Courier Islander - Gillian Flaccus / The Associated Press
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. - News that a sport-fisherman reeled in — and kept — a potentially record-setting mako shark off the Southern California coast earlier this week is making waves with conservationists, who berated the catch because shark populations are vulnerable to overfishing worldwide.
The female shark caught Monday off Huntington Beach weighed in at just over 1,323 pounds. It was 11 feet long and measured 8 feet around its sizeable midsection, said Kent Williams, a California-certified fish weight master and owner of New Fishall Bait, where the shark was taken for frozen storage.
Jason Johnston, of Mesquite, Texas, caught the massive fish after a 2 1/2-hour battle, the Orange County Register reported.
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Category Archives: California Coastal Notes of Interest
Coastal Cleanup Volunteers Needed to Rid Waterways of Debris
By Andrea Papagianis - Dana Point Times
The state’s largest one-day volunteer event is just around the corner and local agencies are reaching out to residents to take part in cleaning up the Dana Point Harbor and surrounding beaches and waterways.
This year’s California Coastal Cleanup Day, which invites volunteers to participate in a three hour sweeping of debris throughout the state, will take place on Saturday, September 21.
In 2012, more than 65,000 volunteered for cleanup efforts statewide and removed more than 700,000 pounds of trash from beaches and inland waterways, said Eben Schwartz, outreach manager for the California Coastal Commission.
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Summer Report Card Shows 90% of Beaches Earned “A” and “B” Scores
By Ashley Cordes - Long Beach Post
Beach waters in Long Beach were healthier than ever this summer, according to Heal the Bay's most recent End of Summer Beach Report Card.
Of the 15 beaches monitored weekly by the Long Beach Health Department, 14 received "A" and "B" grades for the period between Memorial Day through Labor Day, meaning more than 90% of beaches received excellent marks. Last summer, only 77% of Long Beach waters received "A" and "B" grades.
The one beach that faltered from the positive scores this summer was the testing site at 55th Place, which received a "D" for its exceedance above state water quality standards. Nelson Kerr, Manager of Long Beach's Bureau of Environmental Health, says that the location received weekly "A+" grades until June 25 when a single bad sample earned it a "D."
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California: A cruise for craft beer lovers
By Jane Engle - Sun Sentinel
Connoisseurs of craft beers can lift a glass with the experts on a West Coast cruise during the “California Beer Festival at Sea” aboard the Celebrity Century.
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Guests will learn about industry trends and how to make their own beer at a roundtable with Lagunitas Brewing Co. of Petaluma, Calif., and Ninkasi Brewing Co. of Eugene. Ore. “It’s like Brewing 101,” said Vincenzo Giammanco, president of the California Beer Festival, the program’s organizer.
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... Bay Cleanup Finds Everything But the Kitchen Sink
By Shane Scott - The Log
SAN DIEGO -- “It’s not every day you find a full-size washing machine in the middle of the bay,” said Capt. Robert Butler of Vessel Assist said, as he stood next to a rusty, barnacle-encrusted hunk of metal he found on the bottom of the harbor at California Yacht Marina.
The washed-up washer was removed, along with other debris, during the 23rd annual Operation Clean Sweep cleanup of San Diego Bay. “I’m pretty sure when we get done, we’ll find the dryer,” Butler added.
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Four-year Program Aims to Increase Eelgrass
By Ambrosia Brody - The Log
NEWPORT BEACH -- Eelgrass, a native sea grass that has a reputation among dock owners of making dredging an onerous and expensive undertaking, appears to be thriving in Upper Newport Bay -- and that’s a good thing for boaters. \
“In order to be able to dredge when we need to, we need a good amount of eelgrass in the bay, to balance out what is being removed,” said Amanda Bird, Orange Coastkeeper’s Marine Restoration coordinator.
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Marina Tenants Warned Not to Rent Boats as B&Bs
By Ambrosia Brody - The Log
SAN DIEGO -- Boat owners who are considering listing their vessels on “bed and breakfast” or “vacation rental” websites are warned not to follow through with those plans, as local marina managers are cracking down on those running such businesses from their slip.
“There are legitimate ones (boat B&Bs) -- but these were not,” said Ken Guyer, marina manager at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina.
“These boat owners thought they could rent out the boat, and let their paid guests experience all the amenities (of the adjacent Marriott Marquis),” Guyer said. It’s a little comical.”
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Hardy swimmers vie for elite crown
By Rhianna King, The West
After emerging from the heavily polluted, freezing waters of Manhattan's Hudson River in June it was just days before Ceinwen Roberts and Lisa Delaurentis started planning their next challenge.
Three months on, the Perth open-water swimmers are about to fly to Los Angeles to attempt the 32km Catalina Channel swim.
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Weekend Beach, Surf and Weather Report
Los Angeles Weather Report:
A nice and sunny weekend is ahead for the Los Angeles area. The National Weather Service predicts Saturday will see sunny skies throughout the day with light winds. Highs along the coast will hover near 70 degrees with overnight lows in the mid 60s. Inland areas will see warmer temperatures.
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Sunday will not see much change in the weather with sunny skies throughout the day and highs in the upper 60s. Overnight lows on Sunday will drop to the low 60s.
... Smuggling Bust on CA Beach Nets 18 Arrests, Ton of Pot
By Samantha Tata - NBClosangeles.com
More than 2,000 pounds of marijuana were seized and 18 people arrested after authorities busted a panga boat that came ashore at a Santa Barbara County beach Friday, law enforcement said.It’s the latest bust in what officials have called an increase in illegal maritime drug smuggling along California’s central coast.
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