Due to the recent die-off of abalone on the Sonoma Coast, the California Fish & Game Commission motioned and voted to implement an emergency action to close the Sonoma recreational abalone fishery. The action is likely to be effective Oct. 1st or shortly afterwards. Although the exact date of the closure has not yet been decided, divers [...]
The California Fish and Game Commission will consider emergency action on Thursday, Sept. 15 to possibly close the abalone fishery along the northern California coast. This action is being considered in the wake of confirmed reports of dead red abalone and other invertebrates on beaches and inside coves along the coast in Sonoma County. The [...]
Dive The Coast is organizing a relay dive down the entire 840-mile California coastline, raising money for conservation organizations along the way. Each of the fifteen coastal counties – from Mexico to the Oregon border – will organize its own relay divers, and to keep the money local, each county will decide on a deserving [...]
Beginning August 27, a very large and potent red tide reached the shoreline areas of the Sonoma Coast. Since then, as a result of this phytoplankton bloom, tens of thousands of abalone have died and washed ashore, covering the beaches at the tideline. Divers are reporting dead or dying abalone just about everywhere along this [...]
Matt Mattison, Founder of Norcal Underwater Hunters and avid abalone diver, has sent out an emergency notice, asking all Sonoma coast abalone divers to temporarily refrain from harvesting any abalone. The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has confirmed reports of dead red abalone and sea stars inside coves along the coast in Sonoma County. The [...]
Join Sonoma Coast Bamboo Reef for a one-day class on the art of diving for the elusive abalone! This is a one day beginner program that is conducted on the Sonoma Coast, north of the town of Jenner. The class consists of a beachside lecture that will talk about the equipment required for abalone diving, [...]
Another Abalone season is opening soon, with closed parks, limited services, and totally different abalone tags for 2011. What’s a diver to do? In this article we will look at a dozen Sonoma County public dive sites with depth and ability ratings, demystify the new tags, and explain some basics that will help keep you [...]
As I pull an 8 mm wetsuit over my knees and shoulders, my stomach grumbles with anxiety. The deckhand helps me strap five-pound weights to my ankles as we drop anchor at the Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco. The water is a chilling 50 degrees, but I’ve wanted to go cage diving [...]
