Ken Kurtis
Contributor
CDFW website, Fish Mask, Swans, and more
(please scroll down for details)
I'll forgo my weekly COVID rant but will suggest again that you wear a mask any time you're outside of your home . . .
NEW CA FISH & WILDLIFE WEBSITE - This will be especially useful to you if you're a hunter, but it also has value if you're just curious about some fish facts. The California Department of Fish & Wildlife (no longer known as Fish & Game) has gone live with a new website called "The Marine Species Portal." It gives information about 30 of the state-managed marine species right now (they may add more down the road) and is chock full of info. Depending on how far you want to drill down, there's general info on a given species, historical catch info, management strategies, and future needs. For instance, you may know that Sheephead are considered a fairly stable population but did you know that they mature at an age of four years and that the largest one ever recorded was a whopping 36 pounds and the oldest one was a 53-year-old male??? Access to the website is free and unrestricted. You can get to it through this link: CDFW MARINE SPECIES PORTAL.
LOCAL CONDITIONS - I just got an e-mail report from John Lumb about a dive he and Jan Larson did in Laguna, plus a Malibu dive his son (John Jr.) did. Here's what John had to say: "Dove with Jan at Wood's Cove, Laguna. For a quiet hidden-away place it wasn't quiet as there were several other divers, and LOTS of people walking with dogs, children, spouses, and solo. There was no surf, and medium height tide. Water was bloody cold: 55º at 30 ft, and poor vis, 12-feet at best. Otherwise, nice dive with Leopard Shark seen on entering, eels, CO Flounder/turbot, and a few schools of wrasse, sardines, blacksmith and senoritas. Junior had a rescue class at Escondido Beach in Malibu on Friday. Vis was probably 18 inches, temp was 50º, but even in that poor vis they saw a large pod of dolphins zipping past while underwater. The dolphins made a second pass too." (The dolphins were probably wondering why people were diving in these conditions.) Thanks, John & Junior!!!
TRAVEL UPDATE - It's still looking rather grim if you hold a U.S. passport. It seems that many countries are re-evaluating things around the first of each month, at least for the short term. Here's a list of all of the countries open to us right now: Albania, Dominican Republic, Kosovo, Maldives, Mexico, North Macedonia, Serbia, Tunisia, and Turkey. (Great diving in the Maldives and Mexico, but not so much in the others.) There are 22 other countries that will allow Americans in with restrictions, most of which include either a negative-COVID test with 72 hours of travel, or a 14-day quarantine upon arrival, or both. The Cayman Islands are taking it even further (but not until September 1) when you'll not only have to provide a negative-COVID test but upon arrival will be outfitted with a "health monitoring device" that tracks your health and (apparently) your whereabouts so they can enforce a 5-day quarantine after arrival. (It's also unclear if this is only for returning Cayman residents/citizens, or will also apply to tourists.) But the point is, we're nowhere near out of the woods yet.
HOW ABOUT A NICE FISH MASK? - Michael Wicks is a local artist and diver and he created some COVID masks from his photos, five of which feature underwater creatures. These are cloth masks with ear loops for general (as opposed to surgical-level) protection. Each one is $13. You can browse the collection (use the PREV/NEXT button) to see if anything strikes your fancy. (There are some abstract art ones as well.) Here's the link: MICHAEL WICKS' FISH FACE MASKS.
SMART FISH - Tonight marks the start of "Sharkfest" on the National Geographic Channel. It seems to be basically a Discovery Shark Week clone and a lot of the titles look to be somewhat sensationalistic so I don't know how much informative content there will be, despite the Nat Geo brand-name. But I did happen to run across a really cool Nat Geo video clip that I want to share with you, as it shows a huge baitball off of Western Australia. The baitball is surrounded by sharks, who take an occasional plunge through the packed-together fish. The footage was shoot from a drone high overhead so you're pretty much looking straight down at this and it's interesting to observe the action. (There are also some body-boarders around and the sharks couldn't care less about them.) The clip is only 40 seconds long, but worth the effort: BAITBALL & SHARKS.
SURFING SWANS - I have no idea who the guy who posted this is, but you'll also get a kick out of these swans leisurely "surfing" their waves. Looks like they're having a blast: SURFING SWANS.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's SAFELY go diving one of these days soon!!!
- Ken
(please scroll down for details)
I'll forgo my weekly COVID rant but will suggest again that you wear a mask any time you're outside of your home . . .
NEW CA FISH & WILDLIFE WEBSITE - This will be especially useful to you if you're a hunter, but it also has value if you're just curious about some fish facts. The California Department of Fish & Wildlife (no longer known as Fish & Game) has gone live with a new website called "The Marine Species Portal." It gives information about 30 of the state-managed marine species right now (they may add more down the road) and is chock full of info. Depending on how far you want to drill down, there's general info on a given species, historical catch info, management strategies, and future needs. For instance, you may know that Sheephead are considered a fairly stable population but did you know that they mature at an age of four years and that the largest one ever recorded was a whopping 36 pounds and the oldest one was a 53-year-old male??? Access to the website is free and unrestricted. You can get to it through this link: CDFW MARINE SPECIES PORTAL.
LOCAL CONDITIONS - I just got an e-mail report from John Lumb about a dive he and Jan Larson did in Laguna, plus a Malibu dive his son (John Jr.) did. Here's what John had to say: "Dove with Jan at Wood's Cove, Laguna. For a quiet hidden-away place it wasn't quiet as there were several other divers, and LOTS of people walking with dogs, children, spouses, and solo. There was no surf, and medium height tide. Water was bloody cold: 55º at 30 ft, and poor vis, 12-feet at best. Otherwise, nice dive with Leopard Shark seen on entering, eels, CO Flounder/turbot, and a few schools of wrasse, sardines, blacksmith and senoritas. Junior had a rescue class at Escondido Beach in Malibu on Friday. Vis was probably 18 inches, temp was 50º, but even in that poor vis they saw a large pod of dolphins zipping past while underwater. The dolphins made a second pass too." (The dolphins were probably wondering why people were diving in these conditions.) Thanks, John & Junior!!!
TRAVEL UPDATE - It's still looking rather grim if you hold a U.S. passport. It seems that many countries are re-evaluating things around the first of each month, at least for the short term. Here's a list of all of the countries open to us right now: Albania, Dominican Republic, Kosovo, Maldives, Mexico, North Macedonia, Serbia, Tunisia, and Turkey. (Great diving in the Maldives and Mexico, but not so much in the others.) There are 22 other countries that will allow Americans in with restrictions, most of which include either a negative-COVID test with 72 hours of travel, or a 14-day quarantine upon arrival, or both. The Cayman Islands are taking it even further (but not until September 1) when you'll not only have to provide a negative-COVID test but upon arrival will be outfitted with a "health monitoring device" that tracks your health and (apparently) your whereabouts so they can enforce a 5-day quarantine after arrival. (It's also unclear if this is only for returning Cayman residents/citizens, or will also apply to tourists.) But the point is, we're nowhere near out of the woods yet.
HOW ABOUT A NICE FISH MASK? - Michael Wicks is a local artist and diver and he created some COVID masks from his photos, five of which feature underwater creatures. These are cloth masks with ear loops for general (as opposed to surgical-level) protection. Each one is $13. You can browse the collection (use the PREV/NEXT button) to see if anything strikes your fancy. (There are some abstract art ones as well.) Here's the link: MICHAEL WICKS' FISH FACE MASKS.
SMART FISH - Tonight marks the start of "Sharkfest" on the National Geographic Channel. It seems to be basically a Discovery Shark Week clone and a lot of the titles look to be somewhat sensationalistic so I don't know how much informative content there will be, despite the Nat Geo brand-name. But I did happen to run across a really cool Nat Geo video clip that I want to share with you, as it shows a huge baitball off of Western Australia. The baitball is surrounded by sharks, who take an occasional plunge through the packed-together fish. The footage was shoot from a drone high overhead so you're pretty much looking straight down at this and it's interesting to observe the action. (There are also some body-boarders around and the sharks couldn't care less about them.) The clip is only 40 seconds long, but worth the effort: BAITBALL & SHARKS.
SURFING SWANS - I have no idea who the guy who posted this is, but you'll also get a kick out of these swans leisurely "surfing" their waves. Looks like they're having a blast: SURFING SWANS.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's SAFELY go diving one of these days soon!!!
- Ken
