Rockfish around the clock

Research biologists Milton Love and Mary Yoklavich recently dove more than 900 feet in a tiny submersible -- a yellow submarine, in fact -- to check on the health of more than 1,200 square miles of ocean around some of the Channel Islands. For a month the pair counted fish, black coral and other deep-sea creatures but focused primarily on rockfish, like the black and yellow rockfish shown here. Tonight and Wednesday they present underwater images and discuss their findings as part of a 25th anniversary celebration of the Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Expect to laugh. Love, who has a tattoo of a cowcod on his upper arm, is the author of “Probably More Than You Want to Know About the Fishes of the Pacific Coast.” His passion for rockfish -- more than 70 species live in habitats ranging from shallow tide pools to rock piles nearly 9,000 feet below the surface -- is contagious, says Gary Davis, visiting chief scientist for ocean programs at the national park. “These are remarkable fish. Some live to be 130 to 150 years old,” Davis says. “Some swim in the open ocean; others don’t go more than 100 yards in their entire lives.” Using underwater images taken from the submersible, Love and Yoklavich take the audience on a virtual dive. But not all the news is good: Seven species of rockfish have been overfished, and dozens more are struggling to keep their population stable. The free presentation is at 7 tonight at the Chase Palm Park building, 236 E. Cabrillo Blvd., Santa Barbara, and Wednesday at the Channel Islands National Park visitor center, 1901 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura. Call (805) 658-5700.

-- Veronique de Turenne