Outdoor Notes : Southland Mammal, Waterfowl and Upland Game Seasons Near End
Hunters hoping to venture into the Southern California wilderness in search of their favorite game don’t have much time left as mammal, waterfowl and upland game hunting is nearing an end.
Southland duck hunting zones will close at sunset Jan. 10, and geese hunters will have until sunset Jan. 17. Quail, chukar and cottontail rabbit seasons will close just after sunset on Jan. 31, and this year’s band-tailed pigeon season will close Monday.
Bear hunting in Southern California and the eastern Sierra also ends Monday.
Those with special either-sex archery deer permits in Los Angeles or San Diego County have until one-half hour after sunset, Jan. 31, to fill their tags, and bobcat hunters have until Feb. 15.
Hunting is permitted year-round for jack rabbit, wild pig and coyote, but hunters should consult the 1987 California Mammal Hunting Regulations Part 1 for specific rules pertaining to these species.
Eight striped marlin were sonically tagged during the summer and, after two moved out of range and were lost within three hours, the remaining six were tracked for periods of time ranging between 21 and 48 hours in an attempt to better understand their behavior.
Conclusive results are not yet in, but biologist Dennis Bedford, who worked on the program with another biologist from the National Marine Fisheries Service, recently offered some highlights of the program.
“The fish we tracked showed a very definite preference for warm surface waters,” Bedford said. “During the night, we found several of these fish sleeping just below the surface.”
Bedford added that the fish exhibited this sleeping behavior or only one to two hours at a time.
All of the fish tracked for 24 hours or more swam at least 40 miles. The one marlin that was tracked for 48 hours traveled 60 miles in that time.
All the marlin were most active during the late afternoon, when some of the fish “breezed” or “tailed,” swimming rapidly downwind. Why marlin do this is one thing Bedford hopes to learn.
The striped marlins’ vertical behavior, according to Bedford, was the most consistent of behaviors observed among all the fish he has tracked. With only one exception, more than 90% of the time they remained within a few yards of the surface.
The study began in an attempt to resolve a controversy as to whether striped marlin are being illegally caught in the gill nets of commercial fishermen seeking swordfish and thresher shark.
It was thought that by identifying behavioral differences between commercial species and striped marlin, it could be determined whether the gill nets were likely to be taking a heavy toll on the prized game fish.
Bedford said he expected many striped marlin to be taken by gill net fishermen, but in the last seven years, biologists say that 500 drift gill net operations have caught only 20 marlin.
The fact that the tops of most gill nets are set from 6 to 30 feet below the surface to avoid entangling boats, coupled with the discovery that marlin spend most of their time close to the surface, might explain why so few are taken.
Udell Roberts, a 52-year-old artist from Los Angeles, placed first among 37 entrants in Nevada’s third Trout Stamp Art Contest.
Robert’s acrylic painting of a finely detailed rainbow trout in an underwater setting will be depicted in full color on the state’s 1988-89 trout stamp, which is required for anglers age 12 or older.
Roberts finished second in last year’s contest.
Although no financial compensation is given to the winner by the state, Roberts will be entitled to full reproduction rights for his work. Limited edition full-color reproductions are usually printed and sold for a minimum of $135 each, according to the Nevada Dept. of Wildlife.
One hundred Chihuahuan pronghorn antelope were successfully transferred from Texas to Arizona on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge and at Fort Huachuca in early December, the Arizona Game and Fish Dept. announced.
The refuge was opened in 1985 to preserve nesting habitat for the endangered masked bobwhite quail.
Refuge manager Wayne Schifflet of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the Chihuahuan pronghorn and the masked bobwhite “are two major components of this fragmented ecosystem that have been absent for about 80 years.”
Return of the missing lynx: After a century’s absence the lynx may roam New York’s wilderness again in the near future.
According to National Wildlife Magazine, biologists plan to import 24 lynx from the Yukon in hopes of establishing a native population in the northeastern Adirondack Mountains. The cats disappeared from New York when widespread timbering destroyed their habitat.
Record flight: The semipalmated sandpiper set a record for the fastest long-distance bird flight, according to National Wildlife Magazine. The small shore bird flew 2,800 miles--from Massachusetts to Guyana, South America--in just four days.
Briefly
Loyola Marymount University is presenting a weekend Bass Fishing Institute Feb. 6-7, which will include 12 classes--open to all levels of experience--to be conducted by six of the country’s top professional bass anglers. For additional information call (213) 642-2757. . . .The DFG reminds taxpayers that their contributions to the Endangered Species Tax Check-Off Program in 1987 are deductable on state and federal tax forms if you itemize deductions. California taxpayers contributed $920,000 through Nov., 1987. . . .Californians wishing to hunt in Wyoming in 1988 are reminded that non-resident hunting applications will be accepted beginning Jan. 1, with elk applications due in the Wyoming Fish and Game office in Cheyenne no later than Feb. 1. Deer, antelope, bighorn sheep, moose or mountain goat applications are due by March 15.
