Noelle Barger is operations manager for the San Diego Oceans Foundation (SDOF), a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting ocean stewardship through community-supported projects.
Monday, 26 Mar 2001
SAN DIEGO, Calif.
Imagine this: You are standing in front of a crowd of 100 people, your body is moist from what I call “the nervous sweat,” your voice is higher than normal because you are anxious, and all 200 eyes are on only you. You’re wondering if anyone can see the wet spots under your arms and, most importantly, you’re wondering if the Oreo cookie you just ate is still in your teeth. Your voice isn’t carrying to the back of the room, so you stand on your tiptoes and scream so no one misses the important information you are about to share. These are the situations that are only supposed to happen in dreams, right? Wrong.
It is early Monday morning and I am sitting at my desk reflecting on my Saturday afternoon, when that dream became a reality for me. Just two days ago, I was standing before a large group of scuba divers, pitching a project that I had spent the past five months developing for the San Diego Oceans Foundation. All 100 divers present had signed up to participate in our Artificial Reef Monitoring Research Project. They were there to learn how to become research divers. As I looked through the crowd, I was amazed at the intensity in everyone’s eyes. They knew they were embarking upon a project that was something special … the divers were ready to learn.
An anemone, one of the invertebrates we will be studying.
Photo: SDOF.
As soon as the training program was underway, my body settled down; it was now up to several others to carry the load. The volunteer divers were instructed on various topics related to artificial reef research. They were taught fish identification by Bob Burhans, the curator of fish at the Birch Aquarium. Then Ed Parnell from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography taught data collection methods, including how to count fish by using transect lines. Because the monitoring project will be conducted on artificial reefs in waters off San Diego, two scuba diving instructors reminded the volunteers of the importance of diving safety, especially when wreck diving in 100 feet of water. To encourage communication underwater, Laurieanne Askinazy from Seasigns taught the divers 25 signs related to scientific research. So, not only did the divers learn the proper data collection skills needed to make the monitoring project a success — they also learned sign language.
The training program was a great success: The San Diego Oceans Foundation gained 100 members and an entire army of research divers. The five months of preparation paid off — now volunteers can help us collect critical information on the life histories of marine species while scuba diving.
The San Diego Oceans Foundation is a nonprofit, volunteer organization that has been in operation since 1984. We rely entirely on volunteer support to make our programs successful. As the Operations Manager — and the only paid employee of the Foundation — I spend most of my days alone in the office, with an occasional visit from a volunteer or friend. Most of my communication is by email and telephone.
The Yukon, pre-reef.
Photo: Jim Robertson.
Last July, the Foundation purchased a 366-foot ex-Canadian destroyer ship called the Yukon, cleaned it with the help of more than 200 volunteers, and sank it for use as an artificial reef. It has been said that an army of ants carried the Yukon to San Diego — this army of volunteers is solely responsible for the tremendous economic benefits the Yukon has brought to San Diego. The dive-boat operator businesses have increased their profits by more than 70 percent, and local tourism is on the rise as well. I receive emails every day from people from around the globe who want to learn more about the Yukon and its placement as an artificial reef.
Now that the sinking is over, it is important for us to keep the volunteers active — to remind them that there is still work to be done. As if sinking a ship wasn’t enough, now we are asking them to biologically monitor it for us. Thank god for volunteers!
Today, I have a meeting with Sergio Angelini, director of engineering at Scubapro, and Steve Drogin, a very generous supporter of the Foundation. We are going to lunch to discuss funding opportunities for the Artificial Reef Monitoring Project. Wish us luck — no funding means no monitoring project!
Tuesday, 27 Mar 2001
SAN DIEGO, Calif.
I have a meeting today with Andrew, one of the Board of Directors, regarding our water quality program. We have been brainstorming for several weeks to try to develop a better program for water quality. Ideas have been slow to come, so I have been researching the subject in my spare time. I approached my neighbor, Ryan, for help.
Point Loma near San Diego Bay after a sewage spill.
Photo: Ryan Levinson.
Last week, Ryan loaned me a book about the water quality at our local recreational beaches. I was shocked to read that the same waters I love to swim, SCUBA dive, and surf in are sometimes unsafe for human contact due to pollution. How can this be? Rarely in Mission Beach have I seen signs stating that the water is polluted. Yet, I do remember that Mission Bay has been closed several times recently due to sewage spills and other non-point source pollution.
It is fortunate that my apartment is next to Ryan’s. Ryan is a major player in the local watersports community in San Diego, and he has taught me more about environmental issues in the past month than I learned in all my years at college. He is very passionate about these issues and, lucky for me, he lives next door and gives me free professional consultations. So, to prepare for the meeting today with Andrew, I visited Ryan last night to gather some information.
The first thing I learned is that there are two separate — and significantly different — systems used to convey wastewater in San Diego. The sewage system carries wastewater from drains in houses and buildings to regional sewage treatment plants. The plants treat the water and then discharge the treated wastewater into the ocean.
The storm drain system is quite different. It collects runoff from streets and sidewalks and discharges it directly into our bays and oceans without any treatment. The drains you see on the side of the street lead into the storm drain system and eventually into the oceans and bays.
Tourmaline Surf Park storm drain after a rainfall.
Photo: Ryan Levinson.
I know that water quality in San Diego is often affected by sewage spills, urban runoff, or a combination of both. But exactly what is a sewage spill? Sewage spills occur when a sewer pipe leaks raw sewage into the water. Often, the sewage will overflow into either a creek or the street, where it then flows into a storm
drain, and then directly into the water. The sewer pipes that leak can eventually crack apart, causing millions of gallons of raw sewage to enter creeks and rivers, sometimes carrying pollution as far as hundreds of miles downstream.
Through my past experience at Torrey Pines State Park, I learned the direct implications of urban runoff. During my five-month stint there, we had to close the lagoon probably 10 times due to sewage spills and urban runoff. Urban runoff contains everything that flows into the storm drains, including such fun stuff as dead animals, animal waste, pesticides, fertilizers, soaps, motor oil, and so forth. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? These pollutants sit and fester in the dank, smelly pipes until something pushes them into the water … usually rain. What shocked me was that even though we would patrol the area at Torrey Pines and post signs stating that the lagoon was closed due to water contamination, people still swam in it. Were they crazy or what? I decided that I would try to educate more people on urban runoff and non-point source pollution. Almost every family I approached had never heard of non-point source pollution and was not aware of the many diseases lurking in the water due to the recent sewage spill.
Both sewage and urban runoff can make people sick if they have contact by swimming in it. Common illnesses include eye and skin infections, gastroenteritis, sinus infections, and ear infections, but people have also contracted hepatitis, meningitis, and other more serious diseases from swimming in contaminated waters. It seems people just aren’t aware of the dangers involved, so I asked Ryan why the public isn’t better educated on these matters. I was intrigued to learn that there are relatively few systems in place to test the water and warn the public.
Currently, the city and county test some of our local beaches about once a week. They test for levels of bacteria that may indicate that the water has been contaminated by sewage, runoff, or both. Depending on the results, the county will either post signs closing the beach due to sewage, post signs advising the public of high bacteria levels, or warn the public about areas that are chronically contaminated. Officials do not post signs at beaches that are not tested unless there is a known sewage spill.
While these tests are certainly helpful, they are only performed about once a week, and only at some locations. In fact, most of our beaches are never tested. This means that even if there is contamination, and the waters have been tested, there is still only a one-in-seven chance that signs will be posted to warn people. The visitors at Torrey Pines State Park were lucky because they had park rangers and aides to warn them of the dangers. However, as I mentioned before, sometimes warning the public doesn’t always work — people still swim in the polluted water.
I shared this information with some of my fellow enviros at SDOF and we decided that something needed to be done to increase the information available to the public. First, there must be increased water testing, both in terms of frequency and geographic range. Second, there must be more prominent public notification of the results of the water testing. Third, the public must be informed about the issues that affect water quality. Finally, we need to work closely with our government to ensure that it understands the need for comprehensive water monitoring and pollution prevention programs.
As a nonprofit organization dedicated to ocean and bay stewardship, SDOF’s mission certainly embraces water monitoring and public notification. However, the technical expertise and funding necessary for us to successfully run water monitoring programs are significant challenges. Should SDOF work with other environmental groups already testing? Should we solicit for grants to start our own program? As we move forward, one thing is clear: SDOF recognizes the importance of our recreational water quality, and we will be doing something about it.
Wednesday, 28 Mar 2001
SAN DIEGO, Calif.
What a view! I am standing among hundreds of beautiful sailboats and pleasure yachts. The air around me smells crisp and fishy — the perfect combination for a deep inhale of that sensational ocean smell. All around me are avid sea-lovers working diligently on their pristine boats, some humming a familiar tune, others making a racket with their cordless sanders. There isn’t a cloud in the sky, but you would think there was with the number of white seagulls swooshing over my head. I am at the Marina Village marina in Mission Bay — home of the San Diego Oceans Foundation’s white seabass restocking program.
Seabass swimming around in the nets.
Photo: SDOF.
Today I am at the marina to perform a site inspection of our white seabass grow-out pen. We maintain one boat slip space that has been rigged with PVC pipe, two-by-fours, and mesh nets to hold over 800 seabass. The grow-out pens have two nets: a predator net and a white seabass net. The seabass net keeps the fish confined to the boat slip area, while the predator net hangs about one foot off the fishnet to keep other animals away from the seabass. To date, the seabass’ worst enemy has been a sea lion that has grown accustomed to having many late-night meals at the grow-out pen.
One of the many people who volunteer their time to feed the fish told me an unusual story today. From the sparkle in his eyes, I could tell he had been waiting to tell me this for quite some time:
“You’ll never believe what I saw, Noelle!,” Joe shouted, throwing up his arms.
“What did you see, Joe?,” I asked, thinking to myself, “This one ought to be good.”
He told me, “Several weeks ago, that darn sea lion — you know, the one that always swims around here — did some crazy things to the white seabass. I came down to feed the fish and it was getting dark, so I was concentrating real hard to see to make sure they were eating, when all of a sudden the sea lion swam near the nets and started pushin’ up the nets with his back! I nearly fell over backwards because I couldn’t believe it.”
“You’re kidding!,” I exclaimed.
Joe continued, “Nope. He pushed up the nets and started blowing bubbles underneath the fish. The bubbles scared the fish so bad that they started zipping back and forth in all directions. I’m tellin’ you — these fish were freaking out! Some fish got so confused by all the action that they swam to the surface and escaped the pens! They were scared out of their wits, I have never seen anything like it before.”
“What happened next?,” I asked curiously.
“The hungry Mr. Sea Lion gobbled them up! All the ones that escaped the nets were eaten; it was very sad,” Joe said, tilting his head down. “I have been feeding those critters since they were fingerlings.”
I said, “If only they would have known their fate on the other side. Mr. Sea Lion had a good dinner that night, wouldn’t you say?”
“I guess so. He ate a lot of our white seabass that night. I was so mad,” Joe said solemnly while walking back to his boat.
I couldn’t believe the story that he had just told me. A sea lion blowing bubbles to scare the white seabass? It’s amazing to me how brilliant some animals are. I am no longer surprised by the common presence of Mr. Sea Lion — now I know how he became so fat. I guess the predator net doesn’t work exactly like it should.
So, now you’re probably wondering, “What is a white seabass, and how does the restocking program work?” The white seabass is a sport fish that often reaches 30 to 50 pounds. It is a shallow-water fish that is usually caught near the shore, typically around kelp beds, rocks, and piers.
White seabass coordinator, Jim Stickler, feeding the fish.
Photo: SDOF.
The white seabass population along the Southern California coast is currently at dangerously low levels due to overfishing and habitat destruction. Our white seabass restocking program was initiated to reintroduce the seabass to San Diego’s coastal waters. Since 1950, the populations of this fish have become so scarce that most fishermen have never caught an adult white seabass. (They can be 28 inches long!) To change this course, SDOF formed a partnership with Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and the California Department of Fish and Game in 1996 to build facilities that would breed, raise, and reintroduce the white seabass into the wild.
The program starts at the Leon Raymond Hubbard, Jr. Marine Fish Hatchery in Carlsbad. Here they breed and raise the young bass, called fingerlings, to a length of three inches. The fingerlings are then transported to the grow-out facility at the marina, where they are hand-fed three times daily by volunteers. It takes four months for the seabass to reach 10 to 12 inches, at which time they are released into the bay. Currently, SDOF is growing about 700 fish for release every four months.
All the white seabass are internally tagged with a tiny “coded” wire so that the recaptured fish can be identified by egg batch, location, and date of release. So far, fish released in Mission Bay have been recaptured as far away as Marina del Rey (nearly 100 nautical miles away) up to five years after release.
Volunteers from the Marine Science Academy help to feed the fish in the afternoon.
Photo: SDOF.
Our program has been extremely successful to date. Last week, we released over 600 fish into the bay, which is why I am here today. On Friday, a team of volunteers will be pulling the heavy (and I mean heavy) nets out of the water to clean them. It will be quite an undertaking! We will be using brushes and a high-powered pressure system to remove all the algae and other gunk that has festered on the nets. Once they are cleaned, we will reattach them to the docks and prepare the pens for the fingerlings that will be delivered next week.
Everything looks to be in order here at the docks; there is water pressure and electricity. My next challenge will be to find willing volunteers to help clean the nets — it is a smelly and dirty job, but someone has to do it! Now it’s time to head back to the office to call some volunteers.
Thursday, 29 Mar 2001
SAN DIEGO, Calif.
This morning, I heard an all-too-familiar voice on the answering machine. In a political, suave manner the voice said, “Noelle, this is Dave. I’m calling to get the Foundation’s official position on the RAND report.” Click. That was all the message said. I sat at my desk with a smile across my face because last week, my friend, Dave, did the exact same thing: “Noelle, this is Dave. I’m calling to get the Foundation’s official position on the La Jolla Children’s Pool.” Click.
Since I am not on the Board of Directors, I will leave both those messages for one of the nine directors to answer. So, you’re probably asking yourself what the RAND Corporation is and what they have to do with the San Diego Oceans Foundation. The RAND Corporation is a public policy research institution. MSCL, Inc. is a marine consulting firm that is currently assisting RAND to study ship disposal for the U.S. Navy. Together they will be identifying and evaluating all practical alternatives, including reefing, for disposing of nearly 400 naval vessels.
Life on the Yukon just six months after she sunk.
Photo: Bob Willey.
Dick Long, president of SDOF, has been working closely with RAND and MSCL. They have used our system of sinking ships as artificial reefs as a model to present to the Navy. Last year, SDOF purchased, cleaned, and sank a 366-foot ex-Canadian escort destroyer, the Yukon, off the coast of Mission Beach. Since the sinking, marine life has invaded the ship. The Yukon is now home to strawberry anemones, giant kelp, brittle stars, sponges, soft coral, blacksmith fish, calico bass, sheepshead, and so much more. It has become a garden of life.
Why would the U.S. Navy want to use our project as a model? Currently, there is a federal mandate to dismantle and dispose of more than 400 retired naval ships. It is exceedingly costly in terms of dollars — the total cost of scrapping these ships would be more than $1.5 billion — and the effect on the environment. However, there is hope. Through the success of Project Yukon, SDOF has developed a more cost-effective and environment-friendly plan. Our system, developed from a Canadian model, has proven that 1) the cost of preparing a ship for use as a reef is one-third the cost of scrapping, and 2) cleaning the ships, rather than scrapping them, can reduce the environmental impact. I would imagine that the sailors who went to sea on these now-obsolete vessels would rather give the ship a new life underwater than see it turned into razor blades. Dive Training magazine has several excellent articles in its January 2001 issue about the Yukon and artificial reefs. You can visit our website to view these articles.
Orange sponge on the Yukon.
Photo: Bob Willey.
For the past five or six months, SDOF has been campaigning for the sinking of these vessels as artificial reefs. On our website is a sample letter for those interested in sending a letter or email to their senators or representatives, stating their support for the conversion of ships to reefs. For anyone thinking that the sinking of ships is a threat to the environment, simply come to San Diego and dive on the Yukon. You will be amazed at the new life she is living!
Many of the emails I receive every day are from people who read about our project in a dive magazine and who want to learn more about our huge undertaking. Project Yukon began several years ago, when the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia said they had a ship for us to bring to San Diego. Three years, $1.5 million, and 7,000 volunteer hours later, we have our ship.
Volunteers removing material to be recycled from the Yukon.
Photo: SDOF.
The Yukon rests in 100 feet of water, 1.85 miles off San Diego’s Mission Beach. She has become a world-class diving attraction, providing a new recreational asset for San Diegans and visitors to the area. The project also creates new opportunities for ocean awareness, education, and research. As I mentioned in Monday’s diary, SDOF has recently implemented the first phase of our Artificial Reef Research Monitoring Project — I will write more about that tomorrow. Volunteers are heading up the reef monitoring efforts, making the project even more valuable to San Diego because its citizens are carrying the load.
Still not convinced? Some of the toughest environmental standards in the world were used on the Yukon when preparing her for the sinking. All asbestos products, petroleum
products, and other pollutants were removed. All salvageable items — brass, copper, steel, and aluminum — were removed and recycled. The ship was completely free of residue oils and contaminates.
Two members of SDOF, Jackie and Mark, diving the Yukon the week after she sunk.
Photo: SDOF.
Back to the message from Dave: As of right now, SDOF has no “official position” on the RAND report. Within the following weeks, the U.S. government will decide whether it considers reefing an option for ship disposal. One fact to keep in mind is that the cost of dry-docking an obsolete vessel in order to prevent it from sinking at the site is estimated to be about $900,000 per ship. These rustbuckets are in extremely poor condition. Karen Scanlon, one of our many volunteers, offers an example: “The ship, Export Challenger, which sits at the James River Reserve Fleet in Virginia, experienced a relatively minor release of oil in 1998. The deteriorated condition of its hull required that the remainder of the oil aboard be removed. The cost of the cleanup and oil removal: $1.3 million. Our tax dollars at work.” It is scenarios like this one that show how cleaning and preparing a ship for reefing is a better option for getting polluted, obsolete ships off our waters and drydocks.
Until the RAND report is published next month, the fate of the 400 vessels and our tax dollars is still up in the air. Regardless of the outcome, SDOF is proud of what we have accomplished. We took on Project Yukon as part of our overall mission to promote ocean stewardship, and we will continue to tackle projects like these in the future.
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!
