Diver cuts Thorn-back Ray out of discarded fishing gear

 

While diving along Stern's Wharf in Santa Barbara, I encountered a Thorn-back Ray (Platyrhinoidis triseriata) tangled up in fishing gear. I set my camera down to help cut it loose. I wasn't familiar with the species so I didn't know if it had a barbed tail or if it was dangerous. (Turns out they're harmless) I took out my dive knife and started cutting away the line. I wasn't able to get the hook out but they tend to rust off fish, as long as there isn't any slack to tangle them up again. 

 It feels good to help an animal in need, but I wish I didn't have to. 

Please clean up your fishing gear if possible. Fishing gear accounts for the vast majority of marine trash pollution. Every time your hook gets snagged and you just cut away the fishing line, it leaves an entanglement trap for other marine creatures. 

If you fish a spot regularly, consider throwing on a tank and cleaning up some trash so that we aren't just destroying our oceans.

Kelp Project Dives August/September

Octopus in Octo-Column

 

Shrimp hiding out in large holdfast

Either Diopatra ornata or Eudistylia polymorpha, Tube worms anchoring this natural sand kelp on a sandy bottom away from test site.

Y'all know who it is (Neoclinus blanchardi)

 

 

Second Neoclinus on the same dive.

Diopatra Ornata growing under kelp recruited on the sandy bottom

Bob, the PI of the project.

Sorcerer's Nudibranch (Polycera atra)

 Some diving off the Gaviota Pier. This ones a bit outside the city, right as the 101 coastal highway turns inland to Buellton and Lompoc. Very beautiful diving out there. Saw my first White Sea Bass in the wild and went nuts. Never seen that fish in the wild as they tend to be super skittish. All in all, a great couple of dives out at the Gaviota pass area. 😁

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Under the Wharf (Part 3)

Tripha maculata

Antiopella barbarensis

Bat Ray decomposing

Padded Sculpin (Artedius fenestralis) or a young Cabezon?

Polyclad worm (Eurylepta californica)

 Orienthella trilineata

 

Aegires albopunctatus

Under the Wharf (part 2)

Some shots from under Stern's wharf. I'm not sure what draws me to it but its honestly my favorite place to dive. Plus its super easy and I don't get my gear sandy or have to haul all my stuff up and down the beach. I'm curious to see if the way we construct things in the ocean has any major effect on the community structure and if there are ways to enhance it. being right at a river mouth might mess with the nutrient levels dissolved in the water. In any case... life uh... finds a way.

Under the Wharf... part 1

Small chronicle of my Stern's Wharf dives and the amazing creatures I find there.

2 Opalescent Nudibranchs (Hermissenda opalescens)

Unknown Cowrie (may be a small Chestnut Cowrie recruit [Neobernaya spadicea])

Another Opalescent with some Coffee-bean Cowries (Pusula solandri) hiding behind it.

Fishing during Corona

Well I caught my first ocean fish in a while. Hadn't picked up a pole in years but still wanted something to do while I self isolate. Fishing's a good way to go by yourself and since the dive shops are closed nobody will be scuba diving soon. Nevertheless, I wanted something ocean related to do and thought I'd catch dinner. Caught a Tom Cod (Genyonemus lineatus) thanks Jim for the id. Wont be eating this guy today but I know they like gooseneck barnacles as bait. Got a few other nibbles here and there. Even had a seal cruise by my line and I actually felt it graze past the line as it swam off. Glad I didn't hook the buddy. Anyways I'll definitely be out again in the future.

Kelp Project Dives 2/15/2020

Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis)

California Halibut (Paralichthys californicus)

Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) with view of unusual face scaring

Opalescent Nudibranch (Hermissenda opalescens)

Opalescent Nudibranch (Hermissenda opalescens)

Kelp growing on sandy bottom with the aid of worm tubes.

Sarcastic Fringehead (Neoclinus blanchardi)

Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus) resting and feeding.

Snowy plovers taken back in September 2019. Beautiful animals. took a good hour to army crawl my way up the dune without disturbing the bird. Very majestic animals.

Creatures of the Pacific Coast

Here's a compilation video of my more recent dives. Some of my best shots this whole year I put in here. Some amazing new creatures I hadn't filmed before. I love working on the slow mo as well. Heres to the next video and a new year 2020.

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Anacapa Trip 11/16/2019

Some still shots from the boat trip out on the Spectre this past Saturday. Many, many videos to go through and edit but for now have a look at some unedited stills from the trip.

1: Kelp getting hit by the sunlight (Macrocystus pyrifera)
2: California blue dorid (Felimare californiensis)
3: California Scorpionfish (Scorpaena guttata)
4: Island Kelpfish (Alloclinus holderi)
5: Hopkin's Rose Nudibranch (Okenia rosacea)
6 - 9: Playful sea lions (Zalophus californianus)

Cabezon

Black and White Cabezon!

Perfect camera fish. The Cabezon (Scorpaenichthys marmoratus) is one of my favorites. Cabezón literally means "big headed" and this fish must have been. had to be super careful not to bump into the piling as the waves threw me around the fish. I was lucky to find this little guy (about a foot or so) so close to the surface on a piling. I usually stick close to the bottom during pier dives since visibility is often mucked up. This time of year is real nice. It often opens up to 20 ft in the fall and on something as eerie as the wharf makes for some amazing shadows and finds under the damn thing.


While I was down I made sure to haul up some traffic cones that looked like they were thrown off the edge. It was weird there were like 5 or so full sized traffic cones casually dumped over the side. The pier staff lead me to believe it might be someone who likes hearing big splashes so I'm guessing we're dealing with some mega genius getting a kick out of polluting cause they aren't ballsy enough to jump in themselves.

Don't trash my favorite dive spot yo.

Kelp Project dives 10/27/2019

Photos from my recent Kelp Project dives 10/27/2019. They are working on restoring the sand dwelling kelp in the Goleta bay. Here's some shots from their test site.
1) Octopus (Two Spot Octopus (Octopus bimaculoides) in an introduced octo-column to facilitate predator interactions and reduce grazing pressures
2) Calico bass (Paralabrax clathratus) hanging out around surfgrass and holdfasts
3) Fantail Sole (Xystreurys liolepis)
4) Sarcastic Fringehead (Neoclinus blanchardi) inside an octo-column
5) ^^^
6) Pacific Sanddab (Citharichthys sordidus)
7) Kelp growing on sandy bottom.

Pictures from the archive

Pictures from the archive
1) Snowy Plover (Charadruis nivosus) chasing a kelp fly
2) Flatworm (Pseudoceros luteus)(?) near some strawberry anemones (Corynactis californica)
3) Familiar Bluet nymph (Enallagma civile) near a tadpole in a shallow stream
4) Sunset over Lake Casitas
5) Green Heron (Butorides virescens) near Prado Regional Park