Posted by on June 21, 2005 at 15:36:30:
A $300,000 grant has been awarded to the University of California Davis Wildlife Health Center to look at getting rid of lost and abandoned fishing gear off the California coast.
The funds, approved last week by the California Coastal Conservancy, go to the center's SeaDoc Society. It will cover a pilot program that aims to remove derelict fishing nets, lines, pots and other gear from the sea floor and reefs.
Gear can continue to catch fish or marine animals long after it's been lost or abandoned. The program will use scuba divers to remove gear, which will be returned to owners if they can be identified.
The program will include 20 days of gear location and 20 days of removal in four areas: Santa Catalina Island, Morro Bay, Point Lobos to Elkhorn Slough in Monterey County and Humboldt Bay to Trinidad head.