Urchin removal start on North Coast
FORT BRAGG » It was supposed to start in the spring: A two-pronged effort to test the efficacy of urchin removal — versus urchin crushing.
The removal is being done by commercial divers in deep water in Noyo Harbor and at Caspar Cove on the Mendocin Coast. The crushing is done by volunteer divers in shallow areas off Caspar Beach.
But then, like most plans in 2020, COVID-19 interfered.
Divers were not allowed into the county during the shutdown and the beaches were closed anyway. Program manager Tristin McHugh, of Reef Check, had to wait it out to salvage the program, but the pressure was on: Reef Check has funding for just one year.
McHugh found a local diving team that all lived in the same household to help with the pre-removal monitoring, so they can work in close quarters without violating county health orders. Then, she signed up eight commercial boats each with two-man crews who will alternate removal efforts at the two sites.
The purple urchins are being removed from the waters surrounding the Mendocino Coast to see if it will bring back the oncelush kelp forest, which has been decimated by a combination of warm water and the overpopulation of purple urchins.
When the kelp forest died out, the abalone starved, and the commercially viable red urchins were overrun by their pesky cousins. It all but shut down the coast’s popular abalone sport season and the red urchin commercial fishing industry saw an 80% decline — a double hit to the local economy. It also affected fisheries, and environmentally, it devastated the insects that live in kelp and the shorebirds that feed on them.
A new hope
Bright and early one day this month the Cyndi Lynn was tied up at the No. 12 buoy in Noyo Harbor to start the process. The Downees, a father-son team, have been involved with urchin removal from the beginning, and have the experience McHugh needs to carry out the protocols the team has developed.
The swells were not bad, but the winds — 15 to 25 knots — were a concern. If they picked up, it would cut the day short.
The Downees were working the farthest north region that has been designated for the test. There are 150 meters within the designated area to remove urchins, with markers at 10-meter intervals. The buoys are set at every other marker.
They started out at 8 a.m. and were just getting in the water around 10 a.m. The wind cooperated and the Downees got in two dives, at two hours each.
The waters in Noyo are notorious for being muddy, but that day, the visibility was at 20 feet. They worked quickly and removed 487 pounds of purple urchins, bringing them up to the dock to be counted, sized and documented.
While they were out, the Downees reported seeing an abandoned schooner anchor, and remnants from the old mill, including cables and wheels. They also saw only one abalone and just one good-sized starfish.
At the dock, a team of three monitored, gathered, measured and checked the insides of a random sampling of the urchins.
Their plan is to catalog 150 urchins each day, and are looking to see what the urchins are feeding on and if they have reproductive capabilities. The data will help scientists understand what’s happening under the water.
In the future, and alternating dives, another team will go out, weather allowing. Once they confirm Reef Check’s protocols work in Noyo Bay, they will start the process over again in Caspar.
Fishermen strike back
The commercial fishermen are being paid $500 per day per diver, plus $600 for the boat and captain, and up to $90 per day for fuel depending on which area they are clearing. Most of the money is coming from the Ocean Protection Council, which awarded Reef Check $500,000.
In addition, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has awarded the project $75,000 and the Watermen’s Alliance has promised up to $60,000 from its kelp restoration fundraising efforts.
The commercial fishermen are making enough to cover expenses right now, but they are used to tough times.
In 2019, Grant Downee said he saw a 75% drop in income — but he isn’t throwing in the towel yet.
“My family is here; my kids go to Redwood Elementary, where I went. Their teachers remember me,” he said.
Downee continues to commercially fish when he can, working with his father Patrick. When he can’t fish, he finds side work to pay the mortgage. The pair are the only red urchin fishermen left out of Noyo Harbor, Downee said.
Earlier in the week, the Downees dove for red urchins at a depth of 90 feet. It’s the only depth they can be found now.
Return of kelp forest
The push is to get a program in place that is science-based, and Reef Check is hopeful it will lead to further funding. The program has been in place since early 2018, when the KELPERS Alliance started holding community meetings to explain the situation and the problem it was causing.
The KELPERS Alliance is a consortium of nonprofits, commercial fishermen, government agencies and sport divers all working together to restore the forest off the Mendocino Coast.
The plans that McHugh is helping to implement were developed by California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Greater Farallon’s Association in conjunction with the KELPERS consortium.