Pricey Little Water Bugs

And Other New California Laws

I got a glimpse the other day of an uncommon part of a beach lifegaurd’s job as law enforcement officer here in California and how they’ve recently strengthened state law regarding poaching as of January 1.

[ From the list of new California state laws enacted January 1st:
AB 708 (Huffman) - The illegal poaching of fish and wildlife poses a serious threat to California's wildlife species and biodiversity. Poaching cases are on the rise and California is particularly impacted because the current fines and penalties have proved insufficient to serve as an effective deterrent. AB 708 will establish minimum mandatory fines and increased revenue to local prosecutors to prosecute the egregious poaching of fish and wildlife in order to provide a serious deterrent to this illegal activity. ]

It was then, on new years day, that I went up Windansea in La Jolla, hoping to get some of the tail end of the swell that was happening throughout the Christmas holiday. It was flat, so instead I took a walk to the tidepools just north of the hut, at what is, on a surfable tide, Little Point and Simmons Reef. Passing the Windansea parking lot a saw a couple of older lifegaurds speaking to a pale little tourist guy in shorts who was wearing a t-shirt and wet sneakers and was holding a small knapsack in front of him. The first lifegaurd was saying something about how the tourist guy needed a fish and game license, and asked him if he had one on him.

The tourist guy replied quietly, in what may have been either a Russian or a Baltic accent, and the lifegaurd told him that if he had a license he was required to have it on him and that he was required to have a measuring device on him as well. The tourist emptied the contents of his knapsack onto the ground and five wriggling baby lobsters came tumbling out, looking more like large black aquatic insects than the full-sized restaurant food items we’re so used to seeing. Among many of the surfers who are locals at Windansea fishing and lobster catching is like a type of religion and you could feel the energy of the scene change as the tourist dumped these crustaceans out. The two lifegaurds and some of the people standing nearby at the edge of the parking lot became noticably agitated when the small size of the lobsters became evident. Mister tourist guy, who had an eastern European accent, looked embarrased and tried to diffuse the situation by speaking quietly and standing close to the one lifegaurd who was addressing him.

“This is a pretty serious offense,” the lifegaurd said to him. It wouldn’t be the only time he said it.

He told him the Department Of Fish And Game is cracking down on this, and that if the man “… had a fish and game license you’re supposed to know how big they’re supposed to be. You’re also supposed to have a measuring device on you and your license at all times.”

Then the other lifegaurd jumped in and, reaching down to the largest of the five crustaceans, said, “They’re supposed to be three and a quarter inches from here to here,” he said, touching the shell of the tail in two places.

The first lifegaurd who was doing most of the talking appeared clearly senior in rank and told the tourist that his partner was going to issue a citation to him now and asked him for his California driver’s license. The tourist seemed to indicate he didn’t have one on him. Mister lifegaurd didn’t like that much and when he then told toursit guy there’d be a fine, tourist guy asked how much it would be. Mister lifegaurd said he didn’t know but repeated that his partner was going to issue a citation now and told his partner to get something out of his vehicle. Tourist guy and mister lifegaurd talked a moment more and lifegaurd told him again that, “This is a pretty serious offense,” and that, “There’ll be a fine.”

Tourist guy asked the lifegaurd how much it would be.

“I don’t know,” said the lifegaurd.

Tourist guy asked something quietly about an alternative method of paying the fine, which I kind of expected was coming, and the lifegaurd answered tersely, “No. You have to go through the courts.”

Lifegaurd number two came back with his ticket book and sat down with tourist guy and cheerfully began getting info for the citation while lifegaurd number one gathered up the wriggling baby waterbugs to go put them back in the tidepools. Another job completed.

Now if they could creatively apply another new January 1 law and magically enforce the mortgage integrity laws retroactively, thusly erasing the last seven years or so of economic upheaval here due to shady home loaning practices, maybe affordable housing would be more of a reality than a goal here in the Golden state.

Read the list of new state laws at this link here: New 2010 California Laws.
Read about California lobsters here: allkayakfishing.com/hoop_netting/california_spiny_lobster.html.

Now, enjoy the sunset I photographed an hour later, as well as pictures of all the muscles and starfish I shot in a flash gallery HERE. Can’t cite me for that can you mister lifegaurd.

RR

Flash photo GALLERY – 38 photos

Click the pic for a larger version: