Outdoor Notes : Boaters Face an Engine Problem

The Environmental Protection Agency is working on a program to eliminate the use of leaded gasoline by 1988, which is presenting problems for boaters.

The EPA, citing studies linking lead to mental retardation in children and circulatory problems in adults, has directed that lead content of gasoline be reduced to half a gram per gallon by July, and to 1/10th of a gram per gallon by next January.

Most marine engines, however, were designed to operate on leaded fuel.

The National Marine Manufacturers Assn. and representatives of other boaters’ groups are asking for more time to find solutions to problems caused by the phase-out.

Two reports of gray whales entangled in fishing nets were received by the California Department of Fish and Game last weekend.

One small whale was reported dead in a net about 1 miles off the Oxnard breakwater last Sunday. A second was reported making slow headway under the burden of a net in the Catalina Channel between Avalon and Long Beach.

Department personnel were unable to locate either whale.

Representatives of Southern California Edison Co. are scheduled to appear in West Orange County Municipal Court April 12 for arraignment on a charge of violating a section of the fish and game code making it illegal to dump oil into state waters.

On Dec. 6, an estimated 400 to 1,000 gallons of electrical oil spilled from the Edison Co. plant in Westminster into the Bolsa Chica flood control channel, which flows into the Anaheim Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Although the cleanup operation is completed, the spill has either killed or affected birds and crayfish in the area.

Philip M. Roedel, former director of the National Marine Fisheries Service and longtime employee of the California Department of Fish and Game, died of cancer March 30 in Novato, Calif. He was 71.

Briefly An estimated 2,460,000 rainbow trout will be stocked in Southern California inland waters this year by the Department of Fish and Game, a slight reduction from last year. . . . The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History will sponsor a benefit fishing derby at Santa Barbara County’s Lake Cachuma April 20. . . . Mike Baron, of Riverside, has been credited with a state record for his 15-pound 12-ounce salmon grouper caught Jan. 20 aboard the “Shogun,” skippered by Norm Kagawa. . . .The Dodge Ram-Tough Fishing Challenge will continue through April 14 at Santa Ana River lakes and Irvine Lake, with tagged trout worth up to $1,000. More than 180 tagged fish were put into each lake. . . . Lake Irwindale was recently planted with 3,600 pounds of trout and 4,000 pounds of channel catfish in an effort to enhance night fishing there. . . . The Budweiser Shooting and Hunting Sports Fair will be held May 17-19 at Raahauge’s Pheasant Hunting Club in Norco. The fair will include duck-hunting contests and seminars on such topics as wildlife photography and taxidermy.