Free Diving vs Rock Picking

Free Diving vs Rock Picking

     As you all know, I free dive for abalone, so naturally I have a rather strong bias against rock pickers.

    First I'll define both free diving and rock picking. Rock picking entails wading along the coast and flipping rocks to see if there are any abs attached. Typically for a rock picker to be successful he or she needs to have access to private coastline, the lack competition on private land turns this "sport" into more of a harvest. 

     Free diving is when you dive into the depths of the pacific whilst holding your breath in search of these prized mollusks. To free dive you must be in excellent physical condition, you have to hold your breath as you fight the current, getting smashed against rocks, and tangled in kelp. Free diving gets even more complicated once you've found the abalone, now you must pry the reluctant snail off the rocks while still holding your breath. Abalone can be very tough to pry, imaging trying to pry a door off its frame while holding your breath, it's kinda like that.

     In conclusion; given the hazards and skill that free diving requires  over rock pickers, the scavengers of abalone, free diving is in fact the superior form of harvest. 

Diving gear and dive gear accessories

GEAR!!!!

(PART 1)

      

     When you first walk in to the dive shop, you will enter a new world of gear and equipment. It can be rather overwhelming for the novice diver, especially if you don't know exactly what you're looking for, but do not fear, I'll be your guide!

     Lets first discuss the wonderful world of wetsuits. There are wetsuits for every occasion, seeing how this occasion is ab diving on the north coast of California, so I advise wearing a 2 piece with hood, gloves, and booties. The main body and hood should be 7 mil, the gloves and boots can be thinner.

     When dealing with gear, specifically gear made of neoprene (wetsuits and such), it is very important to clean them after every dive, this keeps the neoprene from degrading quickly. 

     This is the first of many posts regarding gear, till then, happy diving.

Know Your Prey

     Before you start to worry about the gear and finding dive partners, you must first have an understanding of the basic rules and regulations regarding the sport harvest of abalone.

     The basic regulations are pretty straight forward, you can take 3 abalone a day and up to 18 per season. The abalone must be at least  7 inches in length and must be "Red abalone, Haliotis rufescens".

     Now it is true that the list of regulations go on and on and on, but luckily for you the California Department of Fish and Game have them easily accessible on their website, http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/invertebrate/abalone.asp, here you can find all the regs you could dream of and more!

(Some of the info is outdated)

     I have also found a wonderfully lame info video produced by Fish and Game. It is both informative and incredibly lame at the same time!!!!!

Happy Diving,

-Chris