Gopher Rockfish (Sebastes carnatus)
I went sightseeing to the Farallon Islands last weekend before the storm. It was my first time out there and the highlight was probably seeing 20 to 30 humpback whales surface feeding over Fanny Shoals.
The Farallon Islands have a long history of bird egg harvesting, fur seal harvesting, whaling, and fishing. It was also the site of nuclear waste disposal during the first 30 years of the cold war. The aircraft carrier Independence, a target ship for two atmospheric nuclear tests, was purposefully scuttled to the west of the Islands.
We caught rockfish, lingcod, and sanddabs. It wasn't a great fishing day, but as the others sent me home with some of their catch I probably won't be buying fish for a month or so.
Sebastes species are slow growing territorial predators with venomous spines in their dorsal and anal fins. Several species are known to live 100 to 200 years. The group is commonly sold as "red snapper" in fish markets. There are about 130 species in the genus and many species have multiple color morphs -- making field identification difficult for sport and commercial fishermen. Several (if not all) Sebastes species are endangered by overfishing. Catch and release of non-target species is complicated by the expansion of air in the internal organs of Sebastes during retrieval. While they appear paralyzed or dead at the surface, Sebastes caught in less than 200 feet water can be returned to successfully to depth using special techniques involving weights and reverse barbless hooks or open bottom containers. Marine sanctuaries off the California coast will soon protect limited geographical sites from all fishing.
Next time I want to send a camera down there.
Gopher Rockfish (Sebastes carnatus)
I went sightseeing to the Farallon Islands last weekend before the storm. It was my first time out there and the highlight was probably seeing 20 to 30 humpback whales surface feeding over Fanny Shoals.
The Farallon Islands have a long history of bird egg harvesting, fur seal harvesting, whaling, and fishing. It was also the site of nuclear waste disposal during the first 30 years of the cold war. The aircraft carrier Independence, a target ship for two atmospheric nuclear tests, was purposefully scuttled to the west of the Islands.
We caught rockfish, lingcod, and sanddabs. It wasn't a great fishing day, but as the others sent me home with some of their catch I probably won't be buying fish for a month or so.
Sebastes species are slow growing territorial predators with venomous spines in their dorsal and anal fins. Several species are known to live 100 to 200 years. The group is commonly sold as "red snapper" in fish markets. There are about 130 species in the genus and many species have multiple color morphs -- making field identification difficult for sport and commercial fishermen. Several (if not all) Sebastes species are endangered by overfishing. Catch and release of non-target species is complicated by the expansion of air in the internal organs of Sebastes during retrieval. While they appear paralyzed or dead at the surface, Sebastes caught in less than 200 feet water can be returned to successfully to depth using special techniques involving weights and reverse barbless hooks or open bottom containers. Marine sanctuaries off the California coast will soon protect limited geographical sites from all fishing.
Next time I want to send a camera down there.