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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC AG PKT 2002-06-24 Supplemental - Newspaper Article, StingraysM • The Orange County Register The round stingray About stingrays One of the smaller stingray species, typically about the a Rays are members of t11le size of a dinner plate. cartilaginous family of fishes, which also Includes sharks. -.� . Rays feed on worms, crabs, snails, clams and small fish. .The California round is one of six stingrays with stingeis ' found in California waters. People stung by stingrays In Seal Beach 1997 133 1998- 198 1999 302 Focus I IN A stingray' Study • Discovery of a `superhabitat' has led researchers to shift their focus from de- stinging rays to trying to understand their behavior. By PAIGE AUSTIN The Orange County Register Wmdsurfer Tom Whit - tley drags his rig onto the Seal Beach shore. Thanks to the warm water and the currents from the San Gabriel River, it's a windsurfer's haven. At 3 p.m. on a June week- day, dozens of windsurfers race through the water. A few families splash around in the waves and some toddlers chase the foamy tide. But the real activity lies be- neath the RELATED ocean's sur- STORY face. « PAGE 1 California round rays, - auils -ap ay; yanoyy'siaautis "Ray Bay" - as the area just south of the San Gabriel River is known - to mate and bur- row under the sand to catch worms and shellfish. "(Scuba) diving along the beach, I see lads walking around in the water. The rays are everywhere and the people have no idea. said Greg Hoi- sington, a'Gatifornia State Uni- "<rsi,.ry, Long Beach, graduate student helping conduct a four -year study to learn more about stingrays and why they flock to Ray Bay. An average of 298 stin- gray- related injuries have been reported annually for the past five years along a stretch of beach less than a mile long at the mouth of the San Gabriel River. On some days, lifeguards treat as many as 13 stingray victims at the same time. About two life- guards have to work full time during summer months to deal with the injuries. URBANIZATION HELPED RAYS THRIVE Cal State Long Beach re- searchers two years ago launched the more than $80,000 study and a program to tag and clip the stingers. Where the rays are "Ray Bay " in Seal Beach is a favorite location of ,iiny a, s Habitat: Shallow, sandy coast from _�.. lorsan Humbolt to Panama concentrated in venerating - -'J Southern California. plant jt td Why they like Seal Beach ii Rays may be attracted to "Ray Bay" because two power plants two miles 5i - upstream send warm water to the bay. Warm water .The sand may be softer and more - attractive to the rays because of the protection of the jetty, the breakwater and the pier. .Most of the rays' predators, such as °ore �a sharks, sea bass and elephant seal, have been fished out, killed or driven away. Paige Austin, George Turney/ The Register This "de- stinging" process seemed like the most ethical way of dealing with the rays, and unlike a disastrous city "fish out" in 1995, the program had the moral support of the city, the local business com- munity and environmental groups such as Surfrider. Researchers expected to find about 2,000 rays in the peak summer mating months. They figured the clipping would put a dent iul the num- ber of injuries. But `what we discovered was a 'superhabitat, "' said ma- rine- biology professor Chris- topher Lowe. "It's a rare case where urbanization has actually helped a species to thrive." 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It also means that Seal Beach's attempts to relocate the fish or kill them is in- effective, he said. ututacwiets and retau,.,, we upset wit Comfort Mattress t,.umpany L, wholesale to the public and the consumer too much 111. ,ay Mel and Niany Trudell, (_.ustoui Comfort. "bade, people me telling you thing, like 50`'70 ocluw retail, we won't be g,,w,wiced lowest pti,.cs, free, I hats all the big &,u)., want you Luuaun Mattress i.,,mpany st the real tru,;: mout the nuu,uy and what ,,;..,,c really the ieal quality conies from utatttc,,. The pretty fabrics are 1c,, want you to see, wia maybe Truuclls would show.u.,.j, and t mawcs, To say, CAL STATE Long Beach researchers catch the stingray, measure it, then clip the stingers and tag the ray to track it. "Aside from being uneth- ical, there are just too many of them to kill, and, as for relo- cating them, we don't even know how far they go and if they come back to the area," Lowe said. The de- stinging, too, is in- effective because the rays grow new stingers every year, researchers concluded. The latest findings have convinced researchers to shift their focus from de- stinging rays. The scien- tists say they will spend the remaining two years of their funded study tracking the rays, finding out where they go, why they are attracted to Seal Beach and understanding their behavior. The researchers began this new phase of study this month. u they will tell you how many spr like to invite the public to co hey'll inform the customer on wt -you get what you pay for," mig out the window. p NeNnn4w yy, ¢ 5y (714) 848 -9660 (849)8SS -6030 (714) 288-0 5311 MkFwdiwn Ave. 23871 W Fabrl=*s4Q2 650 Mat Ka ndt,.maeoeea�4rrm� r��+rem,yya aan offs eetw�tteer:� to (714) 848 -9660 (849)8SS -6030 (714) 288-0 5311 MkFwdiwn Ave. 23871 W Fabrl=*s4Q2 650 Mat Ka ndt,.maeoeea�4rrm� r��+rem,yya aan offs eetw�tteer:� OEM Getting stung Sting Vo shy and won't attack people. but Vy will. strjhe if h t owfeel threatened. Kaaur-sharp spines l©) lacerate swimmer's flesh \ 1 s paradise i Monday, lime 24, 2002 1 News 3 Avoid getting If You get stung stung Do the stingray shuffle. Don't walk the (*Let the wound bleed to wash away foreign particles. Shuffle your feet to surf up the sand and scare ® place the injury in away any unseen rays. water as hot as you can it for 45 to stand denature the toxin and relieve pain. OQ Notify a lifeguard. s into wound. descrmeu as pP �g o a nail and beg . ,Lung uy IN bees simultaneously. "I've seen Dig. touyi' surfers crying and have heard I I birth," said Seal Beach Lifeguard Chief Steve Cushman- '. Qlf pain or bleeding persists, if the wound is very large, or if there are signs of an allergic reaction, see a doctor immediately. Paige Austin, George Turney /The Register isington leads a seam that l try to pinpoint where the rs congregate. By scuba div- team members will watch e fish to see how close to ore they remain. could Hoisington's findings .lp swimmers and lifeguards nderstand where and when re rays move. So far, he's oncen- overed most ray, rate within 30 feet of shore. STUDY TO TRACK STINGRAYS' TRAVEL Graduate student Jeremy Vaudo, a San Pedro native, heads a team that will see how far the rays travel. His group will attach $300 transmitters the size of a Jolly Rancher candy to the rays and follow them, one at a time. Listening devices stationed from Belmont Shore in Long Beach to Bolsa Chica in Hun- tington Beach will record the time and water temp when rays pass by. One afternoon last week. the research team and v0hmn teers netted dozens of rays, collecting them on the beach ;_ � hnhv nool. They tagged. Iiii Stingrays flat -out thriving off Seal Beach By PAIGE AUSTIN The Orange County Register t s the stuff of science - fiction fantasy: Man -made conditions - including the thermody- namic waste of two power plants - has led to the creation of a stingray "superhabitat." Scientists discovered thou- sands of the creatures carpeting the shoreline, sharing the surf with unsuspecting swimmers whose toes and ankles mingle with hundreds of the unseen bot- News 3 tom dwellers. But it's not fan- tasy. This is the reality of "Ray Bay," say researchers at Cali- fornia State University, Long Beach, who estimate that the northern section of Seal Beach shoreline is home to at least 16,000 stingrays. Earlier estimates set the Seal Beach stingray population at 2,000 at most. Scientists' latest findings hint that the city's attempts to con- trol the stingray population have been pointless, and that people will have to change the way they share the beach with the rays, said Christopher Lowe, marine - biology professor at California State University, Long Beach. 4"aaaft