I had a truckload of fun fishing mid-week as part of a research effort organized by Jenn Caselle of the Caselle Lab at UCSB. The project is the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program (CCFRP).
The program conducts tag-and-release fishing trips to evaluate the effects of marine protected areas (MPA) on populations of fish species along the California coast and islands.
Always a fan of anglers and scientists/researchers working together and benefitting from one another’s knowledge and skills, I eagerly signed up as a volunteer angler aboard the Stardust out of Sea Landing in Santa Barbara Harbor.
My fishing pal Dave Lopez signed up, too, and we had an epic amount of fishing fun. We are both members of Coastal Conservation Association – California Chapter, which partnered with CCFRP to have good volunteer anglers on these trips.
We boarded the Stardust and were greeted by the capable crew led by Captain Sal, a seasoned fishing skipper who I’ve known since he was a salty pup. Dr. Jen couldn’t join us that day, and I missed her because we have worked together in the past and called on each other for knowledge and insight.
I hear she was doing some mandatory quarantine time before and after a research dive trip to the South Pacific. Her well-trained and congenial research team did great because she had trained and coached them well.
We cast off all docklines at zero dark thirty and I snapped a picture of a brightly hewn dawn from partway across the Santa Barbara Channel. After arriving off the north side of Santa Rosa Island, we rigged up, baited up and waited for the command to drop.
When given, we all dropped our weights and baited hooks, shrimp-fly leaders or swimbaits to the bottom to catch numerous species of rockfish, plenty of ocean whitefish and some special fish like sheepshead.
We had closely timed periods of fishing both inside and outside of the Carrington Point Marine Protected Area. We did several drifts outside and then inside the MPA. The careful timing was to have consistent data sets between effort and catches.
Good science depends upon very controlled data sets, and we all want good science. What is done with science is a matter oft-argued, but all can agree that science needs good data for the sake of integrity.
We had 11 good anglers onboard, who poured our all into the effort, with amazingly efficient and happy support from the boat crew and the researchers. The results of our labor was most impressive. I believe we put in four-five hours of actual fishing time. During that time, we 11 anglers caught a total of 587 fish.
My biceps felt like they had caught half of them, but actually each angler onboard kept fish coming over the rails at an amazing rate.
The overall workload was heavy and the pace was almost a blur of action. Every fish that came up was measured and recorded, given punk jewelry (meaning the fish was tagged) and released either on its own if it was a strong swimmer or with a deep-release device to get it quickly back down to its customary depth, and thereby negate the effects of barotrauma.
These fish were very well cared for ,and all appeared to survive. I’m sure they were all proud of their new punk jewelry and showed it off to the jealous fish on the reef.
The CCFRP trips have wound down for the season. I’m hoping to get in on some of these valuable trips again next season, and I hope to see some of you out there. Visit the CCA-California website www.ccacalifornia.org and sign up as a member in the meantime and get out there on a scientific adventure with us.
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
