Divers to Scrape Shellfish From Pier
Starting Monday, a team of divers will descend upon Ventura’s pier to chip barnacles and mussels from the wooden piles.
The divers will work Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for 10 to 15 days.
Pier access will be uninterrupted during cleaning, said Parks Manager Bill Byerts. But 60- to 80-foot portions will be closed to fishing while they are being cleaned.
“That’s just so no one throws a line or a grappling hook into the divers,” Byerts said.
The divers, from a company called Oceaneering, will decide on the method once they examine the wooden pier.
Byerts said there are many cleaning methods. Sometimes a ring is pounded down the pile to scrape off growth. In Santa Barbara, divers hooked themselves to the piles upside down and chipped off the barnacles and shellfish.
Such cleaning is routine and necessary every three to five years, Byerts said.
Signs reading “Divers in Water--No Fishing” will be posted until the work is done.
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