Posted by tleemay on December 17, 1999 at 06:15:04:
In Reply to: Where are the boat captains? posted by msblucow on December 16, 1999 at 23:00:25:
Your question is absolutely NOT dumb Marta.
KSDA and their practices are well known and common knowledge among the dive charter operators up and down the SoCal coastal area. The false bottom AL80 ploy Max Bottomtime brough up is not typical for KSDA, their most common MO is the game bag full of sea cukes with 4"-6" abs or short bugs stuffed in the middle. One of the most undesirable things to do is to sift through a bag of slimy leaky sea cucumbers in search of poachables. For that reason, most dismiss the bag as holding only cukes. Problem is, a bag full of cukes doesn't go clunk when dropped on the deck.
The Captains and their crews have been the ones throwing KSDA off the boats for just such discoveries. Believe me, there are Captains and Divemasters a like who will absolutely not tolerate any poaching or raping of undersized "legal" fish like s'head and opal-eye. You are correct in pointing out some Captains and crew just don't care... these are the charter orgs and crew/Captaiins that will assist in the killing off UW salt sportfishing from Pt. Conception to San Diego, Redondo Beach to Begg Rock.
In the past, I have overheard KSDA divers talking in betwen dives about which fish shop in San Gabriel is currently paying the highest dollar for sean cuke and urchin that week. Another conversation I listened to sounded like they were looking for a slurp gun to catch Juvinile Garibaldi to sell to an aquarist, who then sells the fish for $200 each for salt tanks (funny how much Korean/Mandarin a white guy can absorb after a couple trips to Seoul & Hong Kong). I also know that the Garibaldi is reportedly a highly prized fish in Japanese salt tanks.
I have heard two Captains consider asking an undercover F&G agent to pose as a crew member during a KSDA trip to somehow put a stop to KSDA's practices. I recall one boat actually did this 3-4 years ago.
KSDA has been thrown off boats for other reasons besides raping the sea of any and all game.
I have witnessed first hand leaders of KSDA arguing with boat Captains about destinations in mid channel in the middle of the night, making physical and economic threats to the Captains if they don't make "x" island. One captain who had this stunt pulled on him, pulled the plug on the balance of the KSDA charters for the rest of the year and marked his schedule with DNT/KSDA (do not take/KSDA).
Conditions and weather dictate where a boat goes as does the mean experience of the divers on board. The safety of the charters and the Captain's vessel and crew are number one. Passing up San Nicholas Island for SBI because of 12' seas and 70 kt winds beyond SBI's Westside Caverns is a small settlement compared to dropping 30 divers into a dangerous 10'/8-10 sec swell - a swell so bad that it raises and lowers the boat ladder 6'-8' each way. A ladder coming down on a head or shoulder from that distance with 90+ tons of boat leveraged behind it kills divers.
KSDA has always conducted their business with the following attitude - their checks buy the boat and the crew for the day to the destination they choose. The Captain and crew are not to deviate from destination choice regadless of saftey or WX condition issues. The captain and crew are not to pay any mind as to what gets taken and put into the live well or game bags.
Also, KSDA are notoriously known to be the worst tipping divers. They ignore the "no ice chests" rule on most boats and bring on their own food and beverages under the guise the ice chests ar for their game at the end of the trip. They smoke in the bunk areas even though NO SMOKING signs are prominately displayed.
The Captains and crews that DO take the stand are the one's looking out for the future of sport diving in SoCal. Those who don't are just contributing to KSDA's effort to kill everything, including their own divers with _their_ own version of solo diving. I would like to see what papers were signed by the deceased diver to become a member of KSDA, if any. The civil lawyers will probably have a field day.