A Tale of a Tail: Basking Shark Exhibit Newest at Cabrillo

The Cabrillo Marine Museum in San Pedro has some new specimens on display.

* Dan Zambrano of the museum went to Newport Beach where the boat Can Ran H was towed in by San Pedro seiner Maria Fatimo with a basking shark wrapped up in a gill net.

Efforts to free the shark had failed.

Zambrano said the basking shark is the least aggressive of the shark family and completely harmless to man. This shark has no teeth. They are plankton feeders and have been uncommon in California waters.

The shark weighed about 1,500 pounds and was about 30 feet long.

A 15-foot tail section was transported to the museum and is now on display with a history of the basking shark.

* Larry Fukuhara, who often fishes on the San Pedro half-day boats for the museum, added another fish to the museum’s aquariums.

Using cut squid, Fukuhara sent his line to the bottom as he does on most trips to try for some rare or unusual species.

He was trying for a male sheephead.

After many hookups of female sheephead, and just a few minutes before the boat had to return, he landed a male with its glowing orange and black colors. He wasted no time placing it in the bait tank.

Fukuhara took it to the museum, weighed it at an even 10 pounds and put it in one of the large aquariums.

The tasty sheephead enters the world as a female. It matures at age three and changes into a male and then fertilizes the young females to continue the breeding cycle.

* The Monte Carlo from 22nd Street Landing was fishing at Rocky Point last week in a light rain when an angler brought aboard a curious-looking fish.

Capt. Paul Scholser identified it as a popeye catalufa.

Their large eyes make them effective predators even in the darkness. These fish are bright red and range from central California to Peru.

The angler donated it to the museum to join the many other rare live fish on display.

The Southwest Anglers Assn. held its annual awards banquet last Saturday. Ron Schin of Torrance won a first-place trophy with his 343-pound shark. Second place went to Fred Oakley of Hawthorne for a 147-pound shark.

South Bay Catches:

Bert Michael of Long Beach, fishing at San Clemente Island aboard the Toronado, used a squid-baited jig and caught the whopper of the week, a 26-pound yellowtail.

Cal Hess of Harbor City, fishing aboard the Hitless Miss at The Rockpile, caught a 23 1/2-pound cow cod.

Don Lyndon of Gardena, fishing at the Cherry Bank aboard the Diawa, caught a 20 1/2-pound lingcod.

Paul Nakasuka of Santa Monica, fishing aboard the Condor, caught a 19-pound lingcod at the Deep Hole.

Fish Reports:

The recent winter storm failed to detour fishing action at local and island waters. Anglers braving the elements caught bass, rock cod and a few yellowtail.

At Marina del Rey Sportfishing: The Spitfire fished the bay and returned with a catch of 24 sculpin, eight sand bass and four halibut.

The Happyman on a half-day trip garnered 25 sculpin and three halibut.

The Betty O rock cod special fished Shallow Rock Reefs and anglers sacked 175 rock cod.

At Redondo Sportfishing: The Sea Spray chalked up 220 rock cod and three lingcod.

The Redondo Special fished shallow on a half-day trip and anglers caught 120 rock cod and one lingcod.

The Blackjack worked Cherry Bank and anglers were rewarded with 435 rock cod and three cow cod.

At 22nd Street Landing: The Monte Carlo fished the Rocky Point area for 218 rock cod and one popeye catalufa.

At L.A. Harbor Sportfishing: The Outerlimits caught live squid at Catalina Island and headed to San Clemente Island, where anglers caught 238 calico bass, 15 blue perch, 10 rock cod and one lingcod.

At Long Beach Sportfishing: The Southern Cal fished local rock reefs and found a good bite as anglers sacked 301 rock cod and 30 sculpin.