Use of Drift Gill Nets Makes Catch of Day Less Appetizing

The next time your waiter sets a plate of mouth-watering swordfish on your table, consider this as you sink your fork into your first bite:

For every pound of swordfish brought to market by the California drift gill-net fleet in 1996, an equivalent weight of dolphin or whale was killed.

Moreover, for every swordfish hauled in, nine other fish were caught and most were discarded, dead or dying, for having little or no commercial value.

Keep in mind that not all swordfish are caught in gill nets, which are long walls of netting set adrift to entangle fish by the gills.

Many are harpooned, which effectively kills the intended prey, of course, but nothing else.

You’ll never know how the fish you’re eating met its fate, and you might not care.

But if you would like to see how gill nets work, take a trip to the “Day at the Lots” tackle show hosted by AFTCO Manufacturing in Irvine on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Aside from displays and seminars, AFTCO will be showing a videotape it says was “clandestinely shot” by a commercial fisherman who “developed a conscience about the environmental damage associated with drift gill nets” and came forward with the footage.

What you will see, if you do wish to know about such things, might turn your stomach: crew members bashing sharks with clubs, cutting off their fins and discarding their bodies; dead or dying whales being cut from nets; striped marlin, their bodies sliced by the nets, lying on the deck and being dumped overboard; and a dead leatherback turtle, which is an endangered species.

That drift gill nets are controversial is nothing new. In 1991, the United Nations, called for a worldwide ban on gill nets measuring 1.5 miles or longer because of their “highly indiscriminate and wasteful” nature.

The National Marine Fisheries Service in December 1996 closed the Atlantic pelagic gill-net fishery for swordfish, tuna and sharks because the by-catch all too often included northern right whales, an endangered species. (That year alone, according to one report, the Atlantic gill-net fleet killed and discarded 40,000 juvenile swordfish because they were undersized.)

California is one of many states in the U.S. that has placed restrictions on gill nets, basically eliminating them from coastal waters.

But dozens of vessels still operate offshore, targeting mostly swordfish, mako sharks and thresher sharks.

Jerry Cicconi, a Santa Catalina Island resident who has made a living harpooning swordfish for 33 years, calls gill nets “the cancer of the ocean” and says using such non-selective gear is “like hunting a deer with a machine gun and shooting into the whole herd . . . you might get the animal you wanted, but you will also waste a lot of animals.”

Naturally, as a maker of sportfishing products, AFTCO would like to see gill netting stopped because it probably would mean healthier fisheries and ensure the company’s survival from a business standpoint.

But AFTCO is showing the video--portions have already been seen on newscasts around the country--as part of a joint effort with several organizations in an alliance called the Oceanic Wildlife Campaign.

Their intent, if it isn’t already obvious, is to create greater public awareness about the by-catch, or “by-kill” associated with gill nets and to pressure the government into taking a more active role in minimizing such waste by restricting further the types of gear commercial fishermen are allowed to use.

“This type of crime against Mother Nature would never be allowed on land,” says Bill Shedd, AFTCO president, “but it continues at sea because, to most people, the oceans are out of sight and out of mind.”

AFTCO is located at 17351 Murphy Ave., Irvine.

THE CHILL IS GONE

The Eastern Sierra general trout season is about to begin its second week, with the weather having vastly improved since the cold and blustery--but mostly successful--opening day last Saturday.

That was when Jason Aguirre, 28, of Sacramento earned top-fish honors at Upper Twin Lake in Bridgeport with a 7-pound 9-ounce German brown trout that fought so listlessly he thought it was a log; and when Patrick Hall, a teenager from Ventura fishing at Lake Sabrina above Bishop, caught a large log that fought so furiously--in the swirling current beneath the ice--he thought it was a German brown.

Brent Villasenor, 26, of Scottsdale, Ariz., spent the morning on the frozen banks of the nearly frozen Silver Lake on the June Lake Loop, soaking a glob of orange Power Bait in one of a few spots of open water, sipping tequila until he drifted off to sleep, after which his rod doubled over and he staggered up in time to reel in a 5-pound rainbow, among the biggest fish to come out of any of the four lakes on the loop.

But what a difference a week makes. The ice has not only melted at Silver, but at other popular lakes such as Convict, which was effectively closed on opening day because of the weather.

Says David DeSurra, owner of Convict Lake Resort: “We held a party on opening day and nobody came. But it’s beautiful and glorious now. We finally have spring weather and the grass is even growing.”

And for some, the fish are even biting.

CROWLEY CORPS

A little lower and more exposed than most Eastern Sierra fisheries, Crowley Lake became ice free a few days before the opener, and the fishing was better than many thought it would be for the smallish opening-day crowd of about 3,500.

The average fisherman caught 1.32 fish per hour--well above the opening-day average of one fish per hour--according to Department of Fish and Game biologists.

However, the fish were a little smaller than normal--weighing an average of .81 of a pound, below the average of just under one pound.

Biologist Curtis Milliron says that was mainly because of “the extended period of ice cover, which affects the period of time the trout have to actively feed.”

Milliron adds that the trout are feeding heartily now, and that their average size and weight should slowly increase throughout the month.

RIVERS WILD

The 1998 rafting season begins Saturday and outfitters statewide are predicting an extended season on swifter-than-normal waterways, thanks to El Nino.

“This will be a year to remember in California rafting history,” says Nate Rangel, an independent outfitter and president of California Outdoors, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving rivers and promoting the sport.

The California Department of Water Resources reports that snowmelt runoff is predicted at well over 100% on all rivers through September. The popular Kern east of Bakersfield is expected to be especially crazy, with a predicted stream flow of 215% above normal.

The upper Kern is at 4,000 cubic feet per second “and rising; it’s huge,” says Sue Cawdrey, a spokeswoman for Outdoor Adventures, which can be reached at (800) 323-4234.

A free directory of California outfitters is available by calling (800) 552-3625.

ALBACORE PREDICTION

Bat Batsford, president of the San Francisco Bay Area Tuna Club, claims to have a 95% success rate in predicting the dates and site of the first sport-caught albacore off California over the years.

His predictions for this season: Below Point Conception, it will come at either the Cortez Bank or Tanner Bank between June 5-20. Above Point Conception, it will come at either the Davidson Seamount, Guide Seamount or 601 Spot between June 10-25.

Batsford was more than a month off last season when the San Diego boats scored big time on the longfins in mid-May. But he had an excuse he calls El Nino.

MORE ON FISHING

* You don’t see it in the fish counts, but a fair to moderate salmon bite is in progress off Santa Barbara. So says Capt. David Bacon of WaveWalker Charters, who reports that private boaters and anglers on six-pack charter vessels such as his have been catching limits or near-limits of king salmon in the 10- to 20-pound range during the past week. The larger party boats are not able to troll because of larger passenger loads and thus are not able to cover enough territory and not catching as many fish, Bacon says. The bite is even better farther north. Top catch is a 20-pounder by Curtis Butler of Torrance aboard the Mallard out of Virg’s Landing in Morro Bay.

* If it’s yellowtail you’re after, San Diego remains the place to go. Limits of 10- to 20-pound jacks are still the rule for those making the overnight run to or near the Coronado Islands. The Ensenada fleet is reportedly also enjoying a fantastic yellowtail bite.

TO THE HUNT

The California Fish and Game Commission has adopted many new regulations for this fall’s hunting seasons, notable among which are shortened seasons and fewer tags available in some deer zones because of declining buck ratios in some herds.

Additionally, poor lamb survival among bighorn sheep in southeastern California will result in a not-so-significant reduction of tags from 11 to 10 and an equally not-so-significant reduction in the price of a tag from $242.75 to $237.50.

The commission rejected a proposal from the DFG to issue an unlimited number of bear tags, but increased the number from 15,000 to 18,000. The season will still close, however, when the bear kill reaches 1,500.