Positional information is collected from transponders aboard vessels and used to help ships avoid collisions and give port authorities traffic control information. You can look up the traffic in other geographic areas on their web site as well.

Photo of Rhinoceros Auklet from cs.birdwatchingdaily.com

Right now, northern elephant seal mating season is in full swing at Ano Nuevo State Reserve, a wildlife hotspot about a one-hour drive south of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. The seals are the loudest, largest, and most obvious beneficiaries of that reserve’s protected status, but the island just offshore provides critical breeding habitat to a number of seabird species.

Of special interest is the rhinoceros auklet, a puffin-like bird that grows a distinctive horn on its bill during mating season. The species ranges around the Pacific rim from Japan to California, but because it nests in burrows, it needs a place like Ano Nuevo Island, which is free of animals (bobcats, foxes, coyotes, and their domesticated kin) that prey on nestlings. In fact, Ano Nuevo Island and the Farallon Islands are the only spots in California where these birds breed, which makes it a “species of special concern” to the California Department of Fish and Game.

Recently researchers, artists and volunteers have deployed ceramic burrows dubbed “love shacks” on the island to help the rhinoceros auklet in its fight to survive. The human-made nests are part of a multi-year effort to restore Ano Nuevo Island to the pristine natural conditions wrecked by lighthouse keepers who arrived in the late 1800s. Read more about the Ano Nuevo Island Restoration Project and the fascinating wildlife it protects in this San Jose Mercury News article.

Enforcing the no-take law falls to the extremely understaffed California Department of Fish and Game. The department has just one large vessel plying the waters along the Central and Northern California coast, and fewer wardens per capita than any other coastal state. Poachers take advantage of wardens being spread so thin; recently crab traps were set within the boundaries of Montara State Marine Reserve. The low fines meted out by judges for poaching, set against the current price of crab, makes the gamble worth taking for some fishermen. Read more about the challenge of protecting MPAs in this San Jose Mercury News article.

But as early as December 2011, beachcombers in Neah Bay, WA and on Vancouver Island began reporting tsunami debris washing up on their coastline. While most debris is expected to move at about 7 mph, larger items pushed along by the wind may reach 20 mph. But there is debate over whether the reported flotsam and jetsam, which ranges from lumber to bottles, is linked to the tsunami, since debris from Japan frequently washes up along west coast beaches. (Generations of beachcombers have collected glass Japanese fishing floats, for example.)

No one is certain how much material was washed into the ocean by the tsunami surges. Initial estimates of 5 to 10 million tons are now believed to be too conservative. Some researchers believe there is a debris field the size of California where currents have corralled the material.

Some scientists contend that most of the debris from the tsunami will break up and sink before reaching the shores of Hawaii and the west coast of North America. Others hypothesize that unmanageable concentrations of large objects such as damaged boats, vehicles, household appliances, and parts of buildings may damage sensitive areas. A few ships have reported spotting large items floating in mid-ocean.

Researchers from institutions and agencies around the world are predicting and studying the movement of the items in hopes of learning more about ocean water movements. But unlike research buoys released expressly for study or cargoes of plastic toys lost overboard in storms, the rubble of the tsunami is a reminder of a tremendous loss of human life.

Some human remains are likely to wash ashore, and there is concern about toxic waste as well. Because the trouble with the Fukushima power plant began after the tsunami waters receded, government agencies do not anticipate problems with radioactive materials washing ashore.

NOAA’s Marine Debris program web site has a page complete with a video about how agency researchers are monitoring the situation and trying to come up with solutions that cover every contingency.

But it seems that only time and tide will eventually answer our questions about what will wash ashore in the wake of Japan’s 2011 tragedy.

And Playing in the Sands is a site based on an educational poster (available for purchase on the site) that shows you close-up photos of sand from different locations around the world. Click on the small images in the lower pane to see them magnified in the upper pane. There is an amazing variety and some are quite beautiful.

World famous surf spot Mavericks is visible from the south part of FMR.

One of the reserve’s closest neighbors is the world-famous surf spot called Mavericks.

Surfline.com has a fascinating feature article about how wind, waves, and the underlying offshore geology (called bathymetry) combine to create one of the world’s top five surf experiences.

The feature is a slideshow-like presentation of text and beautiful graphics; use the “previous” and “next” tabs you’ll find in the upper left corner (after the 15-second ad times out) to navigate through it:

http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/mechanics-of-mavericks_62313/

Sunset from Seal Cove Beach

Retired FMR Supervising Ranger Bob Breen is one of the experts interviewed in a short news segment about climate change impacts in the bay area. Bob walks the beach at FMR as he talks with Doug McConnell about the changes he has already seen as the water warms and the sweeping changes he expects to witness as the trend continues.

View the video by clicking this link.

The segment first aired on December 9, 2011.

The sunflower star has up to 22 legs and can measure 3 feet across.

The sunflower star is one of the most special finds in the reserve. And not just because they have so many arms (up to 22!); they prefer to hunt in the deeper zones of the intertidal, and so they are most visible during very low minus tides.

Other stars we saw included bat stars, ochre sea stars of both the purple and orange varieties, leather stars, and the pink star.

Bat stars can be pink, gray, brown, red and blue as well as this bright orange.

Visitors who watched patiently saw this leather star move around on tube feet.

Ochre stars can be orange or this dark, almost brownish purple.

The pink star has graceful, tapering arms.

Seal Cove Sunset 27 November 2011

Volunteer Carol Davies uses her harbor seal hand puppet to explain the rules to visitors while they view harbor seals from a safe distance.

At FMR, the relatively small (under 150 lbs) and shy harbor seals rule the beach when they come ashore to rest during low tides. Due to their federally protected status as marine mammals, humans are required to stay at least 100 yards away from their resting areas. Depending on where seals opt to haul out, large swaths of the tidepools may be inaccessible to visitors.

Over the 2011 Thanksgiving weekend, this was a common scenario when extremely low afternoon tides brought thousands of visitors to the tidepools.

One of the most important tasks that volunteers perform at FMR is explaining the rules and preventing visitors from disturbing the resting harbor seals. While guarding the seals’ seclusion on Friday, volunteer Carol Davies came up with a great way to take the sting out of asking visitors to proceed no closer: she used a harbor seal hand puppet to do the talking!