Pete Thomas Outdoors

Necessary to stow gear while transiting a marine reserve?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:

Question: I would like a definition of "stowed" in regard to fishing gear while transiting a state marine reserve. The reason I ask is that a sport fisherman reported he was stopped by a patrol boat at the Channel Islands and told he could have been cited for having his rods in the rod holders. He was told he should have had them in his small cuddy.

It does not seem reasonable to require my buddies and I "stow" all our rods and reels in my cabin every time we need to make a move across a state marine reserve. Or when we are at an island, we should not be required to drive six miles out, then whatever distance across, and then back in another six miles … at $4 or more a gallon. All of this would be quite a hardship for those of us fishing from private sport boats just to stow our fishing gear when maneuvering around state marine reserves. (Fred H., Anaheim)

Answer: There is no requirement for equipment to be stowed under the Marine Life Protection Act laws covered in section 632 of the California Code of Regulations Title 14. CCR Title 14, section 632(8) covers the law you are referring to as follows:

Transit or Drifting. Vessels shall be allowed to transit through marine protected areas and marine managed areas with catch onboard. Fishing gear shall not be deployed in the water while transiting through a state marine reserve. Fishing gear, except legal fishing gear used to take species identified as allowed for take in subsection 632(b), shall not be deployed in the water while transiting through a state marine recreational management area, state marine park or state marine conservation area.


Q: My Italian grandmother asked my brother and me to bring home some fresh octopus so that she can make her favorite pasta dish. The only problem is we don’t know how to catch them. Can you help us out? (Joe K.)

Orca gives surfing exhibition behind Malibu Baywatch boat

 

Last week we shared a story about killer whales surfing in a boat's wakes off La Paz, Mexico, and referred to prior sightings of this this rarely observed behavior elsewhere in the Sea of Cortez.

Now there's evidence, courtesy of boat captain Eric Astourian of Baywatch Malibu, that at least one orca has been surfing recently off Southern California.

The accompanying video shows a young killer whale, or orca, riding behind a Baywatch boat on May 4 off northern Malibu. (The footage was uploaded to YouTube on Saturday.)

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a killer whale researcher, says the mammal probably is a 2 1/2-year-old female cataloged as CA51d and nicknamed Comet because of its distinctive eyepatch. (Comet is pitcured at right in a photo taken in 2011 off Point Fermin on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.)

That would make sense because the CA51 family group of transient killer whales has been spotted recently in Southland waters--most recently on Saturday off Dana Point.

Though most transient killer whale sightings occur farther north and specifically in the Monterey area, the CA51s are becoming regular visitors to Southern California, and they're famously boat friendly.

They include the mom (CA51), her 15-year-old son (CA51B), her younger son (CA51C), and Comet (CA51D).

--Pete Thomas

Photo credit: Alisa Schulman-Janiger

Legal to practice archery by shooting down a dirt road?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:

Question: My neighbor who lives a few houses down from me has a 15-year-old son who shoots his BB gun in his backyard. I used to shoot my bow in my backyard until my dad found out it’s illegal. I am 13 and live in the mountains of Southern California (close to San Bernardino) and am hoping it might be legal to practice my archery by shooting down a dirt road? Can you please let me know ASAP? Thanks. (Ashmanger)

Answer: Generally, Fish and Game Code laws only regulate the use of archery equipment or firearms while hunting. However, the same rules for firearms apply to archery equipment in this situation – you may not shoot over or across a road or within 150 yards of a neighbor’s home, barns or outbuildings, even if just archery target shooting (Fish and Game Code, section 3004). If you are on a private road on private property (off the public roadway), no Fish and Game Code law prohibits target practice with your bow and arrow. Beyond this, different counties and communities may have more restrictive ordinances that they enforce so you should check with your local law enforcement office for this information.

The most important factor to always keep in mind is public safety. Well-traveled roads and highways, or even those occasionally traveled, are not appropriate places to shoot. If you were to injure another person or livestock, or damage property, you could be subject to civil and possibly criminal prosecution. While shooting even just off a road may be legal, it may not be safe.

Q: When fishing for salmon from the bank in the San Francisco Bay with spinning lures, is a single barbless hook ok or does it have to be a barbless circle hook attached to the spinning lure? (Terry D.)

A: Barbless circle hooks are only required when fishing with bait and angling by any means other than trolling. Since you’re not using bait, no circle hooks are required, even though you are not trolling. You must be doing both things – using bait, and fishing in a manner that is not trolling – to be required to use barbless circle hooks. In addition, you should be using no more than two single-point, single-shank barbless hooks with your spinning lure (California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 27.80.)


Q: I have heard that using WD-40 as a fish attractant works well. Is it legal to use? There seems to be much confusion as to what is actually in WD-40. I would also like to know if the sunscreen I put on before entering the water is hazardous to marine life. (Ray I.)

Killer whales thrill boaters by riding, leaping in vessel's wake

Killer whales are the undisputed masters of the marine universe. They're powerful and ferocious, but also graceful and, at times, playful. The accompanying footage shows a pod of up to 20 killer whales, or orcas, riding and leaping in wakes created by a speeding dive boat off La Paz, Mexico.

 

The footage was captured by Rich and Laura Howard, who were celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary on a dive trip outside of La Paz, in the Sea of Cortez.

They were understandably excited because this was an extremely close encounter involving apex predators that rarely ride in the wakes of boats.

However, it has happened before in the Sea of Cortez. Last June and October, to the north of La Paz off Loreto, boaters aboard the same 70-foot yacht enjoyed similar encounters and captured some extraordinary images.

In those images, as in the Howards’ video footage, the orcas definitely look to be playing and enjoying themselves.

Expedition captures rare footage of orcas attacking sperm whales; photographer 'summons courage' to dive overboard

Encountering a pod of killer whales engaged in a savage assault on sperm whales would generate the thrill of a lifetime for most maine mammal enthusiasts. But imagine the adrenaline rush produced by witnessing this raw spectacle from underwater.

Shawn Heinrichs did just that during a recent expedition off Sri Lanka. He and five others had been searching for eight days for blue whales, unsuccessfully. Then they spotted a commotion in the distance, and soon realized they were witnessing an event few others had seen or photographed.

When they got closer, and could hear the thrashing of whales and pounding of their tails, Heinrichs clutched his cameras and jumped overboard.

 

"We had no idea what was going to happen to him and we hoped for the best," said his brother, Brett. "When I saw he wasn’t eaten, I jumped in after him.”

To be sure, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Heinrich, a cinematographer and founder of Blue Sphere Media, made the most of it.

Though the underwater footage is compelling, some of the above-surface images illustrate the apparent anguish among the six or seven sperm whales under assault, in what was an attempt by the killer whales to separate a juvenile sperm whale from the pod.

(Killer whales are supreme predators and off California and Alaska are notorious for killing gray whale calves in this same manner: by separating calves from their mothers in what is typically a coordinated but drawn-out process.)

Heinrich was with Brett and four others when they spotted the commotion.

"As we drew closer it quickly came into focus," Heinrich states in his blog and in the video footage. "A huge dorsal fin cut the surface and changed into a logjam of rolling long dark shapes. Almost in unison we shouted, 'Orcas attacking sperm whales!' I had never heard of such a thing and certainly never imagined I would see it with my own eyes."

There seemed to be five killer whales, or orcas, versus perhaps six sperm whales, which were postured in a defensive position throughout a coordinated assault by much swifter mammals.

Heinrichs was first to jump in and wondered "if I would become easy prey for the most formidable predators in the ocean." (Killer whales have never been documented attacking a human in the wild.)

After settling at a comfortable depth, Heinrich noticed "a frothing, dark pile of shapes ahead of me."

The largest of the killer whales turned and approached this strange intruder.

"I had heard warnings before about the extreme dangers of swimming with transient orcas, especially when these apex predators are engaged in a hunt," Heinrichs wrote. "But in my heart I knew they were highly intelligent and evolved creatures who 'should' have no interest in hurting me."

It became too difficult to keep up with the action in the water so Heinrichs and the others climbed back aboard and followed with the boat as the killer whales ultimately claimed what they were after: the younger sperm whale.

"Dorsal fins sliced the surface on all sides, bodies rolled, and huge tails violently crashed down, as the sea turned to a frothing, churning mess," Heinrichs wrote.

If anyone was rooting for the sperm whales there was hope, as it was unclear to the crew whether the killer whales claimed the juvenlie sperm whale as their next meal.

“We observed the family of sperm whales regroup and charge eastward as the orcas briefly gave chase then peeled off. And then it was all over,” Heinrich concluded. “For me, this was without a doubt the most incredible encounter I had ever experienced in the oceans, and something I will never forget.”

--Pete Thomas

Humpback whale stranded on shoal rescued in La Paz Bay

 

A juvenile humpback whale that had become stranded in shallow water in La Paz Bay was rescued Sunday by authorities and citizens who used a rope and boats to pull the cetacean into deeper water.

According to Octavo Dia, the rescue effort lasted two-plus hours and the whale seemed to swim freely away despite the long and very dramatic ordeal.

(The accompanying Cabovision video shows part of the rescue effort, including the whale being pulled from the shoal. It does not show the whale swimming to freedom.)

"The effort followed the protocol for marine mammal rescue," Octavo Dia reported. "The struggle to save the whale lasted over two hours, but the successful results incited elated uproar in the concerned witnesses."

The whale had become stranded beyond El Coromuel Beach during low tide. El Coromuel is north of La Paz, which is the capital of Baja California Sur. Among those assisting in the rescue effort were members of a local stranding network.

Jonathan Roldan, who runs the Tailhunter International sportfishing business in La Paz, posted this statement along with four photos on its Facebook page:

"Hope you got to see this yesterday. It was incredible. About 30 pangas and launches out there trying to help this stranded whale right off the beach on one of the shoals. Folks were lined up in the streets with cameras and binoculars."

--Photo is courtesy of Octavo Dia

Killer whales attack pod of sperm whales off Sri Lanka (video)

 

Brett Heinrichs on Sunday uploaded rare video footage showing killer whales attacking a pod of sperm whales to get to one of its calves. (Video posted above; not for the squeamish.)

The footage was shot from a boat during a recent expedition off Sri Lanka, but some of of the crew jumped in during this dramatic predation event.

"Our hearts pounded as we watched the orcas tear into these sperm whales many times their size," said Shawn Heinrichs, Brett's brother and founder of Blue Sphere Media. "When I garnered the courage to jump into the water and join the frenzy, all eyes fixed on me, wondering if I would become easy prey for these formidable apex predators."

The underwater footage has not yet been released. Shawn Heinrichs, however, said he was approached by two male killer whales and captured several close passes.

Killer whales, or orcas, are merciless predators and when targeting whales they usually work as a team to separate a calf from its mother and, in this case, the rest of the pod.

Brett Heinrichs wrote in the comments section of his video:

"I believe the orcas killed the youngest calf. We saw six sperm whales upon arrival and five eventually left the scene. At one point we saw the youngest calf separated from the pod and being hammered by orcas."

--Pete Thomas

--Hat tip to Tim Zimmermann

'Delta' the blue whale taxis into Southland waters; sporadic sightings off California date to 1987

A blue whale affectionately nicknamed Delta because of the peculiar shape of its fluke made quite a splash on Facebook last week after being photographed off Dana Point.

The whale earned the nickname because both ends of its fluke are turned upward, like winglets on an airplane wing. Facebook users posting comments shared where they had seen--or thought they had seen--the whale.

According to Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia, Washington, two blue whales with similar fluke formations have been photo-cataloged in the eastern Pacific. The image captured last week off Dana Point, by Frank Brennan of Dana Wharf Whale Watch, was matched to a whale cataloged as #135 (see video).

 

Annie Douglas of Cascadia stated via email that the first known sighting of  #135 (Delta) was on October 7, 1987, in the Gulf of the Farallones beyond San Francisco.

Before last week's sighting it had been encountered 15 different years (including two years off Baja California) and 29 times, based on photo matches. From 1987 to 2005 most encounters were off northern Central California but, interestingly, according to Cascadia's records, all known sightings since 2007 were off Southern California.

About 2,000 endangered blue whales ply California waters seasonally, with the 2013 season apparently just getting underway. Delta, it seems, is among the early arrivals.

It's not clear whether the shape of the mammal's fluke is because of a birth defect, but the right tip appears to be more upturned than in previous years.  Also, Douglas said, the sex of #135, or Delta, is not known.

--Pete Thomas

--Note: For more on this story see Dana Wharf's Facebook page and Pete's post on GrindTv's Big Blue blog

Another two-headed shark photo surfaces, but one-eyed Cyclops shark may still reign supreme in realm of the bizarre

Another photo of a two-headed shark has surfaced. The first was that of a bull shark found recently by fishermen in the Florida Keys. The second, published Thursday by National Geographic, shows a baby blue shark with two heads (pictured at right).

Very bizarre, since only about a half-dozen cases of two-headed sharks have been documented.

But based purely on appearance, many will agree that when it comes to bizarre-looking specimens the one-eyed Cyclops shark captured in 2011 in Mexico's Sea of Cortez still reigns supreme.

The two-headed blue shark was found in 2008 by Christopher Johnston, during a longlining expedition in the Indian Ocean. He supplied the accompanying image to National Geographic.

"We pulled up a pregnant blue shark, cut it open, and there was the two-headed one," he said. "It was about two-thirds the size of the rest of the pups in length. I put it in the tank on the deck. It swam a little while, but it couldn’t swim properly, it just swam in one spot as if it were on a treadmill. I tried feeding it squid but it wasn’t interested."

It's believed that two-headed sharks would be vulnerable to predation and would not survive in the wild. This one eventually died.

After this website broke the story about the one-eyed cyclops shark, thanks to a tip from Pisces Sportfishing, the image went viral and lots of people didn't believe the shark was real.

 

The story became more believable, however, after Felipe Galván-Magaña, a prominent Mexican scientist, acknowledged that he had inspected the shark and had even written a paper on the discovery.

That albino shark fetus, with what appeared to be a single eye perfectly centered on its forehead, was one of 10 babies removed from a pregnant bull shark by fishermen near La Paz.

The shark, which was caught via a baited line beneath a buoy, was dead when it was pulled up by commercial fishermen.

To read more about the two-headed blue shark, click on the National Geographic link atop this post or see David Strege's story on the GrindTv Big Blue blog.

--Pete Thomas

--Blue shark image is courtesy of Christopher Johnston, via National Geographic

Spotters alerted as tagged great white shark is tracked swimming close to shore off South Africa

Shark spotters were put on alert Saturday in the Fish Hoek/Kalk Bay area in South Africa after a tagged great white shark was tracked swimming along the coast (see graphic).

The female shark, one of several great whites tagged by the nonprofit group OCEARCH, is named Lesley. She measured 13 feet, 8 inches and weighed 1,742 pounds when she was tagged off False Bay on April 15, 2012.

Fish Hoek is on the western shore of False Bay. Lesley, who is classified as an immature shark, had previously zigzagged about while swimming as far to the southeast as Cape Agulhas, which is about 80 miles from the shark's present location.

She has not rounded the Cape of Good Hope (toward Cape Town) and has stayed reasonably close to land.

Among white sharks being tracked by OCEARCH are four that were tagged off the East Coast of the United States. One of them, at the time of its last "ping" on March 22, had rounded Florida's tip and entered the Gulf of Mexico.

--Pete Thomas