors in the post.


-Adrian

Exactly my point. Someone who almost knows the regulations can make a simple mistake tat could result in terrible fines. Y don't even dive in California. I suppose this giant sea bass sandwich I'm enjoying is probably illegal too, huh?

 

[cerich]

1. It's "Monterey Bay". "Monterrey" is in Mexico.

2. Abalone diving is illegal in Monterey Bay. It's only legal north of San Francisco to the Oregon border.

3. No matter WHERE you're diving for abalone in California it's a breath hold activity. Using a tank for it is illegal.

I'm not arguing your DOT points Wookie, just the factual errors in the post.


-Adrian

where as we are splitting hairs is not commercial abalone diving done with compressed gas? So the statement #3 is incorrect and misleading unless there is a qualifier for recreational use.

 

[Drin]

where as we are splitting hairs is not commercial abalone diving done with compressed gas? So the statement #3 is incorrect and misleading unless there is a qualifier for recreational use.

From the California Sportfishing Regulations:

"e) Special Gear Provisions: The use of SCUBA gear or surface-supplied air to take abalone is prohibited. Abalone may not be taken or possessed aboard any boat, vessel, or floating device in the water containing SCUBA or surface-supplied air. Abalone may be taken only by hand or by devices commonly known as abalone irons."

There is no commercial abalone fishery in Northern California. Never has been. From marinebio.net:

"In 1997 southern California was closed to the taking of abalone by both sport and commercial divers. This ban was introduced by the California State Department of Fish and Game as it became apparent that the numbers of abalone in southern California were so small it was feared that some species would become extinct. Abalone can still be taken north of San Francisco but only by skin diving (no air tanks) and a special abalone stamp must be purchased in addition to the regular sport license. This allows funding of a program to monitor the status of the stocks. Abalone diving remains a popular sport and as the human population grows in Northern California these remaining dense beds of abalone above San Francisco are threatened by poaching as well as sanctioned take. Northern California was never open to commercial abalone fishing and while El Niños and disease have not impacted the population, there are areas of easy access that have experienced serial depletion."

So the statement is true. Scuba diving for abalone here is illegal.

-Adrian

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

There was a small commercial abalone fishery in Northern California way back in the mid to late 40's by a group of Japanese prospectors that worked out of San Francisco. They would come north in their boats to harvest and tried to establish an industry. After several mishaps and very challenging and quickly changing conditions they deemed it too unsafe, not cost effective, and not worth the liability to continue. Right after that in the early 50's California passed a law that no scuba would be allowed to take abalone north of the Golden Gate Bridge. They realized early on that the new Aqualung would be a device that would lead to depletion very quickly. They even had pretty good foresight back then to know that scuba would be the death of the fishery. They continued to allow it in Socal and look at the results. Norcal has always been more environmentally keen than Socal.

 

[Drin]

Commercial abalone fishing in SoCal was closed in the 90's as a result of the population collapse and has never reopened. There are still arguments as to why it collapsed - kelp reduction, overfishing, and abalone wasting disease are the three most cited reasons.

-Adrian

 

[cerich]

didn't know you folks stopped the commercial abalone industry...cool

 

[Wookie]

So, at the end of the day, a retester in Monterey got a DOT audit probably because someone complained. No one in Monterrey got audited, but VIPs were done yearly on all cylinders because someone thinks it's a good idea. Visual Inspections as mandated by DOT were performed before a pressure test, especially before cylinders were transported in commerce, but no abalones were commercially harvested on scuba, at least not in a long time.

No Giant Sea Bass were harmed in the making of this thread.

 

[cerich]

I bet once the newest dive store hydro facility in the neighborhood opens all will make sense.