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Gaining Media Attention for Removal of Dangerous Fishing Net
I was asked to attend a meeting this evening of a group of Catalina technical divers and videographers who plan to remove a fishing net from the "wreck" of the Infidel, a squid fishing seiner that capsized two years ago off Catalina's East End when the captain succumbed to greed and tried to add one more haul to his already full hold of calimari.
Now this is going to be an interesting endeavor since the vessel rests in 150 ft of water. The portion of the net above 60 ft was cut away by Scuba Luv owner Bob Kennedy and other divers shortly after the wreck to eliminate the possibility of hazard to vessels. However, based on the footage of the wreck from shortly after its sinking and from last Sunday, there is a LOT of net yet to remove. It is estimated it may weight as much as 9,000 pounds.
This net has already trapped and drowned about a dozen sea lions and even a well shark and still poses a hazard to marine life and divers who attempt to dive the wreck.
The divers will go out this Saturday to effect the removal. I was asked to go and film some of the operation, but I have a previous commitment this weekend. I may go out on Sunday to get some footage, and will certainly write one of my future columns on this endeavor.
Kurt Lieber, founder of Ocean Defenders Alliance and a member of the board of the Sea Shepherds Conservation Society, is one of the organizers of this effort. Many of you in SoCal (and probably elsewhere) know of Kurt and his work with ODA in removing nets and other hazards from our waters.
I thought it was great that the owner of another fishing vessel, the Captain Jack, is working with the divers to haul the net back up to land and that the local landfill here on Catalina will accept the heavy net free of fees as its donation to the effort.
The reason for my post is that I would like to see efforts like this receive more coverage in the media. These represent one of many ways that we, as divers, can make contributions to the health of our regional ecosystems.
How does one draw in the general public? What zingers and hooks can one use in writing about such efforts that will capture and keep their attention, allowing writers to educate the non-diving public as to the hazards these pose and the need to remove such objects to prevent death to marine life?
Any suggestions?
Of course I'll use sex and humor when I write about it... those two always get my readers' attention!
You could call TMZ and tell them that Tom Cruise will be diving there this weekend. They will cover it from all angles.
Have you contacted any of the local news outlets? I am sure the local long beach and San Pedro papers would cover it at least. The TV news characters are always looking for these local interest feel good stories. As said, the mention of dead sea lions and dolphins is a good ploy too!
Hi Cody... Happy New Year. Kurt did contact some of the local papers but they didn't seem interested at least in a write-up prior to the event. I'm hoping the video and stills from the actual removal will provide visuals with enough interest to merit follow-up articles.
Why is it that the news only covers when a celebrity or politician does something wrong or stupid? Tell the media that a plane has crashed in the area and was loaded with money and gold from Donald Trump's vaults.
I have known Kurt for a few years now and have dove with ODA (ODA) more than a few times. I know he's passionate about protecting the waters for the animals. He helped MaxBottomTime (Phil) and his friends to retrieve and abandoned gill net last year through his contacts with the DFG. Maybe Dale Scheckler's magazine (California Diving News - California Diving News - The Premier Website for California Divers) can help get this story into one of their monthly magazine articles. I know MBT (Phil) submitted the abandoned gill net story to CDN and it was published in the March 2008 issue. I knew someone at the San Gabriel Valley Tribune that helped write an article, after a lot of begging, about my friend's new coffee roasting business in Pasadena. Actually the only reason they wrote it was my friend and his partner were on the Dr. Phil show, so the paper had an angle for this story to try and gain people's interest. The sad thing is that they are no longer working there. When I approached SGVT about Kurt's organization, they referred me to the OC Register since Kurt is not in the San Gabriel Valley area. I didn't have any luck with them.
It might be worth a try to contact some of the local papers to see if they are willing to get on this story. It might be better coming from someone so well respected such as you verse someone like me. My limited experience in dealing with the press is that you need a "hook" to intrigue the reading audience. One "hook" could be the death and destruction that these types of abandoned nets provide to the oceans inhabitants if left unattended. Pictures from the MBT 2008 gill net could help set the stage. I don't know if you saw those photos, but they are pretty compelling and hopefully will tug at the general public's heartstrings. Kurt has some photos and his writeup of this story on his ODA website.
Below are the contact page links for the SGVT, LA Times, OC Register if you are inclined to contact them. You could also try the Associated Press (link below as well). If the national AP doesn't work, maybe the local AP bureaus might be better. Their information is below.
I hope the story can get some press for all the efforts that many people will put in to rid the ocean of this net and its deleterious effects on wildlife.
Killer Fishing Net Sunk Off Catalina Island to be Removed by Volunteer Scuba Divers
Huntington Beach, Orange County, CA A group of expertly trained volunteer scuba divers led by the Ocean Defenders Alliance (ODA) will attempt to remove a large derelict fishing net, sunk off Catalina Island, that is responsible for the death of dozens of protected marine mammals. This is a potentially life threatening undertaking for the dive team, and all participants are volunteers. The first expedition will be Jan. 10, 2009.
The commercial net, estimated to weight over 9000 pounds, is attached to the purse seiner "The Infidel" which accidentally sank off the east end of Catalina Island in 2006 while fishing for squid. Although the wreck is 150 feet deep, the bounty caught in the net continues to attract and trap fish and invertebrates, including sea mammals, which become helplessly tangled in the net trying to catch the encased prey. It is estimated that dozens of sea lions and dolphins have already been drowned by the killer net. If left to remain in the ocean, many more animals will suffer the same fate.
"I have never seen a derelict fishing net that massive before," states Kurt Lieber, Founder and President of ODA, after watching an underwater video shot by Jason Manix. "Due to storms and currents, this mindless net has wrapped itself around the wreck in layers which further complicates the removal process. We'll probably have to cut it into smaller pieces and may have to recover it over several trips to the site."
In addition to long-time ODA volunteer divers, a group of commercial divers will go down and help cut the net away from the trawler. Due to the depth and bottom time required, divers will use nitrox gas mixtures and rebreathers. Notably, the Mayor of Avalon, Bob Kennedy, an avid diver will participate on this potentially dangerous mission. Also volunteering their time and skills will be several divers from the 3 scuba stores on the island: Catalina Diver Supply, Catalina Scuba Luv and Dive Catalina. Independent divers Jason Manix and Donny Neel are organizing the entire dive team.
To facilitate the complex dive operation, nature documentarian Mike Hoover is donating the services of his 70-foot ex-trawler, "Captain Jack", that has been used for National Geographic specials. There will be photographers and videographers on the deck of the ship and underwater. Dr. Bill Cooper (marine biologist and research scientist) from UCI and Tony Christopher (nature filmmaker just back from filming in the Arctic) will be topside documenting the recovery. This lifesaving mission is attracting the attention other experts from the dive industry and academic circles.
Ocean Defenders Alliance is a nonprofit marine conservation group based in Huntington Beach, California, founded in 2002 by Kurt Lieber, a long-time advisor and board director of the world-renowned Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ("Whale Wars" on Animal Planet). With a dedicated volunteer team of expert scuba divers and two work boats, ODA has removed over 4 tons of abandoned and derelict fishing gear from the sea floor, including rotting lobster traps and fishing nets that continue to needlessly ensnare and kill marine wildlife. Website: Ocean Defenders Alliance
CONTACT: For more information and/or to receive images from the net recovery, please contact Kurt Lieber, Founder and President of ODA. T: 714-875-5881 E: kurt@oceandefenders.org
Thanks Phil and Phil. Phil G. has already volunteered the use of some of the stills taken from the earlier net retrieval project. There are very sad shots of sea lions, cormorants and others caught in that net.
Maybe I could kidnap Paris Hilton and entangle her in the net, then have the divers rescue her. That way we'd be assured of good coverage. Ugh.
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