Fish and Game Q&A: Can I use a camera on my bow to film my hunts?

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

Question: I have heard it is illegal in California to use a camera (such as the Roscoby Riser camera) that mounts onto your bow to film your hunts. Is this true? If so, why? (Shane S.)

Answer: Mounting a camera (with no spotlight) onto your bow is legal. It would only be a problem if it was an electronic device with lights to assist in the taking of game (California Fish and Game Code, section 2005).

Q: We want to go abalone diving and scuba diving on the same day. I know we have to free dive for abalone, but we also want to scuba dive on the same trip. We live away from the coast but can only do a one-day trip, so which one should we do first? How can we do this without getting in trouble with a game warden who might think that we used the scuba for the abalone? (Matthew P.)

U.S. led the world in shark attacks last year

The U.S. led the world again in the number of shark attacks last year, according to a University of Florida report released this week.

Worldwide, 79 attacks occurred in 2010 -- the highest number since 2000 (80) -- with 36 reported in the United States. Australia was second with 14, then South Africa with eight and Vietnam and Egypt with six each.

While Florida led the nation with 13 reported attacks, this total was significantly lower than the state's yearly average of 23 over the past decade.

"Florida had its lowest total since 2004, which was 12," said George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at the university. Florida typically has the highest number of attacks worldwide, but 2010 marked the state’s fourth straight year of decline, Burgess said. "Maybe it’s a reflection of the downturn in the economy and the number of tourists coming to Florida, or the amount of money native Floridians can spend taking holidays and going to the beach."

Of those attacks in the U.S. outside of Florida, five were in North Carolina, with four each in California, Hawaii and South Carolina. There were single attacks in Georgia, Maine, Oregon, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

Surfers were the victims of slightly more than half of the incidents reported worldwide in 2010, nearly 51% of the cases. An economic downturn will usually influence tourists but not necessarily surfers, whose sport is relatively low-cost, Burgess said.

Swimmers and waders were the second-largest group affected, accounting for nearly 38% of the shark attacks internationally.

Decommissioned U.S. Navy ship scuttled off Cayman Islands to create artificial reef

There's a new artificial reef for divers to explore off the Cayman Islands following the scuttling this week of a decommissioned U.S. Navy vessel.

The USS Kittiwake, a 1945-vintage submarine rescue ship, now rests on the seabed 62-feet underwater off Grand Cayman's Seven Mile Beach. With the 47-foot-tall ship's top deck near the surface, it should be accessible to snorkelers as well as scuba divers.

"It was just perfect execution, nice and even. She landed exactly where she was supposed to," project manager Nancy Easterbrook told Associated Press during a phone interview from a nearby boat on Seven Mile Beach.

Crews strategically punched holes in the ship's hull and then carefully flooded the vessel so that the 2,200-ton ship would settle upright, which it appears to have done.

 

After mooring lines are attached, the scuttled Kittiwake should be open to the public Friday, according to Easterbrook.

The Kittiwake's sinking raised mixed emotions in Jon Glatstein, who was a sailor on the vessel from 1984 to 1986, and traveled from Miami to watch his old ship scuttled.

"This is the first time I've seen the ship in 25 years, and she's in pretty rough shape. But she's been serving divers all her life and now she's going to continue doing just that. That's got to be a whole lot better than getting melted down for razor blades," said Glatstein.

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Divers watch the sinking of the USS Kittiwake, a 1945-vintage submarine rescue ship, off the Cayman Islands.

Credit: Associated Press /Cayman Islands Department of Tourism

Video: A view above and below water during the sinking of the USS Kittiwake.

Credit: Sean Crothers / Sunset House Cayman via YouTube

 

Outposts looks back at 2010: Achievements

With the the year ending, it is worth looking back at memorable posts of 2010. Each day this week through Friday, Outposts will recount some of the records broken, the achievements reached, the notable passings and the downright unusual during 2010 in the outdoors, action and adventure world.

Kelly Slater clinches historic 10th ASP World Tour title

Kelly Slater made sporting history on Nov. 6, claiming an unprecedented 10th Assn. of Surfing Professionals World Tour title.

Culminating a 20-year effort, Slater, 38, accomplished an incredible feat that will undoubtedly remain at the top of the ASP record book for a long time.

"I feel relieved, honestly," Slater said. "It’s been the most stressful title I’ve ever had, because it’s sort of an unknown place and you know at my age people say, 'You shouldn’t be doing this.'"

Photo credit: Kirstin Scholtz / ASP

Lance Mackey wins fourth consecutive Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

With 11 dogs in harness, musher Lance Mackey rode into Nome, Alaska, at 2:59 p.m. March 16, passing under the burled arch and the Widow's Lamp hanging from it to win the 38th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

The 39-year-old Mackey, from Fairbanks, Alaska, also rode into the record books, becoming the first to win the "last great race on Earth"  four times in a row.

Photo credit: Bob Hallinen / Anchorage Daily News

 

Irvine woman with rare disease conquers Mt. Everest

Cindy Abbott lives with adversity. The Irvine resident started losing vision in her left eye more than 15 years ago, and began having a slew of mini-strokes and vertigo. Finally, in 2007, Abbott was diagnosed with Wegener's Granulomatosis, a rare and potentially deadly disease of uncertain cause.

Abbott, 51, has no idea how long she has left to live because of the incurable disease. But she did not let the debilitating affliction hold her back, and on May 23, became the first person with Wegener's Granulomatosis to reach the top of Mt. Everest.

Photo credit: Bill Allen

Fish and Game Q&A: When is a duck not a duck anymore?

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

Question: During waterfowl season, I would like to hold onto as many birds as I can so that I can mount those birds that are in the best shape. But at what point does a duck go from being a duck in my possession to a carcass for mounting? Does a skinned-out bird count as one duck toward that season’s bag limit? Do birds in the freezer from last year count toward this season’s bag limit? Do mounted birds count toward my possession limit? I would like to know what the regulations are and abide by them. (Brian Porter)

Answer:According to Department of Fish and Game Assistant Chief Mike Carion, generally, Fish and Game laws and regulations prohibit a person from having more than the bag or possession limit prescribed for each species. You may not keep game for longer than 10 days after the season, unless you have a valid hunting license (or a copy) for that species that was issued to you or to the person who donated the birds to you. The license must have been issued for the current or immediate past license year. Possession limits apply to each person in the household whether they were the taker of the game or not. As long as you do not possess more than the legal possession limit for each person living at the residence, you will still be in compliance with the laws.

Artist completes artificial reef, 'The Silent Evolution,' installing 400 sculptures underwater

Artist Jason deCaires Taylor recently completed work on one of the most surreal and awe-inspiring artificial reefs I've seen.

"The Silent Evolution" is the final and most ambitious of four stages of an underwater museum and consists of 400 permanent life-size sculptures forming a monumental artificial reef in Cancun/Isla Mujeres, Mexico.

DeCaires Taylor said in an e-mail release that "the road has been long -- taken 18 months, required 120 tons of cement, sand and gravel, 3,800m of fiberglass, 400kg of silicone, 8,000 miles of red tape, 120 hours working underwater and $250,000," adding that "sculpting close to the mangroves in Puerto Morelos the team received over 2,500 mosquito bites, tabano bites, fire ant stings and more than 20 nips from Damsel fish during installations in the sea."

Located in the National Marine Park of Isla Mujeres, Cancun and Punta Nizuc, the environmentally friendly reef -- each of the sculptures is made from specialized materials used to promote coral life -- was constructed with the cooperation of marine park officials and the Cancun Nautical Assn. in an effort to promote the recovery of nearby natural reefs. The hope is to give visitors an alternative to the Cancun Marine Park, one of the most visited stretches of water in the world, with more than 750,000 visitors each year.

Diver videotapes extremely close encounter with shark

 

A scuba diver got an unexpected and shocking surprise Saturday while diving near Eastport, off the eastern tip of Maine, when a porbeagle shark apparently mistook his camera equipment for food.

Scott MacNichol, 30, was uninjured but definitely shaken up by the encounter (you can hear him screaming), which he caught on video.

MacNichol saw the shark swimming above him while he was filming the ocean floor and taking samples from empty salmon pens at Broad Cove as part of an environmental assessment for Cooke Aquaculture.

"That shark wasn't there for the salmon. There were no fish, no food," MacNichol told the Bangor Daily News. "It circled me two times and then began jabbing at my camera."

MacNichol estimated that the shark was 8 feet long and weighed 300 pounds.

"I've seen plenty of sharks around here chasing mackerel and herring. That's not uncommon," said MacNichol, who has been diving for 17 years. "But this is the first time I've seen one while diving. And the first time one came after me."

Abandoned scuba diver receives $1.68 million in damages

A scuba diver who was abandoned in the Pacific Ocean during a 2004 dive trip has been awarded
$1.68 million in damages after a five-year legal battle against Venice-based Ocean Adventures Dive Co. and Long Beach-based Sundiver Charters.

Times staff writer Margot Roosevelt reports that Daniel Carlock, an aerospace engineer from Santa Monica, received the award Friday by a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury. The jury assessed total damages in the negligence suit at $2 million, but reduced Carlock's award on the grounds that he was partly responsible because he had been told to surface closer to the boat.

"I had this feeling my spirit was getting ready to vacate my body," Carlock told Roosevelt when speaking of the incident, adding that he prayed to God not to let him die after he was abandoned floating in the ocean 12 miles off Long Beach by leaders of a scuba diving excursion.

After nearly five hours in the ocean, Carlock was finally rescued seven miles off Newport Beach by the Argus, a tall ship carrying a group of Boy Scouts, after he was spotted by a 15-year-old Scout who happened to be looking through binoculars. At first, the Scout thought he was seeing a piece of trash in the distance.

Roosevelt's full article can be read here: "Engineer wins $1.68 million in scuba diving case."

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Daniel Carlock has been awarded $1.68 million in damages after a five-year legal battle arising from his being abandoned in the ocean on a scuba diving excursion in 2004. Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

Fish and Game Q&A: What's the right thing to do if an abalone comes out of its shell when harvesting it?

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

Question: One of my dive buddies asked me what to do when plucking an abalone and the abalone shell comes off the ab and the meat remains on the rock. Should the person then pry the meat off the rock, lay it in the shell and take it all like this? It would be a legal (seven inches or bigger) abalone. Is this illegal? I know it is the sporting thing to do and the right thing to do, but the regulations say that if you have an abalone removed from the shell, you are in violation! What is the right thing to do in this scenario? (Matt M.)

Answer: Although the spirit of the law may make you want to pry the meat off and place it in the shell, the law prohibits possession of an abalone removed from the shell, and your friend should not possess this abalone. According to Department of Fish and Game Lt. Dennis McKiver, in his experience he’s only known this to happen on rare occasions and only when the abalone iron is not being used properly. McKiver advises that if this happens to you, or if your abalone are being otherwise injured when removed, then you should have someone show you how to properly remove an abalone without injury. This would be the right and sporting thing to do.

Q: I have a bow-hunting question. If a father and son want to hunt together and the son has an archery-only tag but he doesn’t get his deer during archery season, can he then hunt with his dad who only hunts with a gun during the gun season? How could they make this work so they could both hunt together? (Doug W.)

Fish and Game Q&A: How can I get rid of turkey vultures that have been roosting on my roof?

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

Question: I have 15 to 20 turkey vultures that have been roosting on my roof. They are congregating and making a mess on my roof and in my yard with their droppings and molted feathers. My house is two stories and the roof is tile so access is difficult. How can I get rid of them? (Lawrence)

Answer: You have different persuasion options available for moving these birds from your roof to a more appropriate roost site. According to Department of Fish and Game raptor biologist Carie Battistone, these may include repetitive loud noises, motion sensor sprinklers and the use of an effigy (usually a taxidermic preparation or an artificial likeness of a deceased vulture). Since your roof is steep and hard to access, you will have to use caution when placing anything on the roof. If all else fails, you may want to call Wildlife Services (federal wildlife trappers) to ask for advice or possibly for someone to come out to help you.

Below are several links to articles on deterring vultures from roost sites:

Fish and Game Q&A: Are there restrictions for using live and/or dead birds in training my dog to retrieve?

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

Question: I am currently training my dog to retrieve, which requires exposure to both live and dead birds. Are there any restrictions for using live and/or dead birds for the training? Are there certain types of birds that may be used? Pigeons are usually the bird of choice. (William, Lakewood)

Answer: Using live pigeons and most other domestically raised avian species for dog training is all right, as long as no wild birds are captured, injured or killed. Only domestic birds can be used to train dogs to retrieve, point or flush, or to prepare for or participate in field trails or similar events related to these activities, at any time of year from sunrise to sunset.

Generally, there are only minimal restrictions if no wild birds are killed, but a few restrictions apply if any birds are killed, and these include pigeons, bobwhite, domestic pheasants, etc. Use of dead birds (wing or other part) is acceptable as long as the birds were legally taken (California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 677 (a) and (b)).

Q: I need to know if it’s legal to collect a pair of octopuses for a private aquarium. I would like to use scuba to collect them in the Monterey/Santa Cruz area. (Jason K., Santa Cruz)

Scuba diving is declared hazardous activity in California, limiting government liability in case of accidents

A new law that will take effect Jan. 1 declares scuba diving a hazardous activity in California.

AB 634, signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this month, adds the sport to the list of recreational activities considered hazardous and releases state and local governments from liability in lawsuits associated with it, reports the Dana Point Times. Other sports currently on the "hazardous" list include  surfing, water-skiing, windsurfing, kayaking and white-water rafting.

"Fear of frivolous lawsuits has hampered efforts to expand recreational activities in many communities,"  the bill's author, Assemblywoman Diane L. Harkey (R-Dana Point), said in a statement. "I am pleased that Gov.  Schwarzenegger signed into law our legislation reducing liability for local and state governments while allowing for more recreational activities such as scuba diving, aiding coastal economies, the environment and the state of California."

The legislation, backed by California Ships to Reefs, was created with sunken-ship-based scuba diving in mind, because "diving in and near sunken ships can be hazardous, requiring special training and equipment beyond that for normal scuba diving," Harkey said.

Harkey added that because the government will no longer be held liable in lawsuits in which a scuba diver is injured or killed while diving, coastal communities may be more likely to create artificial reefs -- a benefit to both the marine environment and to divers interested in exploring them.

"Today, California has removed a major impediment to artificial reefing," said Joel Geldin, chairman and CEO of California Ships to Reefs, a nonprofit organization that hopes to establish a regional system of reefed ships along the California coast. "We are enthusiastic about the new unlimited opportunities ahead to create a network of artificial reefs on the state’s coastline, improving ocean life and enhancing our recreational diving and fishing industries."

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: A diver swims in the kelp tank at the California Science Center. Credit: Leroy Hamilton / California Science Center