Posted by mike on April 11, 2001 at 20:09:27:
In Reply to: Nearshore fisheries posted by JRM on April 11, 2001 at 14:30:55:
i haven't seen but a few commercial boats in the waters close to PV or Catalina (perhaps it's different in Monterey?). I have however seen lots of small sheepshead, kelp bass and various croakers and other kelp forest/rocky reef denizens fill up the game wells on some diveboats. When one goes out on a local boat and sees diver after diver coming in with two or three sheepshead or kelp bass, for three or four dives in a row, one has to wonder; how much of this particular species do these guys take versus the commercial trawlers/ party boats (again this is species and habitat specific) Off of Catalina, certain fishing practices have been outlawed and in many places, the reef dwelling fish are still smaller and scarcer than they are in the underwater park off of Avalon. In harder to get to places, such as Santa Cruz or Gull Isle or San Miguel, the fish are bigger and more numerous. At least that has been my observation. Again, i can only offer up what i see in my own backyard for comparison.