Deadly catch

Chris Ingram, left, pulls his kayak ashore at Van Damme State Park while Dennis Meyer, Tim Iverson and Dick Nachtsheim, all from Reno, prepare to tag and register their abalone catches for the day. The group of men, along with their families and several other firefighters’ families, make the annual trip to Van Damme to camp and dive for abalone.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Dick Nachtsheim prepares his three abalone -- the daily limit for recreational divers -- for tagging and registration as required by the California Department of Fish and Game, at Van Damme State Park. Nachtsheim, a Reno firefighter, has been coming to the Northern California park for 10 years with a group of co-workers.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Dick Nachtsheim works to slide an abalone free from its shell after diving at Van Damme State Park. Abalone divers must have a license and can take only one species, the red abalone, north of San Francisco  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Dick Nachtsheim, left, and Mark Winkleman clean the day’s abalone catch of abalone while camping at Van Damme State Park. The quest for abalone brings thousands of people to the Northern California coast during the season, which runs from April 1 to Nov. 30 with a month-long break in July.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

The Mendocino Area Parks Assn.’s annual Abalone Cook-Off and Festival in Noyo Harbor, Calif., brings together abalone fans for a day of music, souvenirs and a cook-off, where competitors show off their most creative recipes. Frying seems to be the most popular way to cook the sea snail.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Ron Long, a retired fire captain and certified dive instructor, wipes away tears at his Granite Bay, Calif., home. Long was holding a photo of his friend Richard Baer, who drowned while diving for abalone off the Northern California coast. Long and another friend were unable to free Baer from a tangle of kelp.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)