Disease and overharvesting have depleted the types and quantities of abalones (Haliotis rufescens) found in Santa Monica Bay. The Bay Foundation has been trying to replace the marine snails to their natural habitats since 2010. Most recently, the organization has been spawning abalones in a research laboratory with plans to reintroduce them into the kelp… Continue reading Image of the Day: Ab Lab
Category: News Item
What’s Being Done to Revive L.A.’s Decimated Abalone Population
In the Bay Foundation’s two-year-old Abalone Research Laboratory on Terminal Island, abalone of varying sizes pass their days submerged in white tanks of saltwater. They look more like bewhiskered stones than snails, but when a palm-size one is removed from the water, the mollusk rises up on the muscular foot it uses to attach to surfaces… Continue reading What’s Being Done to Revive L.A.’s Decimated Abalone Population
SCAS Member Project Update: TBF Abalone Research and Restoration
The Bay Foundation (TBF), a research based environmental non-profit and affiliate of Loyola Marymount University’s Coastal Research Institute (CRI), constructed a laboratory for abalone research and restoration projects in 2016. This research lab allows TBF to conduct controlled experiments to better understand abalone broodstock conditioning and spawning behavior. The “Ab Lab” is located at the… Continue reading SCAS Member Project Update: TBF Abalone Research and Restoration
7 Creative Ways to Celebrate Earth Day
Pull some weeds: Join The Bay Foundation from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to help restore the Culver City Rain Garden, native landscaping designed to filter storm water runoff on its way to Ballona Creek. RSVP at santamonicabay.org for location information. …
A Giant Swath of Ocean off California’s Coast Could Get New Protections
What’s the best way to protect coral reefs and underwater sponge gardens from being damaged by fishing gear? Ban bottom trawling from a huge swath of ocean off of Southern California…. …The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s proposed ban would put almost the entire coast of Southern California, between Point Conception and the Mexico border up… Continue reading A Giant Swath of Ocean off California’s Coast Could Get New Protections
SMa.r.t.- Santa Monica’s Achilles Heel [Opinion]
Our expansive beaches largely define Santa Monica. How might our community be impacted, both financially and otherwise, should this vital asset disappear beneath the waves? Ironically, what makes our city so unique, may also be its undoing. As the earth warms, and sea levels rise, our city is becoming increasingly vulnerable to the ocean’s periodic… Continue reading SMa.r.t.- Santa Monica’s Achilles Heel [Opinion]
Become a Dockwalker
The statewide Dockwalker program continues its multi-year boater-education efforts with five free local Dockwalker workshops now through May…. “Boat owners appreciate the opportunity to fill out the questionnaire and receive information about environmentally-responsible boating,” states certified Dockwalker John Carroll. “[Boaters] are also thankful that someone is taking the time to spread the word about environmental… Continue reading Become a Dockwalker
“Floating Forests”: Sentinels of Biodiversity (in French)
“The Amazon without trees would not be the Amazon. California without its kelp forests is no longer California.” Tom Ford, director of the Bay Foundation in Los Angeles, is not alone in spinning the Amazonian metaphor at the mention of giant kelp forests. All specialists of this wonderful brown alga dare to compare with the… Continue reading “Floating Forests”: Sentinels of Biodiversity (in French)
Eco-Tip: ‘Dockwalkers Teach Boaters Environmental Safety: Training is Next Week
On Friday, volunteers will receive training and materials qualifying them to be official “Dockwalkers,” with access to local boaters at Ventura and Channel Islands harbors. Besides talking with boaters about environmental safety, Dockwalkers distribute Boater Kits, which include tide calendars, oil absorbent sheets, oil absorbent pillows and fuel bibs that can be placed around fuel pump… Continue reading Eco-Tip: ‘Dockwalkers Teach Boaters Environmental Safety: Training is Next Week
The LAX Dunes: Restoring Our Natural Environment
Trash and pollution affect natural habitats from the mountains to the sea. Similarly, invasive vegetation deprives animals of their preferred habitats, limiting their health and growth. To help reverse this negative trend at the LAX Dunes, The Bay Foundation (TBF) along with Friends of the LAX Dunes (FOLD) and community volunteers are making valiant efforts… Continue reading The LAX Dunes: Restoring Our Natural Environment