White Seabass Derby Lures In 108 Participants To Raise Funds For Restocking Project

[sdoceans]

White Seabass Derby Lures In 108 Participants To Raise Funds For Restocking Project

San Diego….How do anglers and spearfishers participate in their passion and simultaneously put more fish back in the ocean? 108 freedivers and anglers recently discovered how by participating in the 2nd annual San Diego Oceans Foundation White Seabass Derby. The Derby not only raised funds for the San Diego Oceans Foundation’s White Seabass Restocking Project, but also awareness in the fishing community for the need to turn in the heads of any legal length White Seabass caught.

For the Derby, registered anglers and spearfishers throughout California had the month of June to catch and weigh any legal length White Seabass, then turn it’s head. Weigh stations were located throughout California, from San Diego to Santa Barbara. After the official weight of a fish was recorded, the head was left at the weigh in station, then picked up by Hubbs Sea-World Research Institute (HSWRI) scientists for tag inspection (otoliths were returned upon request). The competition retrieved 29 white seabass heads, one of which had been tagged. The 33 inch long tagged fish, speared at Santa Catalina Island weighed in at 10.5 pounds. The fish had been released from the Catalina Harbor grow out facility exactly 3 years earlier, almost to the day.

Freedivers took the largest fish across the board. The First prize fish, with a weight of 67.3 lbs, was taken by John Haffner and earned an award of $500 cash. With a quiet gesture of generosity, John donated his cash prize back to the restocking program to spawn, raise and release more fish! Second prize went to Eric Friedrichsen for a 57.3 lb fish and earned an Evolution Speargun Package for his efforts. Third prize was awarded to Dave Ness for a 56.5 lb fish and was awarded an Adaptation Cammo Wetsuit
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First prize of $500 cash for anglers went to Tyler Webb who returned a 42.8 lb fish. Second prize was earned by Corey Wyrick with a 35.0 lb fish and received $300 cash. Corey Wyrick also took the third place prize of $150 cash, with a 26.7 lb fish.

After the competition closed, participants met at the HWSRI Hatchery in Carlsbad for the final ceremonies and awards presentations. Everyone feasted on lunch, met the scientists, toured the hatchery and received awards, prizes, and recognition for their accomplishments.

The derby was a great success; participants had fun and commented that they are looking forward to next year’s event. Information on the restocking project as well as the 2008 White Seabass Derby can be obtained by calling (619) 523-1903 or visiting www.sdoceans.org.


White Seabass Restocking Project

This restocking program is a partnership between Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute (HWSRI), the San Diego Oceans Foundation, and many other groups in California. Through this program, white seabass are bred at the Carlsbad hatchery from larval stage to 3-inches, at which point a small "tag," inscribed with fertilization date and brood stock information, is inserted into the jaw bone of the juvenile fish. The fish are then transported to one of 15 grow-out facilities along the California coast, where they are raised by volunteers, then released into the wild after 3 months.
A secondary goal of the program is to collect the heads of white seabass caught by recreational and commercial fisherman. Scientists use a special wand to detect if the white seabass head contains a HSWRI tag (the tags are not visible to the naked eye). If a tag is found, scientists can determine how old the fish is, where it has traveled and other useful information to gauge the survivability of white seabass that have been released. Even if a tag is not found, scientists can take measurements and samples to learn about wild white seabass.