Hearing on protecting Cove 2 from GPO harvesting happening n

[spatman]

You can see a live stream at http://www.tvw.org. Scott Lundy is on now.

And in a surprising move, Dylan Mayer opened the comments by also advocating a no take zone in the coves.

[selkie]

It was a steep and hard learning curve. I am glad to see he is attempting to climb it. He may need a few mentors that live up that way to help.

[John Rawlings]

You can see a live stream at http://www.tvw.org. Scott Lundy is on now.

And in a surprising move, Dylan Mayer opened the comments by also advocating a no take zone in the coves.

Great! That is one heck of an "olive branch" and I would hope that our community will choose to see it that way. I would think that his statement would have a powerful influence on the commission, since they will all be well aware by now of how and why this all got started.

Unfortunately, our browser here at work is so ancient that I cannot even get a glimpse of the live stream. Good luck to everyone down there, with special thanks for representing us.

- John

[spatman]

It looks like its over now, and that maybe not everyone got a chance to speak. They will have an archived version up at some point for those interested.

[kitsapdiver]

Tremendous maturing and great action by Dylan. Exccellent! I think it's great to hear that he was there. I haven't gotten to see what he said yet, but it sounds like his actions are commendable, and I hope that his actions now get as much, or even more positive attention than his original actions.

Amazing Work Dylan!

[renoun]

The status of the meeting as a "special meeting" constrained the commission to only acting on their current agenda. The chair accommodated us by reordering the Directors Report to come before the Open Public Input portion of the meeting (thus discussion of wolves, sealions, etc.). This allowed the commission staff to discuss the GPO issue with the Commissioners prior to our testimony . While this was useful in orienting them to the current issues the Director stated that he didn't anticipate imposing an emergency closure unless there were more GPOs taken Seacreast. I think our testimony was well received and the Commissioners were very interested in the issue. Things look great in the long term but there will probably be an extended process to make permanent changes to protect both GPOs and highly used dive sites. There were some other interesting things that came up that I'll address in more detail later.

[lundysd]

I just spoke with an editor at the Seattle Times and repeatedly applauded Dylan's efforts today -- I also strongly suggested that we as a society let him and his family move on from this event and achieve some privacy. I believe she will be issuing a statement in the coming days.

Just in case he happens to read this: Dylan thank you for showing up today. It took courage and maturity, and I am very thankful we were able to chat briefly today and hopefully achieve some closure for you and your family.

Scott

[nwscubamom]

So here's my report on the WDFW Commission public input session this morning in Olympia:

Before we even got to offer public input, the Director (who answers to the Commission) gave them a report on what THEY recommended, of which 5 options were put on the table (BEFORE we even got to speak, mind you!):

1. Begin the process to make Seacrest Cove 2 a protected area. Permanently. I heard something about a 6 month process, IIRC.
2. Prohibit the take/harassment of octopus on eggs. (it was mentioned that this would obviously be difficult to enforce, so likely would involve a months-long closure during their gestational period).
3. Prohibit recreational take of GPOs state-wide.
4. Implement an emergency rule to protect Cove 2 immediately.
5. No action.

There was no 'ruling' on what should happen next - this was ONLY a public input session, and discussion and implementation of one or more of the above options (and possibly others, like protecting other dive sites in Washington with octopus habitat) will be discussed. If I hear anything, I'll be sure to let you know!

However, Director Anderson did mention that they did not feel an emergency closure was mandated at this point UNLESS ANOTHER OCTOPUS was taken from Cove 2. Then they would implement an emergency closure.

There was also mention by the dept of (what I feel is an antiquated) recreational use survey of scuba divers (and the reasons they dive) back in 1991. At that time, a surprisingly small amount of divers were involved in underwater photography (11%?), and only something like 47% dove to look at the critters.

I would like to propose (and spoke to Commissioner Jennings afterwards) that we conduct a more up-to-date survey of today's divers to give WDFW and the Commission, a better overall view of the various makeup of the diving population in Washington. Stay tuned!

I'm sure I could be missing or mis-remembering some items - so feel free to jump in and correct. Thanks to EVERYONE who showed up, whether you spoke or not.

- Janna

[Grateful Diver]

Adding my comments to those above ... great job to all who presented this morning, and a huge thanks to those who took the time to drive down there and show their support. I'm very glad Dylan decided to come down and speak. The young man I saw and spoke with today is someone I can respect ... because he earned it. This is, I hope, closure on what's been a contentious week.

One thing that really stands out is how emphatically the community can band together and rally around a cause. This is one of the many positives that has come out of this ... and in an odd way, we have Dylan to thank for it. So let's welcome him into the community, and reach out to help a fellow diver who's new and has a lot to learn.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Desert Diver]

Good job you guys. I hope some of you over there will reach out to Dylan (and his friend). I hope we get protection on Seacrest and other popular heavily dived spots.

Brian

[seainggreen]

Thanks for the update Janna!

Wow, sounds like a very productive meeting. This is fantastic. I would agree that an updated survey would be important as I think the diving scene has changed radically since then.

I am happy about how the community has come together around this issue, and that the unity shown has a good chance to lead to significant change.

Laurynn

[coulterboy]

Good job you guys. I hope some of you over there will reach out to Dylan (and his friend). I hope we get protection on Seacrest and other popular heavily dived spots.

Brian

My respect to both sides of the isle on this. First, our cause to protect the GPO's has been met with overwhelming support. Keep up the good work guys.

Second, for Dylan and his buddy (if his buddy was there), to be bold and brave enough to speak in front of a committee about how to protect the GPO's in the Northwest. That's very commendable.

I hope all the dive shops in the NW would also give Dylan and his buddy the opportunity to get their tanks filled with air again.
There's a lot of lessons to be learned from this. By the way Dylan, I'll dive with you any day, just give me a howler.

Adelante!

Tom

[diverden]

Thanks to everyone who made the trek and helped this happen. You guys are awesome! Hopefully it won't stall here.

[Jeremy]

Sounds like Dylan is finding some new friends! Good for you Dylan, and welcome to the community.

[ljjames]

http://wdfw.wa.gov/news/nov0812a/

[kdupreez]

I was there this morning and I want to say, it took a LOT of guts for Dylan to be there and face what probably seemed to him like lynch mob of over 20 divers..

Everyone there was very happy to see him and was receptive and welcoming.. Kudos to all there!

Dylan - I want to apologize to you for how all this has spun out of control and tell you that I respect the hell out of any 19yr old that can stand in front of 13 person Fisheries and Wildlife commission and support the diving community that has ostracized you.. That took a LOT of courage and I am well impressed at your decision to do this.

I also want to apologize for myself jumping to conclusions and saying things that in hindsight, should not have been said.

If you are as passionate about diving and the sport as you seem to be, I would be A-OK to take you for dives and ramp up that passion and skill.

If its more skill and training and mentoring that you seek - hit me up any day and lets get you back in the water and smile back on your face about diving and the world down there.

Soctt Lundy, Mike Racine, Fritz Merkel, Craig Williamson and everyone else who have pulled this together and gotten well over 5,000 signatures on that petition, well done and thank you..

We may have lost 1 octopus at a popular dive site, but we probably gained a lifetime of protected marine sanctuaries and garnered the support of the very person who took the octopus.. in my book, thats a win-win!

[kdupreez]

For those interested, here is a copy of the Handout given to the commission at the Washington Department of Fisheries and Wildlife hearing today, in support of protecting our beloved GPO

http://www.gue-seattle.org/wp-content/u ... andout.pdf

This was printed on high glossy paper together with a DVD of the video Laurynn made for us and a copy was given to each of the 13 commission members.

A copy was also given to each person attending the meeting. But I thought it would be useful for everyone to see what was presented.

[05TurboS2K]

I sure hope people are aiming to protect it just at a few sites not ban all octo hunting.

That said, I expect we won't have many hunting in popular sites after all the recent drama.