Welcome to Fall (and Yom Tov for those
observing) . . .
LOBSTER OPENER THIS COMING FRIDAY NIGHT -
We've never been known as a "hunting" operation
in any sense of the word but we know that some
of you still hunt and are looking forward to
Friday night's opening of lobster season. A
couple of reminders:
• The season open at 6:00PM Friday evening
• Legal daily limit is 7
• Lobsters must be measured immediately
• You can't bring them to the surface
• Short lobsters must be returned immediately
from where they were snatched
• Have your lobster card with you (on the boat
or in your car)
• WATCH
YOUR AIR SUPPLY ON EACH DIVE
• Remember that no lobster is worth your life
SPECIAL LOBSTER TAKE RESTRICTION JUST IMPOSED -
Domoic acid raises it's ugly head again. It's
been detected in lobsters off of the Palos
Verdes Peninsula and down through Long Beach so
CADF&W has instituted a special delay in opening
some of those areas for the lobster season. You
can read more about it here - LOBSTER
OPENING DELAY AREAS -
but there's also a map, although it's a little
confusing.
DECODING THE LOBSTER RESTRICTION MAP -
It can be a little confusing at first glance.
And FTR, it doesn't seem to impact any others
areas other than those listed. So Catalina,
Santa Bararba Island, San Clemente, and San
Nicolas are all open, as long as you're not
hunting inside an existing MPA or protected
area. The green areas on the map below - Redondo
and NW Palos Verdes, as well as the second area
west of Long Beach down to just past Bolsa Chica
- are open but there's a health advisory. The
purple area - San Vicente MPA - as well as the
blue area - Abalone Cove SMCA - both prohibit
the taking of lobster regardless. The brown-ish
shaded area in the middle - from the Abalone
Cove SMCA to just beyond Middle Gate in the
breakwater - is the delayed open area. It's not
stated how long this delay will be. I'd assume
that there will be more testing done and, until
the lobsters are free of domoic acid, the
restriction will stay in place. So for a while.
Basically, if you grab lobsters along the harbor
breakwater, most of that area is at least
temporarily restricted. (Thanks to Tony Hanna
for the heads-up about this.) |