(2022 Update!) Rebirth of a Reef: Palos Verdes Reef Restoration Project [18 Months Later]

[@gabrielagomes1510]

amazing work! keep it up!

[@ahndeux]

We visited the Trump National Golf Reef today. Amazing amount of life out there. The 4C and 8C area was very productive. Fishing was great. Packed the fridge full of meat. The Kelp Cutter setup with spectra did a good job of getting the fish out of the kelp forest. Great job on the reef!

[@VRGMarineBio]

Great to hear! 8C really has taken off this year with rockfish in particular. Nice, big, meaty vermilions patrolling the neighborhood.

[@ahndeux]

@@VRGMarineBio We didn't see any red vermilions in the area, however we did catch one that looked like a greenstriped rockfish. It had the classic green blotchy look to it. We released it since it was in shallow waters less than the 300 foot depth mark. Its definitely great to see a lot of life out there. We went back last week on Friday but fishing was not great. I believe it was due to the change in weather and the winds were blowing hard. Its definitely an amazing place for wildlife.

[@ahndeux]

@@VRGMarineBio One thing to note is there is a lot of HUGE smelt in the kelp fields. I'm guessing some of them are as long as 12 inches and more. They come in packs like wild hyenas. The calicos are on the skinny side as if they are not getting enough food. We let them go.

[@VRGMarineBio]

@@ahndeux For sure - the smelt have been racing through that part of PV all year I think. They've just been eating up the red tide all summer and getting thick and crazy. Hopefully the calicos get to feast on the next generation of smelt!

[@VRGMarineBio]

@@ahndeux very cool on the greenstriped. The other thing I've seen more on Block 8 than anywhere else on PV is lingcod. I think they're just sitting in the sand channels between the modules and crushing the surfperch all day and night.

[@silverhairseeker5539]

I remember back in the 70's when the urchins basically destroyed the kelp forests along the coast from San Pedro to Redondo but with the undying efforts of PURP and all the local dive shops and local divers who gave so much of their time to smash urchins. We got to see a new kelp forest begin and the barren landscape again become an inhabited sports fishery.

[@theloniusbuddha2776]

My daughter was horrified to learn I spent most of my research diving time crushing urchins with my knife! I eventually convinced her.

[@silverhairseeker5539]

@@theloniusbuddha2776 It's difficult for any who have never seen the devastation they can create to understand why we would wantonly destroy tens of thousands of "harmless" urchins unless they could have seen the before and after pictures. How in literally 2 seasons a rich biodiverse fishery went from thriving to something that looked like a lunar landscape, totally devoid of life.....well except for the starfish that fed on the urchins. I was amazed on my first PURP dive that there was simply nothing anywhere except on the bottom. Only urchins, start fish and the occasional crab......but mash a few urchins and magically out of nowhere (where the hell were they hiding) you are surrounded by several species of fish. It was all very surrealistic. My participation is one of my fondest memories. 👍😎

[@hunterhq295]

SHould have sea otters-They love eating urchin right?

[@silverhairseeker5539]

@@hunterhq295 It's been far too many years since I dove or even cruised the Palos Verdes Peninsula but back in my day we didn't have any Otters. My daughter and family live in San Luis Obispo and she sez that over the years the Otters have indeed ventured south to the Peninsula. They are not as common as up in SLO, but they do exist now. I guess I should take a trip down the coast and check it out for myself. Stay safe my friend 😎👍

[@1rmarks9]

Awesome 👏🏽

[@mdolstein]

Amazing work thanks for sharing this. Is there any reason we wouldn't continue building such reefs all along the coast?? Soo amazing for natural beauty, sport fishing, diving, etc

[@VRGMarineBio]

Two really important reasons: cost and permission. Both can be overcome, but it really is a very VERY expensive and time consuming process. In this case, the funds were there and the location was perfect, so permission was granted. The way we designed the reef, we are able to learn a lot of lessons - hopefully we can apply those lessons to build even better reefs elsewhere in the future!

[@lustxglory]

nice job

[@Believe6]

How does an every day diver volunteer with these groups as free labor?

[@FishingforMemories]

Are the coordinates available for this reef?

[@VRGMarineBio]

Absolutely! There are 18 different modules that make up PVR - here are the names and the coordinates: 4B 33.7215675°, -118.3464353° 4C 33.7211084°, -118.3463911° 4D 33.7219814°, -118.3468575° 5C 33.7204756°, -118.3449100° 5A 33.7215803°, -118.3454689° 5B 33.7210044°, -118.3450552° 8A 33.7190143°, -118.3401493° 8B 33.7185501°, -118.3406224° 8C 33.7180752°, -118.3404578° 7B 33.7199043°, -118.3424517° 7A 33.7203657°, -118.3420577° 7C 33.7193331°, -118.3423194° 6A 33.7210210°, -118.3435318° 6D 33.7205037°, -118.3435636° 6C 33.7199821°, -118.3435258° 2B 33.7228135°, -118.3494304° 2C 33.7225749°, -118.3487502° 2A 33.7231128°, -118.3499290°

[@differentseven]

Well done. But just like picking up plastic, we should be stopping coca cola from producing a million tonnes of plastic bottles every year. More control needs to be maintained on developers to stop the cause in the first place

[@eldente]

Man this is dope! Would love to film some stuff for you guys. I been doing a lot of diving there and shooting high quality footage, peep the page!

[@hunterhq295]

Oceans great way of controlling climate if raised right

[@IvnGs]

Amazing!!!