[CINC] SFGate: Krill's return is good news for ocean

[Carolyn McCleskey]

FW: SFGate: Krill's return is good news for ocean
How about some good news for a change?







Subject: SFGate: Krill's return is good news for ocean





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This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate.

The original article can be found on SFGate.com here:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/05/23/SP2I1DHPPO.DTL

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Sunday, May 23, 2010 (SF Chronicle)

Krill's return is good news for ocean

Tom Stienstra





   The old sea off the Bay Area coast is showing new life, and it's the best

news in years for salmon, marine birds and whales.

   Krill, a small shrimp-like crustacean and one of the linchpins in the

marine food chain, are back in vast swarms off the Bay Area coast. It was

their disappearance four years ago that led scientists to predict a

collapse of salmon, which then was compounded by losses of juvenile fish

at water pumps.

   "The water is full of feed, with massive spots of krill," said Tom

Mattusch, captain of the Huli Cat out of Half Moon Bay. Other skippers

across the Gulf of the Farallones are reporting similar finds in many

areas.

   The salmon season has been stunted by periods of wind, rough seas and a

procession of cold, low-pressure systems that have kept boats at ports -

but the feed conditions are outstanding. Enough good days have arrived to

provide hope for a good salmon season this summer, spiked perhaps by

periods of brilliance.

   One of those days arrived last Sunday on the Huli Cat. With a small

charter of five people aboard for a crab-salmon combo, Mattusch guided his

boat outside the Deep Reef off Half Moon Bay. In a few hours, they caught

21 salmon (releasing most), topped by a 14-pounder; three were over the

24-inch minimum, 10 were 20-24 inches, and eight were just less than 20

inches. They also hauled in limits of Dungeness crab, 30 in all, six per

person.

   "We had times when every rod on the boat was going off with fish,"

Mattusch said.

   The top spot has been outside the Deep Reef at the 50-fathom line. The sea

temperature (52 degrees) has been ideal for salmon. So much plankton and

shrimp have limited clarity, which is preferred because crystal clear

water can make fish (they don't have eyelids) go deep and become

tentative. As a result, the salmon have been schooling in the primary feed

zone, 18 to 35 feet deep, and are on the attack.

   The key to this ocean revival is probably the return of upwelling off the

Bay Area coast. Strong winds out of the northwest divert surface currents

to the side, and in turn, deep, cold and nutrient-rich water replaces it

on the surface. When sunlight penetrates that fresh surface layer, it

triggers the marine food chain.

   This revival will help troubled species, such as the common murre, the

lovable little seabird that breeds in prolific numbers at the Farallon

Islands, and all shorebirds, from gulls to puffins, as well as marine

mammals, especially whales.

   After no fishing for salmon for two years, the krill will boost salmon,

from juveniles to adults.

   To help avoid losses of juvenile salmon at water pumps, the state

Department of Fish and Game has developed a program in which it trucks

smolts from hatcheries and then releases them in net pens in the north

bay. When those young fish make their way to the ocean, they will find

plenty of feed waiting. That will increase survival rates.

   Adult salmon can grow an inch and a pound per month when enough feed is

available, like now. So all those 20- to 24-inch salmon out there are

likely to reach the legal 24-inch keeper size this summer.

   Info: Huli Cat, (650) 726-2926, hulicat.com. For a list of charter boats,

marinas and tackle shops, see archived story at sfgate.com, "Mystery

envelops first salmon opener in 3 years," which was published April 1.

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Notes

   What's that shadow? Jack Foster was fly-fishing at Lewiston Lake last

weekend when he hooked a big rainbow trout (17 inches, says Foster). He

was fighting it near the boat, when a bald eagle appeared, snatched the

fish and tried to fly off with it - while the trout was still hooked. The

eagle wrestled the fish free and then soared off. "It came from behind us

without making any noise," Foster said. "If I knew the eagle was coming, I

could have reached out and touched it. I never would have believed it if I

hadn't seen it."

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   Bobcat alert: May and June is the best time of year to see bobcats, when

they emerge from hiding to stalk newly born rabbits, quail and other prey.

Barbara Adamson reported a sighting last week in Corte Madera.

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E-mail Tom Stienstra at tstienstra at sfchronicle.com. ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2010 SF Chronicle


 
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