Not to Ocean Defenders Alliance

By Founder & President Kurt Lieber

This is a headline from a recent article from National Geographic.  We here at Ocean Defenders Alliance (ODA) are not at all surprised about this "recent" revelation because, unfortunately, we have seen so much ourselves.  
I've been diving in California since I moved here in 1979.  I am not surprised, but I am constantly appalled by all the trash I see on the beach, on the surface, and on the sea floor.  All of our volunteers feel the same way. That is why we have dedicated so much of our time-and much of our lives-to do what is in our power to remove this garbage that kills marine life in so many insidious ways.

by Founder and President Kurt Lieber

Watch a great short video by our awesome volunteer Walter Marti:

With the end of the lobster season six weeks behind us, we headed out to Palos Verdes under a sunless sky on Sunday, April 28th to remove abandoned traps which I knew were likely left behind by fishermen and still ensnaring animals.

Onboard were many longtime and trusted divers: Steve Millington (dive team coordinator), Andy The, Shingo Ishida, Billy Arcila, John Krieger, Walter Marti (videographer), and Dudley McLaughlin (still photographer).  Rounding out the crew were Jim Lieber (1st Mate) and Roger Russell.

Steve, Andy, and Shingo brought along some underwater scooters to help them cover more ground in our search for abandoned lobster traps.  That bulky equipment coupled with all the camera gear and many volunteers, made the boat feel a lot smaller than her 40-foot length.  

by Founder and President Kurt Lieber

In 2010, I attended the Ocean Blue Film Festival, held every other year in Monterey, CA.  It's a rare film festival that concentrates solely on issues related to our oceans, and I've met some incredible people there over the years.  People like Hank Ballard, Alexandra Cousteau, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Mike DeGruy, David Guggenheim, Howard and Michelle Hall, Bob Talbot, J. Nichols…the list goes on.

In addition to all these people that are known throughout the world, I've had the chance to meet some of the cameramen (and women) who are doing their best to document and share the beauty of our water world.

By Founder and President Kurt Lieber

There are only a handful of people in the "ocean conservation world" with the stature and well-earned respect given Dr. Sylvia Earle.

ODA is honored to have her endorsement of our efforts to achieve a debris-free sea:

Sylvia Earle on the importance of ODA (click to play)A bit of history

I've known about Sylvia Earle for decades now.  In 1979 she stunned the entire diving community when she descended down 1,250 feet in the world's deepest solo dive without a tether to the surface; she was the first person to ever go down that far.  Then she went to 3,281 feet and set the record for the deepest women's solo free dive.  Since then I have read everything I could find about her bold adventures.  Fast forward to the present, and she is one of the most vocal advocates for ocean conservation in the world today! Read more: Dr. Sylvia Earle Dives in with ODA

By Founder and President Kurt Lieber

ODA Dive & Boat Crew on the ClearwaterThe end of March is always eagerly anticipated by all of us here at Ocean Defenders Alliance. Along with the start of a warmer season, it brings the end of the lobster-hunting season—both of which allow ODA to accelerate our trap and line removal activities. While we allow lobster fishermen an extra 2-week grace period from the end of the season (March 31) to remove their gear, we continue removing nets from sites all across Southern California.

On Sunday, March 31st, our team headed to the coast off Huntington Beach to remove net from a site we had been working on since early January. The site is called Savino’s Barge, and serves as an artificial reef. We motored from our slip in San Pedro under very cloudy skies, with not a hint of sunlight peeking through.

by Founder and President Kurt Lieber

With March in full bloom now, and the winter storms subsiding, ODA is gaining more opportunities to be back out on the water.  On Sunday, March 17th, we let loose the dock lines and headed out under cloudy skies with no wind.  The seas were pretty flat and our collective spirits were high.

I had received a report via our online "Report Debris" form that there was an abandoned trap inside the Pt. Vicente Marine Protected Area (MPA). As we approached the site, I noticed a floating marker with a black flag on it just outside the MPA.  This is how gillnets are identified.  As far as I know, gillnets are NOT allowed inside California state waters.  This thing was less than a mile off shore from Palos Verdes, and about a half mile long.

by Kurt Lieber

A good friend of Ocean Defender’s Steve Benivedas is on a panel that studies the abalone population in California. You may be aware, that abalone were hunted to near extinction off the coast of California and in recent years there has been some comeback, however, the Red Abalone are again in decline and restraint needs to be put on the fisheries to allow them to recover.

 This week, I received an email from Steve outlining an opportunity for the public to take part in a survey which will help the Department of Fish and Wildlife put together a “rule making package” to present to the Fish and Game Commission later this year.

by Founder & President Kurt Lieber

After chomping at the bit for the last two-and-a-half weeks, we finally got our chance to head back to Salvio’s Barge, 65-feet under water, just off the coast of Huntington Beach. Last time we tried, December 30^th, we got skunked by near zero underwater visibility.

Yesterday’s weather report (for Wednesday, January 16^th) said we would have flat seas and “warming” weather. Hah! It was half right. I got in my car at 6am and was greeted to a bone chilling 37 degrees as I headed to our boat Clearwater. Our faithful volunteers showed up on time and we pushed off at 7:35am.