Friday, 30 Mar 2001

SAN DIEGO, Calif.

I actually had fun getting dressed for work today — I am in all my old work clothes. Since we’re cleaning the white seabass nets today, I am wearing clothes that can get stinky and fishy. When I was walking to my car this morning, my neighbor snickered at my attire. I wanted to say, “Hey buddy, I’m going to make a difference today … you’re going to your job, in your suit, to sit behind a computer and punch numbers.” So there.

I have to work diligently for the next couple of hours, since I will be out in the field the rest of the afternoon. Fridays always seem to be my busiest days. By 11:00 a.m., I have to complete the following tasks: process 35 membership applications, update several pages on our website, send out requests for newsletter articles, send liability forms to volunteers working on the Yukon buoys, write three thank-you letters to those who have donated computer equipment this month, and, most importantly, I have to compile and send out a “buddy list” for all our volunteer research divers. Phew!

Making the buddy list will be the most fun task of the morning. A buddy list is a list of scuba divers that do not have partners to swim with; hence, they will pair up and become buddies. We are stressing that the research divers use the buddy system when collecting data for us. Recently, in San Diego, there were two tragic deaths in situations where people were diving alone. We certainly do not want any of the volunteers to get hurt; hopefully this list will enable more divers to dive more often — in a safe manner.

A sculpin swimming around the Yukon.

Photo: Bob Willey.

The volunteer research divers are part of a program that the San Diego Oceans Foundation has recently implemented called the Artificial Reef Monitoring Project. The project uses research diving to deploy, monitor, and enhance artificial reefs in the San Diego area. Our research goals include 1) using reef research as a method of educating others about the importance and utilization of artificial reefs; 2) establishing long-term monitoring of the ecological patterns and processes in, adjacent to, and distant from the Yukon; and 3) evaluating the short- and long-term differences between marine growth and development of artificial reef productivity. The Monitoring Project will furnish the critical data necessary to get the artificial reefs in San Diego designated as reserves.

Sunken ships and other man-made material can become a self-sustaining ecosystem for marine life by providing a home for many species, including those that have suffered pressure from fishing and habitat loss due to other human activities. However, they also attract and concentrate fish from surrounding areas, making the fish much more vulnerable to fishing mortality. For this reason, artificial reefs must be protected as no-fishing reserves. In California, no-fishing reserves are extremely contentious, and any efforts to protect the reefs must be based on solid unequivocal scientific data. Because the fish are particularly vulnerable on artificial reefs, most conservation organizations oppose their establishment. But the reefs are spectacular concentrations of biodiversity, and they represent wonderful recreational, educational, and research opportunities. Some feel it is a catch-22. Each fish or marine organism that takes space on these artificial reefs might be breeding new populations and expanding the marine habitat as a whole.

Kai Schumann and Quincy Morris installing a PVC grid on the Yukon to be used for invertebrate photography.

Photo: Phil Matticola.

SDOF has been working on the development of the Artificial Reef Monitoring Project for the past five months with two professors from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Paul Dayton and Ed Parnell. Paul, Ed, Kai Schumann (SDOF board member), and I have developed the sampling techniques to gather the underwater data. Since most of the volunteer divers have never done underwater research, we decided that the first phase of the project should incorporate fairly simple data collection techniques. The divers will be required to collect data in one of two ways: counting fish by using the transect method or photographing plants and invertebrates by using the photo quadrant method (for more information, visit our website). Once we establish which divers are most comfortable at collecting data, we will give them more tedious and scientific tasks. The project is expected to span a minimum of 10 years, so that an accurate depiction of the development of the reefs can be documented over time. In several years, the entire community of San Diego may become research divers. Wouldn’t that be phenomenal?

I truly feel SDOF is paving the way for artificial reef research, specifically research on sunken ships. To my knowledge there is no project similar to ours. We are training volunteers to collect data on sunken ships that all rest within a two-mile radius of one another in “Wreck Alley.” It is one of the most comprehensive projects in the U.S. and certainly on the West Coast. If we continue to have adequate volunteers and proper funding, the project should carry artificial reef research to the next level.

It is now time for me to come to a close. I must finish my other duties so I can get to the docks and help clean those smelly fishnets. Thank you for allowing me to share my daily activities with you. Hopefully, I have been inspiring and educational. Cheers!