Date: 12-30-10

Location: Palos Verdes

Time: 10:15 am

Dive Length: 35 mins

Swells: 8 footers, with the occasional 9 footer, and white caps as far as the eye could see

Viz: absolute zero–no joke: Iraqi-sandstorm-can’t-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face-zero-viz

Mix: 32%

Dive Buddy: NOAA Jim

Dive Boat: California Science Center Boat: Maximus

Highlights:

Despite generally poor conditions up and down the coast of Southern California recently, Los Angeles Science Center divers got the call Monday to show up this week for some kelp harvesting for the Ecosystem Kelp Exhibit, so NOAA Jim and I headed up to San Pedro to meet up with the Center boat Maximus.

On the way out to the dive site in Palos Verdes, we flew over some pretty decent 8 ft swells, with white caps everywhere, so we were under no illusion as to the conditions we’d be diving in–and sure enough, when we dropped anchor, even in the protected area of the dive site, visibility was absolute zero. You literally could not see your hand in front of your face.

We had to grope our way, hand-over-hand, to fronds of macrocystis in the swirling, underwater ‘sandstorm’ and harvest them by feel: the assignment was to get 15-20 footers, with the holdfasts, so they could be reattached to rocks in the Ecosystems Kelp Exhibit.

Once you got the feel for it [ha, ha!], it actually wasn’t too hard–but, it was tricky in the zero viz, because it always seemed that a neighboring kelp frond, as if in retaliation for harvesting his ‘buddy,’ would try and wrap itself around your leg, foot, or tank valve, so you’d have to untangle yourself from ‘him’ first, before being able to make your way back to the surface with the 15-20 footer you had just harvested.

But, eventually, we got what we had come for and had to make our way back to San Pedro, for a date with the dock crane, which apparently, was only available until noon that day. If you stop and think about it, which I hadn’t–it requires a crane to return a large container of sea water and harvested kelp fronds to the dock.

See below for some rather jerky video I took on the way out–blame the swells for that–as well as video I took of our DSO, Chris Wade, guiding the crane over the kelp container, in order to lift it onto a truck for transport back to the Science Center.

‘nuther day in Paradise, folks! 

Photo:

Skipper Megan: http://tinyurl.com/2ftax3k

Video:

Transferring Kelp Container from the Science Center Boat to the Aquarium Truck for Transport Back to the Ecosystems Kelp Tank

Video:

Rounding the lighthouse at San Pedro.....

Video:

Jim Kinane aboard the California Science Center boat Maximus....

Scientists now have hard evidence for something they have long believed _ that establishing no-fishing zones in the ocean will help replenish fish populations far away that have been over-harvested.

Authors of the study published online Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE said it bolsters scientific evidence for establishing marine reserves in coastal waters, which have faced stiff opposition from the fishing industry.

Lead author Mark Christie of Oregon State University said they used DNA sampling on 1,073 yellow tang, a popular aquarium fish, off the Kona Coast of Hawaii in 2006 and found their offspring were as far as 114 miles away. Two fish in unprotected areas were genetically linked to parents inside protected areas.

http://gazettetimes.com/news/state-and-regional/article_f4917635-f6bf-56b5-ac9c-9eb95e202fcb.html

I received this today from Michelin Guidebooks, regarding an earlier email I had sent them about their habit of giving 3 Star ratings to restaurants in Hong Kong which serve shark fin soup.

Their reply is an interesting mixture of defiance and conciliation. They claim that they are not rating the

shark fin soup *per se,* but the overall ambiance and menu and that they are not encouraging the serving of

shark fin soup by doing so.

I beg to differ. I would maintain that getting a 3 Star rating from the world-renown Michelin Guidebook does *indeed*

encourage whatever you happen to be doing at the time. So sought after is their rating system among chefs, that a couple years ago, a chef in France committed suicide because  Michelin downgraded his restaurant by *one* star.

See what you think:

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Dear Mr Bear,

Thank you for your correspondence relating to the subject of shark fin.

We would like to assure you that we appreciate your concerns and fully recognise that shark fin soup is one of the restaurant industry’s most controversial and challenging dilemmas.

While it is true that shark fin soup is available in restaurants that are recommended in our guide, it is also worth noting that it is a dish served in nearly all Cantonese restaurants. Demand for shark fin soup remains strong throughout China and its cultural significance cannot be ignored. It appears that public opinion in Hong Kong is unlikely to change until there are international agreements at government level concerning the harvest and sale of shark fin.

We do, however, share your concerns. We want to assure you that we do nothing to promote or encourage the consumption of shark fin. Indeed, you will find that in the 2011 Hong Kong Macau Michelin guide there is no mention whatsoever of shark fin soup anywhere in the guide, nor are there any photographs of shark fin dishes. This is no coincidence, as we have actively sought, through our texts, to direct our readers towards other specialities available in Cantonese restaurants.

In the meantime, we would like to thank you for your comments and for your interest in our guide.

Yours sincerely,

The Michelin Guide team