The event is almost here and it's looking to be bigger than the last.  We will meet up at the Albion boat launch closest to the bridge for the dive briefing Saturday the 21st at 8am.  I have a portable high pressure compressor to refill tanks from my boat and we will have water and snacks for during your surface intervals or breaks.  I know a lot of people are asking for more specific details about where exactly we will be diving and what the details are but some of these questions are impossible to answer until we actually get to the event and see what equipment showed up and what conditions are.  Recreational fishing license is all that is required and there are plenty of volunteer opportunities for non divers as well.  Please bring a boat or kayak if you have them for yourself or to lend and I will see you all on the 21st.

We still could use more kayakers to ferry bags of urchin from the divers to the boats and resupply the divers with empty bags.  Rob102 is coordinating the kayak volunteers.

Hey all,
we need volunteers to help kayak the full bags of urchin from the divers to the boats at the next event.  I'm hoping some of you will be up early for the NCKA event the following weekend and be willing to help.  Having kayaks to shuttle the bags increases the divers productivity exponentially because they don't have to swim to the boat every time they fill a bag.

Rob102 is coordinating the kayak volunteers so send him a PM if you're interested.

The departments proposed Abalone FMP has just been posted for the first time.  You can see it and the TNC's proposal at the bottom of the page under additional resources.

 http://www.oceansciencetrust.org/projects/abalone-fishery-management-plan-peer-review/

It's an error in the article.  The limit was changed from 35 individual urchin to 20 gallons.  She probably got confused because we were pouring the crushed urchin into 40 gallon barrels to haul out.

The person needs to be an employee of Apple.

I attended the Sonoma County Fish and Game Commission meeting last night for the final decision on a grant application I had submitted in April.  The Commission is very supportive of our endeavors and voted unanimously to award us another $20,000 for our commercial efforts in Sonoma County.  With this grant the Watermen's Alliance and Scan have cracked the $100,000 mark for funds raised to pay the commercial divers.   

Here's the breakdown:

$25,000 Grant from Mendocino County Fish and Game Commission
$20,000 Grant from Sonoma County Fish and Game Commission
$20,000+ donations to Watermen's Alliance from divers and tournaments
$35,000+ from donations to SCAN and allocated from dues paid by members

I want to thank all of you that have donated to the project, and some of you have donated very generously.  I know this sounds like a lot of money but we are going to run out of money in Mendocino soon, probably by mid June.  If anyone is a member of the Elks, Eagles, Masons, or any other organization that raises money for charity please ask if I can come make a pitch to your board. Remember, this project is going to go on for years.  We need to constantly find new ways and new places to get donations and raise funds.  I'm thinking of running a poker tournament to raise money. 

If anyone is an employee of Apple, Watermen's Alliance is registered now with their charitable donation matching program.  Apple will match your donation twice, making your donation three times your original donation.

Thanks again guys and see you at Ocean Cove next weekend.

Josh

I'm all for putting the best foot forward.  If Joshua and the other guys in the trenches think I'm the best option, then so be it.  If they think someone else would serve their purposes better, I'd happily support that person.

-Allen

I think you'd be great Allen.  As I said before, the intention is to give the stakeholders a voice in the process as we look for volunteers and design the program we need feedback on the best ways to reach and maximize the potential from each group.  Once we develop the program you'll be a great person to recruit kayak volunteers and promote the events to kayakers.  PM me your phone and e-mail and I will give it to the coordinator later today.

Right now, there are three meetings scheduled for 2018,  one April 25, then August 2 and September 13.The meetings are during the week during work hours unfortunately.  The intention is to give the stakeholders a voice in the process as we look for volunteers and design the program we need feedback on the best ways to reach and maximize the potential from each group.