Sea bass declined 90% since 1980

[Liberal_in_LA]

Big catches mask big decline in sea bass


LOS ANGELES -- As reliably as masses of sea bass gather off the Southern California coast each summer, boatloads of anglers arrive to reel them in.

But their bountiful catches are an illusion, scientists say.

The populations of kelp bass and barred sand bass, two of the most popular - and easy to catch - saltwater fishes in Southern California, have plummeted 90 percent since 1980, according to a study led by a researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California at San Diego.


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But sport-fishing boats have been able to keep their catch rates high in part because they have consistently targeted bustling offshore spawning grounds, masking the dwindling numbers with an "illusion of plenty," the study concluded.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/06/BAMJ1LDM8N.DTL#ixzz1a8R8n600

[cbayer]

1. There are two white sea bass pens on Catalina Island.

Here they are bringing in adults that are ready to spawn, then "growing" the fish to a size where they can be released. They have made a significant impact on this particular population and the project is an overall success.

If they get adequate funding, they may be able to expand the program.

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. good to know

[SteveM]

2. Sea Bass declines in New England were blamed on commercial fishers...

an accusation, according to Peter Matthiessen in his "Men's Lives," is not adequately substantiated. Much of the "common knowledge" that commercial fishing depleted populations here was promoted and funded by sport fishers. Now, sport fishers are coming under the gun in California. Ironic, indeed.

Matthiessen is a founder of the Paris Review, novelist and naturalist.