TWARS (This Week at Reef Seekers) - September 18-25

[Ken Kurtis]

​ ​ Conception, Lobsters, Whale Sharks, and more (please scroll down for details)​

​ Hopefully you won't be too bleary-eyed on Monday if you're up at 3AM to watch Queen Elizabeth's funeral . . . CONCEPTION ZOOM SEEKERS LAST WEEK - Last Tuesday, we held our regular monthly Zoom Seekers chat but with a special topic: Looking at the Conception fire to see what we've learned and what rules and regs have changed as a part of that over the past three years. It was well-attended with close to 50 of you joining. And we had a special participant in the person of Adam Tucker, who was the lead investigator for the NTSB in all of this and who offered some of his insights. The PowerPoint presentation itself lasted about 51 minutes and then we had what I thought was a very good and robust additional 51-minute open forum discussion following. If you were unable to join us live (and apologies for those trying to connect through FaceBook LIVE - it simply wouldn't let us link up) we've got the full video up on our YouTube page, where it's already (as of Sunday evening) gotten another 147 views. You can view the entire thing start-to-finish, just look at some of it, or skip around. Here's the link: ​ SEPTEMBER ZOOM SEEKERS CONCEPTION TRAGEDY THREE YEARS LATER https://youtu.be/4gUJvpmE2PQ​ LOBSTERS IN THE NEWS - Especially as we approach California lobster season (October 1), it's worth noting that there's a lobster controversy going on on the east coast. It started when Seafood Watch, based at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, put east coast lobsters (aka "American" lobsters) on their Red List of species to avoid. This is significant because many restaurants use the Seafood Watch list when making purchasing decisions. The issue, according to Seafood Watch, is that Right Whales - a critically-endangered species - get entangled in lines and gear connected to lobster traps on the ocean floor. "Not so fast," countered Maine politicians and east coast lobster fisherman. They contend that there's not enough evidence to show this is true and that there hasn't been a confirmed whale entanglement in Maine lobster gear since 2004. You can read both sides of the argument to see what you think through these links: ​ SEAFOOD WATCH SAYS DON'T SERVE LOBSTER MAINE POLITICIANS AND LOBSTER FISHERMEN PUSH BACK​ AVALON THIS WEDNESDAY - We're going over Wednesday morning on the 8:45AM Express out of San Pedro and we've got room for a few more. We'll be doing three dives in the Avalon Underwater Park where conditions lately have been pretty good. The water is still around 71º, the visibility was anywhere from 30-50 feet over the weekend, the water was very blue, and there was even a TURTLE spotted in the Park. $175 gets you covered for the round-trip boat, taxi to/from the park, tank rental and airfills, and a guide/escort. If you're interested in joining, give us a call at 310/652-4990 before Monday at 6PM. OCTOPUS "MOM" BROODS EGGS FOR 4 YEARS - The normal gestation period for octo eggs is thought to be 2-10 months depending on water temperature. So scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute were stunned to discover an octopus at a depth of 4,600 feet who was observed sitting on a single patch of eggs for over four years. (Thanks to Skip Abelson for the heads-up.) There's a nice article on this and also an informative 3-minute video at the bottom of the page: OCTOPUS BROODS EGGS LONGER THAN EVER KNOWN. WHALE SHARK IN SAN DIEGO - THAT'S something we don't get to say too often (if ever). But there was a confirmed sighting of a 25-foot Whale Shark in San Diego waters a little over a week ago. And there's video. Take a peek: WHALE SHARK!!!! And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!! - Ken​