Kelpscape

California Can't Regulate Ship Exhaust

The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that California can't regulate exhaust from ships -- even in Long Beach Harbor and San Francisco Bay -- because the EPA has that authority.  Not much of a surprise, since California needs permission from the EPA even to regulate emission from cars. Ships pass though the Santa Barbara Channel by the dozens each day.  International law governs these ships; involvement by the state is tricky.  Passing though the channel, rather than outside the islands, cuts a lot of miles off a voyage from Asia. And every mile burns up lots of oil.

A local furniture manufacturer told me that it costs about $8 to ship a futon frame to China and back, via one of these shipboard containers.  It's hard for local companies to compete with the lower costs of labor and looser environmental regulations over there.

Morning Fog

We're getting lots of morning fog lately, on the mainland.  Here it is rolling in over Santa Rosa in the foreground and Santa Cruz in the background.

Juvenile Vermillion Rockfish

Juvenile Vermillion Rockfish, at Refugio Beach.

Ship Strikes Killed Blue Whales

Biologists at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History presented results of necroscopies of blue whales that washed up on local beaches last fall: the whales were killed by ship strikes. They surmise that the whales were in shipping lanes because the krill was there, and that the whales probably didn't hear the ships approaching, because they were directly in front or because of background noise.

Last fall, after the blue whale deaths, ships deliberately slowed to 10 knots in the shipping lanes; that may have given whales more time to get out of the way.  We'll see where the krill shows up this year, and whether the ships slow down.

Red-Eye Medusa

Red-eye medusa at Refugio Beach.  These are not true jellyfish, but they can sting.

Juvenile Kelp Rockfish

This juvenile kelp rockfish was hanging out at Goblin Wall, just West of Prisoner's Harbor on Santa Cruz Island.  This is close to the Bight at Santa Cruz; conditions are usually pretty murky there. Somehow we hit a good day.

Nudibranch Eggs

Eggs of nudibranchs, on macrocystis kelp at Yellowbanks, near Santa Cruz.  Yellowbanks seems to get a lot of traffic from divers and fishermen, probably because it's a day trip from Santa Barbara or Ventura.  It seems to be doing pretty well lately, though.

Two-Spotted Octopus

Two-spotted octopus under a ledge, at Refugio Beach.  I'm not sure why this one was out during the daytime.

Young Swell Shark

A young swell shark peeps from the bottom cover of kelp fronds.  This youngster was at Refugio Beach.

Spotted Kelpfish

Spotted Kelpfish at Tajiguas. I can never tell spotted kelpfish from crevice kelpfish; maybe this is a spotted kelpfish, since the green spot is relatively unique.  I usually go with  spotted  kelpfish, since crevice kelpfish are said to inhabit deeper waters.  But, apparently even the pros have a hard time telling for sure.