Cool Waters, Cool Nights

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This morning I woke up with the certainty that the fall season is here. My head was finally cool from a cold night, and the sun was only beginning to rise after six. The days have been noticeably shorter and, finally, the cooler air of October is here. Tomorrow, in the Bay Area I hear there might be some proper rain too. And I’m here for it. While the beaches might be cloudy and cold and the nights quietly call us into our homes, I’d say the fog and rain and cool air are a welcome change from all this sunlight which, at least in spirit, seems to clash against the stressors of the news and our world today.

But more than just the cooler air and its fitting feeling to the world at large, the fall often brings with it cooler waters, upwellings as they are called, that bring with them rich nutrients from the lower depths of the ocean. The upwells help to bring important nutrients that zooplankton, a key part of ocean food webs, rely on for sustenance. This upwell brings the return of many species of whales as they pass through or stay and feed off the growing numbers of fish arriving to eat these minuscule creatures.

Last September I went out past the Farallon Islands with a team of NOAA researchers to conduct general ocean climate information. Part of that research was counting the number of whales seen, another part of it was counting and identifying small amounts of plankton the scientists caught and brought with them back to the lab on land. As we boated out from Sausalito to the open ocean, humpbacks breached left and right. It was during one of the most spectacular whale watching runs along the coast of California that I have ever seen. On the shorelines across the Bay Area, people were amazed to watch humpbacks near endlessly cresting the waters. Where I surf in Pacifica, you could see them breaching just beyond the waves. It was truly spectacular.

However, while myself and onlookers marveled at this spectacle of fall, local crabbers were concerned it may portend another late start to one of their most important catches: Dungeness crab. This late start would likely occur due to a concern from the State that there were much higher chances of crab gear tangling and killing these whales. However, with the late start, it could likely jeopardize crabbers livelihoods, along with traditional holiday practices in the Bay Area.

I recently had the chance to speak with some crabbers and state officials about this situation for the amazing agriculture publication Offrange. Below, you’ll find the link to the story, explaining the situation, and why it’s likely that the Dungeness crabbing season, once again, may start well after the holiday season has ended.

Check out my article here!

I HIGHLY recommend going through Offrange’s archive of articles as well. Seriously some really interesting work being presented there, like this great piece by Tonya Abari on the history of Black Oyster Farmers.

Also, check out the most recent article in my column “Meet the Locals” on Bay Area native specie. And while your at it, think about subscribing to the Bay Area Current! They’re doing some really great stuff right now!

That’s it for now! More updates and a lil newsletter next week :)

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