200-pound black sea bass shot and killed off La Jolla, San Diego Tribune 4-26-05

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200-pound black sea bass shot and killed off La

Jolla, San Diego Tribune 4-26-05

 

Spear fisherman is arrested

 

Go to the actual article to see this beautiful

creature. Kurt

 

 

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20050425-9999-1m25fish.html

 

 

 

200-pound black sea bass shot and killed off La Jolla

By Janine Zúñiga

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

April 25, 2005

 

 

 

SEAN M. HAFFEY / Union-Tribune

Lifeguards David Rains (left) and Brian Ferguson

removed the spear from

the giant black sea bass.

 

A spear fisherman was arrested yesterday after a

200-pound giant black

sea bass, a protected species, was shot and killed.

 

The sea bass may have been well-known to local

swimmers in La Jolla,

authorities said. " People know that fish, " said San

Diego lifeguard Erik

Jones. " He hangs out at 'A' buoy and has been a friend

to many

swimmers. "

 

Omid Adhami, 34, faces two misdemeanor charges of

unlawfully fishing in

a reserve and possession of a protected species. If

convicted, he faces

up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for each

offense, said state

Department of Fish and Game warden Erik Fleet.

 

Jones said he saw Adhami and two other men in a small

fishing boat near

the San Diego-La Jolla Cove Ecological Reserve about

12:15 p.m. Jones

said he saw the boat pull up near the " A " buoy, one of

a number of

yellow buoys that mark the reserve's boundaries.

 

Giant black sea bass

A 1982 state law prohibits anyone but researchers from

taking the fish.

Once rare because of overfishing, the big, gentle

creatures have made a

comeback in recent years. While no one knows how many

there are, there

have been increased sightings of the giant black sea

bass off Southern

California. They are not afraid of divers, can live to

be 100 and range

in length from 3 to more than 7 feet and can weigh

more than 500

pounds.

 

 

 

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Video

 

Giant black sea bass remain rare, even in La Jolla

Cove Ecological

Reserve.

Cable-DSL / 56k

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Jones said he kept an eye on the men since they were

so close to the

512-acre reserve. Established in 1972, it is one of

the first and largest

no-fishing areas along the California coast and has an

abundance of sea

life.

 

Jones said the men were in scuba gear with tanks and

had spear guns.

About half an hour later, he said, the men were

" wrestling something

pretty large " in the reserve. " They fought with it for

about five minutes, "

Jones said. " It took all three of them to get it in

the boat. "

 

" I dispatched one of our rescue boats, which escorted

them to the

dock, " he said. " We caught them a mile away. "

 

Fleet said Adhami told investigators that he was not

inside the

reserve.

 

" He told us he didn't know what the fish was and that

he was afraid of

it, " Fleet said. " But if you've fished for any amount

of time, you know

what a giant black sea bass looks like. "

 

The two unidentified men with Adhami were released.

 

As he was being taken away in handcuffs, Adhami was

asked by a reporter

if he knew the fish was protected. Adhami replied:

" No, ma'am, I

didn't. "

 

Jones said he's fairly certain that the black sea bass

killed yesterday

has been in the reserve for many years. Officials

estimated the fish

was 50 years old.

 

" A lot of people are going to be shocked that he was

shot, " Jones said.

" If it's the same fish, and it likely is, it would

come right up to

you. "

 

Lifeguards pulled the long spear out of the bass and

loaded it in

Fleet's truck. The fish was taken as evidence to the

Fish and Game

Department's San Diego office.

 

Lifeguard Lt. Rick Wurts said San Diego lifeguards and

Fish and Game

officials are investigating and more charges may be

filed.

 

 

 

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Janine Zuniga: (619) 498-6636;

janine.zuniga