REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 1972

Transcription

1 THE RESOURCES AGENCY OF CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME. MARINE RESOURCES REGION REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 1972 A Dover sale tagged off Crescent City in 1969, was recovered this month off Coos Bay, Oregon. The 100 mile migration northward is significant because most tagged Dover sole returned to date revealed little coastwise movement Kelp restoration, by transplant, is showing encouraging results; tile surface canopy is relatively heavy; many plants have increased in overall size and young sporophytes are often seen in the study area. The annual elephant seal census of San Miguel Island revealed a count of 3,;500 animals; second highest count in the eight years of censllsing.

2 - 2 Wildlife Protection Bottomfish Shellfish Marine Culture Laboratory (Bartlett Project M64R) Oyster Disease and Mortality Study (N.M.F.S. Contract) Sea Otter Abalone Pelagic Fish Big Game Fish Sportfish..'. Inshore Fisheries Habitat Evaluation and Monitoring Sportfish-Kelp Habitat Study (DJ F-27-R) Special Projects Marine Fisheries Statistics Vessels Miscellaneous Appendices following

3 WILDLIFE PROTECTION A. Canneries: Local seiners enjoyed good mackerel fishing the first of the month off La Jolla. Anchovy fishing has been fair. Most of the fishing was off of Ventura and Santa Barbara. Schools were small and wild. Heavy fog slowed fishing the last of the month. Tuna landings have been light. The yellowfin season will close on the 5th of March. Most of the yellowfin landed are going into storage because of the high mercury content. Ninety percent of one 600 ton load was so handled. B. Market Fish: Ling and black cod landings were good in northern California, with a scattering of white sea bass landed in southern California. Squid fishing good. Some small boats sold tuna in the markets. Imports from Mexico about average. Forty-five thousand (45,000) pounds of live crab were seized at Eureka in shipments from Oregon. California crab fishing continues to be very poor. C. Sportfish: Landings of salmon excellent in the San Francisco area, good in the Morro Bay area, also some fair catches in the Ventura Santa Barbara area. Rockfishing fair throughout the state. Some San Pedro boats going all the way to San Miguel Island on day trips. Continuing minus tides have brought out large numbers of clam diggers which resulted in a number of citations for undersize and overlimits. D. Weather: Some heavy winds in the Eureka and bay areas the first of this period, otherwise fair except for fog in the remainder of the state. E. Law Enforcement: rhe Santa Barbara Marine Patrol squad completed a college accredited course in the "Role of Law Enforcement in Parks and Recreation Areas" at Ventura City College. We continue to receive reports regarding commercial abalone fishing along the Mendocino coast. An undercover operation is being planned. The patrol boat YELLOWTAIL assisted in the elephant seal census at San Miguel Island. The crew of the patrol boat RAINBOW observed a sea otter feeding on rock crab off the Coas.t Guard dock at Horro Bay on February 20, Other patrol boats in southern California have been busy making lobster cases. Several other lobster violations were also apprehended by land based marine wardens. Minus tides brought out large numbers of clarnnlers which resulted in a number of citations for undersize and overlimits of clams. A number of citations were also written for possession of abalone during closed season. At least ten meetings were attended by Wildlife Protection personnel this period. Marine wardens in Captain Millen's area assisted in the recovery of three drowning victims and in a search for escaped prisoners.

4 - 4 F. Pollution: The pollution picture is somewhat better this period. There were ten spills by merchant vessels resulting in ten barrels spilled. Navy spills accounted for six barrels spilled. Sixteen spills by industry totaling five hundred and seventy-five barrels. A total of thirty-two spills accounted for five hundred and ninety one barrels of petroleum products being placed into State waters. There were an additional two miscellaneous pollution investigations. 2. BOTTOHFISH A. Fishery Flatfish: Trawling in northern California resulted in good catches of English sole and moderate catches of sanddab, petrale, and rex sole. Due to the lack'of large concentrations of fish in northern California, several Eureka trawlers were fishing from central California ports. Their catches were trucked to Eureka for processing. Excellent catches of Dover sole were made from several deeps betvleen Fort Bragg and Point Montara. Petrale, English, and rex sole complemented Dover sole catches in central California. In the Morro Bay Santa Barbara area occasional good landings of petrale and English sole were made during February. Roundfish: Rockfish landings were low during February. Channel rockfish and sablefish were taken in moderate quantity with Dover sole from deep water. Light landings of other species were noted. B. Research Flatfish: January logbook and ticket data were processed and transmitted to Biostatistics. Flatfish landings at major ports were sampled for age and size composition. A Dover sole tagged off Crescent City in 1969 was recovered this month off Coos Bay, Oregon, a significant movement of 100 miles. Most tagged Dover sole returned have revealed little coastwide movement. The City and Couaty of San Francisco's "A Predesign Report on Marine Waste Disposal" was reviewed. This report, by an engineering firm, suggests that certain disposals of San Francisco waste in the Gulf of the Farallones will not materially affect marine resources. The data base and conclusions are shaky from our point of view. The Gulf is an extremely important area for groundfish and crustacean resources. Aging of flatfish samples continued as was the documentation of studies of the validity of petrale and Dover sole aging. The systems analysis of the Bottomfish Program was continued. Objectives, compiled from documents and interviews, were organized without regard to priorities and a draft of them was completed. The study remains behind schedule.

5 - 5 " Roundfish: Analyses of 1971 N. B. SCOFIELD cruise data were continued. To date, seven tagged sablefish have been returned by central California fishermen. Most recaptures were caught near the Point Sur release area; one was taken 30 miles north off Santa Cruz. Soviet trawl data for 1970, obtained at the November 1971 scientific meeting, were reviewed. rheir catches off California decreased from 30 million pounds in 1969 to 14.6 million pounds (13.2 million pounds of hake and 1.4 million pounds of rockfish) in Off Oregon and Washington, their catches increased to 466 million pounds in 1970 from 172 million pounds for Hake was the predominant species (299 million pounds) reported for the Oregon-Washington area along with 159 million pounds of other fish. California and Oregon Washington 1970 trawl landings were 39.3 and 69.4 million pounds, respectively. 3. SHELLFISH A. Fishery Crab: Central California landings totaled approximately 197,000 pounds through January, with some landings still to be reported. Price to the fisherman is now 55 per pound. Total landings for northern Californi~ ports from Fort Bragg to Crescent City amounted to just over 2.1 million pounds by mid-february. Fishing effort and catch per trap remain low, with barely 50,000 pounds being landed so far this month. Price remains at 45 per pound. Shrimp: Ocean shrimp season closed. One vessel continues to fish prawns off Monterey. Landings range from about 50 to 100 pounds per trap. Bay shrimp fishermen are making good catches off China Camp and Alviso. Shellfish and ORB personnel met with northern California shrimp -fishermen in Crescent City to discuss the recommended quota for the 1972 Area A shrimp season. The proposed -quota of 2.75 million pounds was ill-received by the fishermen who want the quota to remain at 3.4 million pounds. Fishermen also would like the season opening to be changed from May 1 to April 15. Marine Resources Region's recommendations will be forwarded to head quarters in the near future. Oysters: Eureka Oyster Farms is producing 600 to 700 gallons per,. week. The condition of the oysters is improving and the market is firm. Coast Oyster Company is expecting the first truckload of Pacific oyster seed from Washington on February 28. The oysters are being inspected in Washington by biologists of the Washington Department of Fisheries.

6 - 6 Three truckloads of Pacific oyster seed from Washington State were received by the oyster company at Morro Bay. Each truckload represented about 300 standard cases. One truckload of seed was received by the oyster company at Drakes Estero. The shipment to Drakes Estero was inspected at the oyster company. The seed trucked to Morro Bay was inspected by Washington State biologists. B. Research Crab: Trap sampling from commercial fishing boats continued in the central California area. During January the sampled catch was comprised of 20 percent legal males, 20 percent sub-legal males and 60 percent females. The female catch showed an increase of 53 percent from December. Fishermen interviewed in Eureka for catch and effort averaged 1.2 pounds per trap in the first two weeks of February. One morning was spent aboard the patrol vessel BLUEFIN, conducting special trapping operations to obtain gravid female crabs for the Marine Culture Laboratory. Project personnel assisted marine patrol in checking a shipment of 13,000 pounds of crab from Astoria. Approximately 7 percent of the crabs were "shorts". Shrimp: One prawn sample from Monterey was processed at the Menlo Park Laboratory. The prawns were sexed, measured and weighed. Approximately 60 percent were males, 28 percent transitionals and 12 percent females. All the females were gravid. Heads--on count per pound was Oysters: Observation of Drakes Estero November seed plantings of Pacific seed oysters from Washington State indicate good survival but slow growth. It is expected that growth will increase with the onset of warmer waters and more food during March and April. -Clams: At Eureka two low tides were monitored for catch and effort of razor clam diggers. The 26 diggers interviewed averaged about one clam apiece; the mean size of clams taken was 104 mm. 4. MARINE CULTURE LABORATORY (Bartlett Project M64R) Spot prawn larvae continued to hatch throughout most of the month. Research on salinity tolerance, forage preference, molting frequency and growth of early larval stages was in progress. The lower salinity limit for early larval stages is about 19 0/00 Prawn larvae molt at weekly intervals at least through the sixth stage of development. Most of the market crab larvae were lost due to problems encountered in mass culture systems. Surviving larvae attained third stage and should molt to fourth stage before March.

7 - 7 A sample of six ovigerous market crabs was obtained from the Eureka area, but transport stresses on developing embryos effected a near total mortality. Our 16-year-old Pacific oysters were again induced to spawn on February 8. Larval development proceeded normally. At the present growth rate we should obtain a "set" by early March. Red abalone juveniles initiated respiratory pore development in early February, approximately 80 days after hatching, and at close to 1.5 rom in length. The growth rate accelerated after pore development and some specimens had attained lengths exceeding 3 rom by late February. Considerable effort was expended in design and fabrication of continuous flow water systems. 5. OYSTER DISEASE AND MORTALITY STUDY (N.M.F.S. Contract) Another attempt at obtaining seed from selectively bred oysters was made at the Marine Culture Laboratory. A good" spawn was obtained and, to date, the larvae are surviving and growing satisfactorily. Some time was spent with Abalone Project personnel in Morro Bay setting up a wound healing and survival study. The remainder of the month was spent in processing data and writing reports to terminate the project. The project is on schedule. 6. SEA OTTER "7 I ABALONE Plans and preparations for sea otter pup census to be conducted in March from shore throughout the sea otters' range were completed. Project personnel met with Jack Linn at the Department's pesticide laboratory in Sacramento to work on a proposed publication on levels of environmental contaminants observed in sea otter tissues. Work continued during the month on analyses of sea otter necropsies to be coauthored with Dr. Victor Morejohn of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. Work continued on the Diablo Canyon report! Summaries were prepared of life history data for those fishes examined from the several collections made in the Diablo area. Abalone population estimates were developed by Gene Witeck, ORB, to be included in the northern California red abalone survey report. Progress was made on other aspects of this report.

8 - 8 We received a new file cabinet and spent about one week reorganizing the project's statistical reports and research data. Preliminary observation on wound repair and mortality from abalone bar cuts were made. Red abalones cut 1/2" deep into foot tissue bled freely until tightly clamped against tank walls. Examination after 24 hours indicated a clotting mechanism operating and wound repair in progress. Mortality rates were relatively low to date. The Abalone Ad Hoc committee met to complete a document for Sea Grant on abalone problems and research topics in California. We met with Nate Shaffer and Bob Smith, Pacific Ocean Farms, to discuss their proposed abalone farming project in the Pt. Sur region. 8. PELAGIC FISH A. Fishery Landings in tons Species February 1972* ')..~ January 1 - February 29, 197; 10 yr. mean, 1972* Anchovy 9, ,893 17,563 4,562 Mackerel, jack 1,541 t 1,213 4,296 2,502 3,538 Mackerel, Pacific Sardines Squid 450 1, ,085 1,983 Total 11,835 2,953 25,696 24,159 11,428 * Estimated. Accumulated landings are revised monthly. B. Fishery Research Monitoring Anchovy: The price paid to fishermen dropped to $19.00 per ton during the month. This action had no little effect on the landings since the fleet continued fishing for anchovies. The major catch locality shifted to the Port Hueneme-Ventura area because fishable schools were difficult to locate in the San Pedro Channel. This season's landings through February are about 35,000 tons behind last season's. This is due primarily to a price dispute in the fall when the fleet did not fish for anchovies. Jack mackerel: of the month. Most of the landings were made during the first half Major catch locations were Cortes Bank and La Jolla. Pacific mackerel: Pacific mackerel landed this month occurred in mixed loads of jack mackerel from La Jolla. Sardines: Sardines landed this month also occurred in mixed loads of jack mackerel.

9 - 9 Squid: Squid landed this month were taken at Catalina Island. Preliminary estimates indicate landings this yea~ are considerably lower than those at this time last year. C. Biological Studies Jack Hackerel Tagging Program: This month's major project was building and testing of a receiver designed to transfer living jack mackerel from commercial purse seiners to Fish and Game vessels. Jack mackerel landings were light this month and subsequently only four tags were receivered by the canneries and returned to Fish and Game. Little or no movement was exhibited by these returns. Live Bait: Live bait fishing was good along most of the coast during February. San Diego fishermen still are finding plenty of anchovies close inshore, but have been fishing later in the morning when larger schools are available. San Diego has had consistently good fishing in the same area since early last summer. Anchovy schools off Newport Beach have been large and numerous all month. These schools are all close inshore, and the bait hauler has found none offshore. Fishing is now carried on at night in order to avoid the very large schools which form shortly after dawn. Considerable scouting time often has been required to find small enough schools to set on. Fishing has remained good in Los Angeles Harbor. usually met with 1 to 3 sets per night. Bait demands are Anchovy schools usually are scarce along the coast from Santa Monica to Santa Barbara during January, February, and Harch. Fishing has been better than usual in this area this winter. Santa Barbara reports anchovies have been readily available all month. Conditions near Oxnard vary from day to day. Fishing has been quite good about half the time, and" fair the rest of the time. While fish are scattered along the coast south to Santa Monica, enough small schools are available for bait purposes. Bait haulers from Santa Monica and Oxnard have had to put in increased scouting time, but have not had any real difficulties. D. Fisheries Resources Sea Survey (Bartlett M63R) A cooperative CalCOFI egg and larvae survey was conducted off the coasts of southern California and northern Baja California. Weather was generally favorable with only one day lost due to inclement conditions. Efforts continued on the Sea Survey fish bulletin. A preliminary fecundity study of the Pacific saury also was initiated. Sea Survey Data Analysis: Work continued on several manuscripts. The jack mackerel data for seasons through are being worked on and should be finished by the end of February. The probability of the Pacific mackerel population reaching given levels was calculated from fifty simulations. The likelihood of increase falls drastically with even modest harvesting.

10 BIG GAME FISH A. Albacore - Research Life History: Age reading of all scale samples collected during the 1971 albacore season was completed. Population Dynamics: Historical catch and effort data was processed for preparation of a "standard" migration model. Fisheries: No action. B. Bluefin - Research Life History: Age and growth--processing of scales for age determination of the 1970 migration was continued. Fisheries - Commercial: A tuna bait boat landed 6~ tons of bluefin caught late in January off the southern Baja California coast". Sport: No action. C. Bonito - Research Life History: Migration--the N. B. SCOFIELD sailed February 13 for Cape San Lucas to tag bonito and obtain samples for population identification studies on barracuda, bonito, yellowtail and white sea bass. The cruise will return on March 4. Fisheries: No action. D. Billfish: The rema1n1ng 5 striped marlin mercury analysis samples were received from the Water Pollution Control Laboratory. Three of these were over and 2 were under the Food and Drug Administration's 0.5 ppm guideline. Of the 41 striped marlin samples analyzed for mercury, 32 percent were below this guideline. As a part of the evaluation of these analyses, striped marlin catch records for 1971 have been obtained from all the major points of landing. E. Miscellaneous: The laboratory analysis for mercury from 38 albacore tissue samples were received from the Water Pollution Control Laboratory. All samples were well below the Food and Drug Administration guideline of 0.5 ppm. A meeting of various Federal and State agencies and the American Fishermen's Research Foundation was attended to discuss the past, present, and future of albacore research in the North Pacific Ocean. 10. SPORTFISH A. Partyboat Research: A manuscript summarizing 6 years of diving activities from partyboats was submitted to the editorial staff. Discussions relative to a California halibut trawling survey were held at Menlo Park, Monterey, and Morro Bay; a suggested staffing proposal was submitted

11 - 11 to MRB for administrative study. Several tagged bass were picked up, all were time recoveries. B. Central California Marine Sportfish Survey (DJ-F2SR-S) Skin diver sampling was conducted from Pismo Beach to Fort Bragg. All field samples have been hired and the sampling is now being conducted on a routine basis. First impressions are that there are several times as many skin divers now as in 1960, when the last survey was conducted. There are many more access areas available, and new diving equipment has enabled rapid increase in skin diving effort. Miller spent most of the month writing up past project data. 11. INSHORE FISHERIES HABITAT EVALUATION AND MONITORING Most of the month was devoted toward fulfilling our contract obligations to Regional Water Quality Control Boards. Several days were spent assisting in the location of aritificial reefs off Huntington Beach as a site for the disposal of a Navy barge. Other activities during the month included; attending heat treatments at two Southern California Edison power generating stations; assisting Los Angeles County Museum in sorting fish collections; and participating in the quarterly survey of the CONES transect at Palos Verdes Point. ENVIRONMENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL STUDIES OF COASTAL SPORTFISHES (F22R) This project became fully staffed for the first time since August 1971 with the appointment of Richard L. Moe, Junior Aquatic Biologist, on February 1, Moe is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. Several dives were made during the month to locate portions of the man-made sportfishing reefs located off Huntington Beach. This was done primarily to determine the sinking site for a barge donated to the Department of Fish and Game by the U.S. Navy. The barge, 110 ft. long. 40 ft. wide and 12 ft. high, was towed to the site and sunk on February 16, Although the barge sank upside down and a small distance from the planned location, it should provide a haven for many sportfishes. Observations made on existing portions of the Huntington Beach reefs indicate that a great abundance of all sizes of sculpin (Scorpaena guttata). good numbers of large sand bass (ParaZabrax nebuzifer) as well as many other sportfishes. use the reefs as a horne. Most of the stations at our permanent study area off Palos Verdes Point were occupied during the month. This marks the eighth consecutive period the area has been surveyed.

12 - 12 John Duffy spent a good part of the month performing duties related to the upcoming training conference. POINT ARENA ECOLOGICAL SURVEY (P.G. & E. Contract S1902) A total of seven days were spent at the Point Arena study site to conduct a set of dives during the Davidson Current period. Due to adverse sea and weather conditions, two engine failures, and a distress situation requiring Coast Guard assistance, only two days of diving was completed. During the state of distress, we were required to send out a "MAYDAY" over our newly installed VHF radio, possibly alleviating an extremely dangerous incident. During the summer months, we will be able to move our boat permanently to Point Arena, thus greatly facilitating diving operations. We are now using the 30 square-meter arc method to sample subtidal stations. This procedure is better for our purposes than the linear transect method. A program is being designed to sample the abalone and sport fish fishery at the study site. Sampling will be initiated on March 18 and 19, the first weekend of the abalone season. WATER QUALITY Southern California - San Diego Bay San Diego Bay muds, in some areas, contain toxic materials in excess of Federal standards for disposal to ocean waters. The area near the Coronado Bridge is high in some metals and decomposition products. Proposed dredging plans of the harbor for more ocean shipping anticipates disposal of toxic muds in contained land fills. Los Angeles Harbor: Continued piece meal dredging and filling has created problems \"ith environmental evaluation for several regu.latory agencies. The Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbors have been rerequested to provide better understanding of all future development of the harbors before dredging and filling projects will be considered by State agencies as a result of Regional Board action. Proposed major projects will require considerable effort in the near future. Northern California Reviewed predesign report on Marine Waste Disposal for City of San Francisco proposed ocean discharge. Prepared comment and recommendations for Pre-Design Oceanographic Survey for proposed waste discharge off Point Pinos, Monterey County. Attended hearing of North-Coast and San Francisco Bay Regional Boards. Prepared annual work objectives for

13 SPORTFISH-KELP HABITAT STUDY (DJ F-27-R) Field work during February was curtailed by the unavailability of boats. Four days were spent on our continuing kelp transplant program in Abalone Cove, Palos Verdes Peninsula. Macrocystis plants were brought from Paradise Cove and Isthmus Harbor, Catalina Island. We are encouraged by our results in Abalone Cove. The surface canopy is relatively heavy and most plants are showing growth. Young sporophytes are often seen, but will probably be destroyed by fish grazing, still our major problem. Stomachs of black perch, Embiotoca jacksoni, rock wrasse, Halichores semicinctus; senorita, Oxyjulius californica; halfmoon, Medialuna californiensis; and white sea perch, Phanerodon furcatus were examined in an effort to determine which fish species were grazing on Macrocystis. Large pieces of brown algae were found only in the stomach samples of halfmoon. Other species of fish will be sampled in the near "future. The kelp perch, Brachyistius frenatus has now taken up residence in newly transplanted kelp plants. Juveniles of blue rockfish, Sebastes mystinus and olive rockfish, S. serranoides are common in the transplant area. 13. SPECIAL PROJECTS A. Southern California The evaluation and processing of Corps of Engineers' permits and Environmental Impact Statements continued to be generally routine during February. It appears that much of the E.I.S. backlog has now been reduced. Considerably more consultant time with us is planned by the Corps in the future, before issuance of Impact Statements. The annual elephant seal census was taken on San Miguel Island, resulting in a count of 3,500 animals, second highest count in the eight years the census has been conducted. The Ellwood oil pier near Goleta was inspected and a fisheries evaluation made for the W.C.B. which may acquire it for a fishing pier. B. Northern California MRR's contribution to the Humboldt Bay Report was mailed this month to Region 1. Most of February was spent editing, polishing and proofreading this report. Concurrently, we continued to collect and organize materials for the Tomales Bay Report. We met with Planning Section and Region 3 personnel to coordinate efforts in preparation of the Morro Bay and Tomales Bay Reports. The first meeting of several scheduled by the Association of Bay Area Governments with respect to coastal planning was attended. Committee participation in planning the MRR Training Conference continued.

14 MARINE FISHERIES STATISTICS A. Source Documents: Editing was completed for the following groups of source documents: September and October 1971 market receipts, September and October 1971 trawler logs, January 1972 bait, cannery, and marine sport catch receipts. Work in process at month's end included editing of the following documents: November 1971 market receipts and trawler logs, February 1972 bait and cannery receipts, and sport catch logs. B. Machine Data Processing: The following monthly reports were tabulated: September 1971 Statistical; September and October 1971 trawler; January 1972 Processors, marine sport catch, salmon, striped bass, cannery, cannery jack mackerel and cannery reduction. Annual statistical reports for 1971 completed this month included: crayfish, shrimp effort deck, kelp and market crab. Special reports included card decks for English sole Age-Con, and program RAMISIN. C. Information: The following routine reports were decoded and distributed: September 1971 California fish landings, January 1972 Processors, sport catch and letter, and the MSC striped bass. Special requests for fishery data, registrations and information included the following: vessel owner requested landings and registration data; herring landings for San Francisco and Tomales Bays for Max E1drige of ffi1fs Tiburon; 1970 commercial fish landings for Los Angeles and Orange Counties for Jack Carlisle; commercial fish landings at Moss Landing for Hohn, Wise and Associates, San Francisco; experimental fishing gear logs for Tom Jow; sablefish data for Richard Parrish; 1970 boat registration data (250) for Steve Taylor and 1970 trawler logs and receipts for Tom Jow. Catch per block area data was provided to Barry Lamier of Li~ing Marine Resources Inc. D. Licenses and Registrations: County codes were added to the boat registrations. Master list changes were sent to Sacramento and field offices. The Delinquent Boat Registration list was compiled and mailed to MRR Wildlife Protection Captains. Questionnaires of intent to fish Mexican waters were sent to 28 new commercial fishing registrants. E. Fishery Surveillance: Effort in February was concentrated on gleaning input from project leaders and dealers to establish formats for revised pre-printed, pre-coded landing receipts. At this point sufficient information is considered available that the new format can be drawn and preparations for obtaining new books can be initiated. Response from dealers was almost unanimously favorable and Department project leaders and dealers cooperation was exceptional. Field trips were completed to San Diego, San Francisco, Menlo Park, Monterey area, Morro Bay, and Eureka.

15 .0-15 F. Electronic Data Processing (P.E~P.): Gary Gladstone.and Sat P. Sondhi were appointed February 1, 1972 as Programmers II under the Publtc Employment Program, a limited Federal effort to reduce unemployment and aid local governments. 15. VESSELS After initial orientation in Fish and Game and MRR they were assigned, respectively, the tasks of developing a computer program to compile game research pata and to.extract for NMFS a special catch report from our 1970 commercial tape file. ALASKA: February 8 through 28, 1972, the R/V ALASKA engaged in a cooperative CalCOFI egg and larvae study with R/V AGASSIZ, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and R/V DAVID STARR JORDAN, NMFS. N. B. SCOFIEI,D: February 13 through the 29th, 1972, the SCOFIELD engaged in Pacific bonito tagging off central Baja California waters. KELP BASS: February 1 through February 4, 1972, the KELP BASS engaged in kelp transplanting off the Palos Verdes Peninsula. February 8 the vessel entered the yard for annual overhaul where she remained for the balance of the month. 16. MISCELLANEOUS A. Meetings, Talks and Visitors February 1 -Gates, Frey and Greenhood attended CalCOFI meeting in La Jolla. February 2 -Gates met with Water Quality, Long Reach.,.- February 2 -Carlisle met with Les Maland of the Navy in regards to some surplus Navy Property, Pt. Dume. ~ February 2 February 3 -Moore attended State Lands meeting in Los Angeles regarding several waste discharge lines across ocean beaches. -Young presented a summary of the growth and migration patterns of Newport Bay sand bass to 30 members of the Sea Horse Spin Fishing Club, Newport Beach. T February 3 -Gates met with NRB and ORB, Sacramento. February 3 February 4 -Carlisle met with Wilfred Tatiasota in regards to the importation and cultivation of several Mexican marine species, Long Beach. -Jaw spoke to 15 students from Nountain View Shoreline High School on marine biology and the Department's activities.

16 16 February 7 February 8 February 9 February 9 February 9 February 9 February 10 February 10 February 10 February 10 February 13 February 14 February February February 16 -Swartzell attended a meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee for coastal planning organized by the Association of Bay Area Governments in Berkeley. -Gates, Frey and L. Richardson attended MRC meeting, La Jolla. -Odenweller met with members of Greater Los Angeles Council of Divers to discuss spearfishing meets along the Orange County coast. -Mrs. Rose Thurston, Corps of Engineers, on her annual visit to the Menlo Park Laboratory, obtained summarized landing data from reports of first landing. -Bruce Eliason (Region 5) and Moore met with Corps of Engineers personnel regarding major dredging in San Diego Bay. -D. Wilson attended interagency meeting in Oakland with San Francisco Region Water Quality Control Board. -Swartzell and John Reed, Project Transition Trainee, attended Training Conference Committee meeting in Monterey. -Haseltine gave an illustrated presentation on the Marine Culture Laboratory Operations to Region 3 personnel in Honterey. -Wild and K. Wilson presented a slide talk on sea otters at the Region 3.district meeting in Salinas. -Duffy, Haugen, Parrish, Powell, and Swartzell attended Training Conference Committee meeting in Monterey. -Duffy, Grossi and Terwilliger presented a program on Department work to the International Divers Society, Tarzana. -Wild and K. Wilson met with Jack Linn in Sacramento to discuss proposed publication on levels of environmental contaminants in sea otter tissues. -Bell, Moore and D. Wilson met with MRB in Sacramento concerning basin planning report. -Gates attended Organization and Team Development workshop, Davis. -Frey met with John Speth, Wildlife Management Branch, to work on COAP Fish and Wildlife Plan.

17 - 17, February February February 17 February 17 February 17 February 18 February 18 February 23 February 23 February 23 February 24 February 24 February 24 February 25 -Orcutt and all Bottomfish Program personnel met at Fort Bragg and reyiewed the projects of the Program and plans for the future. -Warner and Nelson met with Frey, Munro, La Faunce and Lesh to discuss the ecology of the "coastal strand," of Humboldt and Del Norte Counties. -Wild met with Dr. Victor Morejohn of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories to work on a planned publication of analyses of sea otter necropsies; Moss Landing. -D. Wilson, at the request of ESB, met with Mr. Torn Bradich, EPA Cincinnati, Ohio, regarding the operation of the mobile bioassy laboratory based at the Nimbus Water Pollution Control Laboratory. -Gates attended Regional Manager's meeting, Sacramento. -Swartzell and Reed met with Planning Unit and Region 3 personnel at Yountville regarding Morro Bay and Tomales Bay Reports. -Swartzell and Reed attended a special slide showing of pollution problems in San Francisco Bay and Gulf of Farallones at Regional Board office, Oakland. -Gates and staff at Menlo Park met to discuss shrimp quotas. -Carlisle attended a presentation and luncheon given by Proctor and Gamble to introduce their $3 million pollution control system, Long Beach. -Carlisle discussed artificial reefs at the meeting of the Sportsman's Council of Central California, Buelton. -Gates attended Abalone Ad Hoc Meeting, Long Beach. -Gates and Kaneen met with Southern California Edison, Terminal Island. -Edward Welday, Department of Conservation, discussed coastal bottom topography and substrates with Jow and Dahlstrom. -Gates, Clemens, and Craig attended American Fishermen's Research Foundation meeting, San Diego to discuss overall albacore research program.

18 - 18 February 2S February 2S February 26 February 28 February 28 February 29 February 29 -Swartzell attended a Harin County meeting regarding planning at San Rafael. -Duffy dove with Gotshall and other members of the Underwater Parks Advisory Board to survey a potential underwater park site; Palos Verdes. -Duffy attended a meeting of the Underwater Parks Advisory Board; Malaga Cove School. -Carlisle participated in an Environmental Impact Conference at U.C.L.A. -Parrish and Jow discussed Bottomfish and gill nets with Orcutt, Gates, and MRB at Monterey. -Gates met with ESB and MRR staff to discuss annual work objectives. -Gates and staff met with NMFS to discuss legislation and Federal-State relations. B. Personnel December 30 February 1 February 1 February 1 February 1 February 8 February 14 February 22 to~r!diu;; Doy"ll. -E. Gates Regional Manager -William L. Strike, Jr., Deckhand, Fish and Game Boat, Research Vessels, San Pedro, Leave of Absence - Illness. -Bessie M. Norman, Senior Account Clerk, Administration, Menlo Park, transferred from Region Gary J. Gladstone, Programmer II, Marine Fisheries Statistics, Long Beach, appointed PEP program. -Sat P. Sondhi, Programmer II, Marine Fisheries Statistics, Long Beach, appointed PEP program. -Richard L. Moe, Jr. Aquatic Biologist, Environmental & Behavioral Studies of Coastal Sportfishes, Long Beach, appointed permanent. -John Simich, Ship's Cook, Research Vessels "ALASKA" San Pedro, emergency appointment. -James R. McKerlie, Chief Engineer, Research Vessel "ALASKA", San Pedro, emergency appointment. -James J. Maehl,Deckhand, Fish & Game boat, Researc.h Vessels, San Pedro, appointed TAU. MRR-LB/ /cg

19 WILDLIFE PROTECTION BRANCH MONTHLY REPORT FORM Region MRR -.:.~ Fill-In Section Report for ~~nth of F_E_B _ A. RESERVE ~varden ACTIVITIES 1. Number of patrols raade by reserve wardens 9 2. Hours worked Arrests or citations issued by reserve wardens (Wardens not present) 4. Arrest,assists or citations issued by reserve 41 (Wardens present) 5. Personal vehicle miles traveled on patrol 6. Personal vehicle miles traveled to and from assignment 510 B. HUNTER SAFETY 'IRAINING PROGRAM 1. Time spent on hunter safety training 2. Hunter safety instructors contacted t 3 Hunter safety training classes attended 4. Hunter safety instructor classes attended C. DEER ACCIDElfTALLY KILLED 1 1. Road kills by motor vehicles 2. Kills from other causes (railroads, canals, dogs, etc.) D. ARREST REPORT Number of persons artested as compared to same periods last year: 208 Same Month Last Year 223 Current Month Total Arrests Same Period Last Year Total Arrests This Year I Remarks - (To explain any marked changes in above totals) WLP (Rev. 6/71)

20 Wildlife Protection Branch V~nthly Report - Page 2 Fines paid $ 5, $ 8, Same Month Last Year Current Month Total fines to date... $11, Same Period Last Year $16, Same Period This Year Remarks (To explain any marked changes in above totals) Jail days served. Jail days suspended ' Cases dismissed. Cases in vthich all of fine vtas -suspended Juvenile cases turned over to juvenile authorities or parents contacted Hunting licenses revoked by court Hunting licenses suspended by court Sport fishing licenses revoked by court Sport fishing licenses suspended by court Summary: Following is the number of violations prosecuted against type of violatio~ Hunting, no license T,.laterfowl Deer Pheasant Resident small game Doves and pigeons Mountain lion Bear Raptors Loaded gun in car. Baited pond shooting Protected nongame birds, fully protected, rare or end. species Litter ~. Public shooting area trespass Trespass ( ) Prohibited species E. ASSISTANCE TO OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES Angling, no license 83 No inl~nd stamp 'I':rout It Striped Eass Other inland fish Angling more than one rod 2 Clams and shellfish 101 Commercial abalone Commercial lobster 2 Commercial fish 11 Commercial fish records Ocean sportfish ~ 14 _ Pollution (5650) (Oil). 7 1 It "(other). 1 Stream obstruction (5948) ,',... " Miscellaneous..... TOTAL Number of cases filed by Wildlife Protection officers for violation of Penal or other code sections ~ 2. Number of cases filed by T-lildlife Protection officers for city or county ordinances 3 Number of cases turned over to federal agencies for filing 4. Number of cases of assistance to other agencies resulting in filing of charges (not included in I, 2, or 3 above) 5. Number of cases involving felony charges