Abalone Collapse with Kelp Forests

Here's a copy of the Agenda for the next F&GC meeting, see items 21, 22 and maybe 23.

https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=151218&inline

Here's a link the Cal-Span live stream of the meeting, I've watched them before during the MLPAI meetings, just a camera set up in the room, can be very informative, and boring at the same time. It is Live Streamed and archived, check it out.

http://cal-span.org/

So they closed the whole coast damn!  Now I know Sonoma has been hit hard no kelp anywhere but I thought Mendocino and Humboldt were still OK and if so why are we shutting that down? Hmmm maybe F&G thought every diver in the state would go to mendo. for there abs and put a lot more pressure on there abalone population. Well we can still dive just for urchin and scallops,crab,spearfishing,...lots of urchins.

Good thing we have MPA’s.

-Allen

not defending the decision; in fact I think the DFG blew it by not keeping ab divers involved. probably all of us would pitch in for a solution.

but as far as leaving mendo open, it too has been hit hard. yes, there's still pockets of kelp, but haven't all of us who dive there been shocked to see formerly great areas just covered in little purple urchins?   I don't think divers are the problem so even if they had left mendo open, more divers up there wouldn't wipe out the population at all but now everyone will be mad and feel disconnected from the dfg's plan of action (if they have one)

So they closed the whole coast damn!  Now I know Sonoma has been hit hard no kelp anywhere but I thought Mendocino and Humboldt were still OK and if so why are we shutting that down? Hmmm maybe F&G thought every diver in the state would go to mendo. for there abs and put a lot more pressure on there abalone population. Well we can still dive just for urchin and scallops,crab,spearfishing,...lots of urchins.

As a Humboldt/Mendo diver I thought the kelp was better down south. Plenty of degraded forests and urchin deserts up here

Now that's news to me about Mendo and Humbolt kelp not coming back. It has been said on this forum the no Meno and especially Humbolt was just wonderful and had no problems. Thats too bad I thought there was hope it was just Marin/Sonoma.
This is going to hurt in a lot of ways Divers and all the businesses that are connected to coastal diving.
I know the ocean has ways to regenerate but those urchins have built in survival mechanism to make sure the survive.
Now do any of the "powers to be" have a plan?