Students rock

Last Sunday, I took my two days “off island.”  I left John and Dan with a pretty big chore:  Test lobsters in the Invertebrate “no take” Preserve.  This is a region on the other side of the Isthmus that was designated protected a couple of decades ago.  It hasn’t been patrolled as zealously as BFC (Big Fisherman’s Cove), but we thought it worth going over there anyway.  So John and Dan did it!

Now, this brings up something that scares me to death.
   I train these kids to be scientists.  We three take a diving research course together last June.  Now I am utterly relying on them to not only do the research right, but to not get into any trouble.  So, two weeks ago I taught them how to tie a triple clove hitch so the dinghy doesn’t get away.  Now they are taking the Boston whaler out into the dark night, putting down an anchor, getting their diving gear on, going down, and coming up with amazing data!

To tell the truth, I’m just glad that they come up alive.  Sometimes there just seems like so many things that can go wrong, and so many ways to screw up.  But what I always keep coming back to is keep breathing.   Actually, the more I watch John and Dan work, the more I realize that it is I who is the weak link.  These guys are careful, thoughtful, watchful, strong dudes.  They know what they are doing, and are rapidly getting better and better.

 But what about the science?!  Dan and John tested the no-take preserve lobsters for responses to sea hares, and the lobsters attacked!  The only other place we’ve seen that besides our protected cove over here at Wrigley.  Exactly what you’d expect!  If the pattern holds (and we have a shitload more dives to do before we can be confident of that) the measures taken by the California Fish and Game to prevent invertebrate takes are actually having an effect.  Lobsters inside preserves broaden their palette of edible food items to include sea hares.