Just in: Sonoma abalone fishery closed for the year

Now who is going to tell the folks who don't know about this closure drive up just to get nailed.

They wont post it just like they did not post it for the protected zones.

This is just more cash cow for F&G to write fines for they will make a small
fortune for the rest of the year and they get to keep YOURS TOO HAHAHAHA.

This is the beginning of the end, fishing will be next. Its what they always wanted.
Its Perfect!

We will have to dive Mendocino county then.
Here's a map.

http://www.mendonet.com/office/mainmap.htm

so wheres the link to the story??   i yahooed it   What about Marin, any good kayak accessible dive spots?

http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?p=abalone+closure&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-701&fr2=newsdd

California Department of Fish and Game News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 15, 2011

Contact:
Jordan Traverso, DFG Communications, (916) 654-9937

Fish and Game Commission Votes to Close Abalone Fishery in Sonoma
County

The California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) today took
emergency action to close the abalone fishery along part of the northern
California coast. Specifically, the Commission voted 3-0 to close the
fishery in the entirety of Sonoma County. Commissioners Daniel Richards
and Richard Rogers were not in attendance.

This action was taken in the wake of confirmed reports of dead red
abalone and other invertebrates on beaches and inside coves along the
Sonoma County coastline.

Data continue to be collected that shows an abalone die-off along the
Sonoma coast beginning Aug. 27. According to Department of Fish and Game
(DFG) biologists, these abalone deaths coincided with a local red tide
bloom and calm ocean conditions. Although the exact reasons for the
abalone deaths are not known, invertebrate die-offs have occurred in the
past along the northern California coast due to lack of oxygen and/or
poisoning when similar weather and bloom conditions existed, but not at
the magnitude of this event.

DFG is assessing the impact of the situation and provided the
Commission with information at today’s meeting.

Reports of dead abalone and a variety of invertebrates have come from
Bodega Bay, Russian Gulch, Fort Ross, Timber Cove and Salt Point State
Park in Sonoma County and as far north as Anchor Bay in Mendocino
County. DFG biologists and game wardens have collected abalone, mussels
and water samples since the beginning and are continuing to document
reports from the public. The public is encouraged to report the
location, number and date of dead or dying abalone to Ian Taniguchi at
(562) 342-7182 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Divers are encouraged to avoid diving in the affected areas. The exact
implementation date of the emergency closure will be determined by the
regulatory process and is expected soon. Please continue to check the
Commission’s website at www.fgc.ca.gov.

Abalone fishermen are advised to contact a physician immediately if
they feel sick, and to report symptoms to the local county health
department (www.sonoma-county.org/health/about/publichealth.asp). The
latest red tide updates from the California Department of Public Health
are also posted online at www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/Pages/DDWEM.aspx.

For more information, please refer to DFG’s Sept. 2 press release,
available at
http://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2011/09/02/abalone-die-off-observed-in-sonoma-county/.

I'll fill my card in Mendo....seems like GreenWashing.

I kinda wonder if they were forced to declare an emergency closure to prevent any potential lawsuits from people eating poisoned abalone? Or maybe they're just trying to protect us from ourselves (people who would eat them, regardless of warnings from the Dept of Public Health).  Either way, it sucks they had to close the season early! It will reopen next season, for sure though, because this redtide/dieoff is temporary. Or...maybe the sky IS falling?

Here is a quote from my dive partners friend who is in the know,

Oh I didn't know you were a diver!  I've heard Gerstle cove is a great place to see critters since it's a reserve.  Makes sense that big ones are in there since there's no fishing there.  Salt Pt right around the corner is a super popular dive spot. 

Those numbers from the paper are directly from the data collected by my old boss last week.  She and a bunch of my old coworkers (Davis and Fish and Game people) do research cruises every Aug/Sept to count the adult ab population along the Sonoma and Mendo coasts.  The cool thing is that they had just measured the healthy population a month ago, before the die-off happened.  So after they went back last week and measured the exact same spots, they have a very accurate measurement of the devastation.  It makes total sense to me that they closed the fishery.  hopefully next year things will be back to normal.

It's not yet totally conclusive what killed the abs and other inverts (stars, chitons, etc), but we know that the fish swam away from what was mostly likely either a low oxygen environment or a toxic environment, whereas the sessile invertebrates were stuck there and had to endure it.  There were also a bunch of dead animals in tanks inside the Bodega Marine Lab, where the water is highly oxygenated, so there seems to be evidence that there is some toxin involved.  That being said, no human effects have been reported so its not a health issue. 

So to me it seems that for once the DFG is actually using good science. Let's hope that it does not add an extreme amount of pressure to the Mendo Coast.

Ranger Jim

I just came back from Timber Cove and as I was leaving from fishing, two guys were gearing up for abalone diving.  I told them the season was closed.  They said they just talked to Ocean Cove, and
they were told abalone season is opened.  As I was leaving, I saw a large hand painted sign
in front of Timer Cove that ABALONE SEASON IS OPEN. 

I drove to Gerstle Cove and talk to a ranger who told me the season is closed --but not officially.  Yeah, that's right.  He said the DFG recommended that the season be closed due to the algae bloom, but
it had not yet become law.  So, he goes on to say that if a person has a valid license they are
able to pick.

I talk to several people up there, and there is a lot of confusion.    Be current on the news from DFG before you go after abalone in Sonoma Coast.

I was up there Sunday with Omar just to check things out.   We expected to see a lot of shells on the beach but I guess they are all still in the water because I didn't see any.  The birds seemed to be having a feast though.

Was there last week saw the shells underwater - sad.

Got my abs searched for urchin but couldnt find any only saw a dead one.

Wheres the uni at. ..Mendo??

Loorker - what's the damage like up there? Did you have to dive deep to find the live ones? How did it look in shallow water?
I'm sure a lot of us are wondering what the situation up there is.
Thanks!

Quite a few upturned shells in the shallow area. Maybe the sea urchins died off too, as the kelps are back where they used to be.

I do less than 20ft but did get mine. Prob ok if you go deeper.