sbrobert
By Robert Bernstein
My unicycling partner Danielle has a son Charles who is exceptionally skilled at finding and gently handling wildlife. We all met up at Coal Oil Point Reserve to see what Charles could find. The dream find would be an octopus.
Here are all my photos and videos!
While we were waiting to meet up with Danielle and Charles we met up with Cris Sandoval and Kevin Lafferty who have managed Coal Oil Point Reserve for decades.
They are scientists and also excellent caretakers of this precious habitat. One of their greatest successes has been the restoration of the snowy plover such that there have been generations of baby plovers born under their stewardship.
One of the greatest challenges has been with dogs, which are rightly perceived as a threat by the plovers. A plover does not have to be killed to keep it from breeding. Just a perceived threat is enough. Please do your part and do not bring dogs into any wildlife preserves.
Cris Sandoval explained that the tidepools at Coal Oil Point Reserve are a Marine Protected Area. She said that this protection keeps this area diverse and rich in marine life.
We saw these odd patches of broken seashells on the beach:
We quickly realized these were sea anemones that had been exposed at low tide. Kevin explained that the anemones actively collect the shell fragments to protect themselves from exposure. He also told us that many of these anemones are 100 years old or more! Even more reason to be careful where you walk around tidepools.
Of course this is how they look when happily submerged:
We also were happy to see vertebrate wildlife like this heron, with Isla Vista as its backdrop.
And this egret taking off nearby.
Eventually we met up with Danielle and Charles who had already been scouting for a while.
Charles soon spotted this small fish:
And a number of crabs, including this one:
Charles started carefully turning over rocks. After just a few tries, we saw a tentacle poking out. Yes! It was good-sized octopus! A two-spot octopus. So named because they can make two blue spots appear, one on each side. As you can clearly see below and to the right of the eye of the octopus in this photo:
Here is a video of Charles and Danielle with the octopus and a bit at the end where I got to briefly hold it.
Definitely the highlight of the day!
There were some other interesting finds as well. Charles pointed out this chiton embedded in a rock. Chitons are marine mollusks.
Related to this other mollusk that he found
And, of course, we saw plenty of these mollusks that we all know well!
And Merlie spotted this small shrimp which I briefly caught on video as it quickly darted around.
In case you don’t recognize Danielle without her unicycle, here we were together just before the start of the Solstice Parade in 2017!
Here are more photos of us in Pali’s Flaming Heart Grand Finale that year when the theme was “Celebrating Unity”!
[Ed Note: The article has been updated with an explanation that the tidepools are a protected area, per the author.]
SPEARO – Sorry you hate those who try to protect our natural environment, but you’re wrong and it’s clear your “concern” is just a backhanded swipe at “eco-warriors.” NOTHING in the CDFW outlaws walking among tide pools and picking up shells to look at. Further, while it’s not the best practice, even picking up and handling an octopus is not a “taking” within the regs – “the term “take” is defined by Fish and Game Code section 86 as hunt, pursue, catch, capture, or kill, or attempt to hunt, pursue, catch, capture, or kill. ” —- gently picking up an octopus to look at and take photos is neither hunting, pursuing, catching, capturing or killing. It’s just picking one up and looking at it. I agree they should have left it alone, but it’s not illegal to do anything they did.
A physicist is a scientist, which you (anonymous poster) said he is not. Just like an apple is not an orange, but they are both fruit.
VOR, really excited to see you ask for a doctor, any type of doctor, when you need a surgery.
I bet the octopus voted against being handled by an apex predator who eats calamari and octopi. Too bad for them we don’t have to listen to them.
Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” Just fulfilling our Christian and manifest destiny, right?
PITMIX – I bet the octopus voted FOR people like Roger and other thoughtful humans who gently handle it and put it back, and FOR biologists who also handle and study them in order to help their species thrive.
Remember folks, you don’t need to be a “scientist” to know how to properly and gently handle wildlife. All you need is compassion and an understanding of the creature you’re touching.
yuk…who eats calamari? and that is squid BTW, not octopus. ive had both, and both are just as fishy and gummy as you would think.
Thanks for sharing the lovely pics, ROBERT. It’s nice to see experienced and knowledgeable folks leading tide pool excursions and probably also teaching proper handling and care for the beasties that are examined. Better than a bunch of yahoos stomping all over destroying everything they touch. Oh, and thanks for another excuse for the Ed drama to rear its ugly, polarized and often hateful excuse for human discourse.
Sac, no way that octopus voted to be handled, even if it was St. Francis himself. Look but don’t touch, please.
It is indeed… especially with a nice sauce and cooked correctly so it isn’t rubbery. Best food I’ve ever had.
We should go and turn over their house and see how they like it!
PITMIX: I like you more and more all the time. Everyone: Stay out of the tide pools. Just walking around on the rocks is causing harm. Poking, prodding, handling are all invasive activities. Admire from afar and leave such ecosystems be.
I may be nuts but I think we should leave wildlife alone and not pick it up or disturb it for a photo op. You can get a great photo from a distance without potentially harming marine life.
Yeah, I thought the oils on your hands were harmful to marine life? Plus the sanitizer or whatever else you might have on them these days.
I don’t think there’s much harm in turning over a bunch of rocks to discover what lies beneath. It seems that Robert and his friends were just enjoying nature seeing what hidden things they could find, and they found this little guy. I believe Robert is a scientist, and knows what he’s doing and how to handle sea/land animals with minimal invasion. It was probably quite an adventure for the octopus….plus, it’s not good to hide under a rock all day!
He’s not a scientist. And people should not handle marine life.
If any of these people were scientists they should know that Coal Oil Point is inside the Campus Point SMCA (state marine conservation area). Which outlaws basically all of what you people did.
“It is unlawful to injure, damage, take, or possess any living, geological, or cultural marine resource for commercial and/or recreational purposes, with the following specified exceptions:
Take pursuant to the operation and maintenance of artificial structures inside the conservation area is allowed pursuant to any required federal, state and local permits, or as otherwise authorized by the Department.”
Don’t touch the animals. Don’t touch the rocks. Don’t stomp around the tide pools. Stay above the mean high tide line.
You eco-warriors pushed your agenda to get this reserve installed, abide by the rules, just like the fishermen that lost this area have to.
Oh stop people. Checking out tide pools is perfectly legal and something any inquisitive person does. Yeah, leave the octopus alone and don’t keep bugging it, but it’s OK to pick up shells to look at. Come on. If we didn’t have caring, curious people out there exploring and observing wildlife, we’d be a society of dullards.
Nice photos, good intentions. It’s nice to get out and enjoy our natural resources in our fresh sea air. I’d leave the little water creatures alone, as per the reasons noted by Pitmix. Dogs need to be on a leash at low tide and their “deposits” removed. The only sea creatures I’d bother would be during surf fishing (with a license and at the appropriate times). The bigger the fish creature I bother the better. Cooked in olive oil, relished with tartar sauce…yum. So what I’m trying to say is there’s appropriate bothering and inappropriate bothering of sea creatures. 🙂
Its ok for the privileged to enter an area prohibited from public access to abuse wildlife. Just get ready to have more of our state lands and sea set aside and our access prohibited.
https://deadline.com/2020/10/california-governor-gavin-newsom-orders-30-of-states-lands-be-preserved-by-2030-1234593112/
A physicist is not a biologist. Just like Ph.D is not an M.D.
SAIL380 – This area is NOT prohibited. The only thing you can’t do here is take marine life (ie, fishing, clamming, etc). NOTHING in the CDFW regs prohibit people from checking out tide pools at Coal Oil Point or picking up shells. Messing with an octopus is not cool, but it’s not necessarily unlawful either, UNLESS you capture it to kill.
omg people really? now you are going to collectively complain about people checking out marine life in tide pools? move to bakersfield….then you won’t have to hear about these awful people that gently pick up marine life in tide pools to inspect and educate themselves about. yeah! let’s also free all of them that are at the sea center too. let’s stop fishing while we’re at it, and sailing and boating all together. Seriously folks, get a better hobby. These people produced great photos, names and educational material for the masses and you want to pick it apart? PEOPLE HANDLE MARINE LIFE ALL OF THE TIME ACROSS THE GLOBE. Get over it.
Sac, fully agree and some of these comments…good god what is wrong with these people. picking them apart for doing what we do with tide pools.
thanks Sac….we rarely seem to agree, but i’m 100% with you on these posts Sir.
Yeah, those touching pools at the Sea Center and Aquariums also seem weird to me. I think they have a lot more to do with catering to the public and what they like, and also maybe hoping to get people interested in conservation, than some scientist really thinking that being handled is the best thing for that particular creature. What kind of life is that? Just another zoo, really.
Selective reading, Sacjon. Earlier in that same article, which is only talking about photography: “For the sake of discussion, please assume photography is for recreation, habitat is not altered and that **wildlife is never touched, possessed or otherwise under the control of the individual** behind the lens.”
The definition of “take” in the code still applies.
ARTEMISIA – right, but you missed the main point – that ” the pursuit as listed within the “take” definition includes only pursuits that result in take or attempted take of the animal.” – That means, unless touching and holding the octopus for a brief time was intended or did result in a taking, then it was not a “pursuit.” Look, what I’m getting at is that all these claims that Robert broke the law for taking a marine animal are excessive. You can finagle all you want with the language, but you would never get a court to convict for a taking when you pick up an octopus to look at it briefly. Now, if it were an endangered species, you’d have a better point.
Bottom line: people are allowed to explore the tide pools and pick up animals gently to observe. If you feel so strongly, please file a report with the CDFW and let us know how that goes.
This reminds me of the stories in the LA Times about early in the pandemic where people were going to their tidepools and wiping out the marine life there. If you like something natural, publicizing it is the best way to ruin it. They are very sensitive to human impacts.
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2020-07-17/unprecedented-crowds-are-harvesting-sea-creatures-from-san-pedros-famous-tide-pools
After watching My Octopus Teacher, I vote to protect these amazing creatures from harm world-wide. Robert, what are you thinking grabbing an octopus in a marine protection area?!
SPEARO – they didn’t take the octopus. They held it and looked at it for a while. That is not a “taking.” “Pursue, catch, capture” is for the purpose of taking (ie, pursuing animals to catch, capturing crabs, etc), not picking up an octopus to look at it. I’ve fished salt and fresh all over this area my whole life and I know what a taking is. Walking on rocks is not a taking either. Stomping on sea anemones is, but not just standing on a bare rock. Kicking, picking, standing on critters is bad and should not be done. No one here is saying that. Algae?? You’re concerned about tide poolers killing algae now? How about you call up the CDFW and report an algae “taking” hahaha!
No, it’s NOT illegal to explore tide pools carefully, even these ones. It IS illegal though to harm or kill sea life in this area. That didn’t happen. Show me where in these videos they were standing on sea life?
By your logic, walking on the beach is a taking if you step on a sand flea. Do you see how absurd that is? Everyone off the beach! Spearo is protecting the ants and sand fleas from being hunted to extinction!
Robert, as your undesignated lawyer, you might want to take down this post, as it verifies your illegal behavior – no charge for my services (this time) –
Campus Point State Marine Conservation Area – It is unlawful to injure, damage, take, or possess any living, geological, or cultural marine resource for commercial and/or recreational purposes, with the following specified exceptions: Take pursuant to the operation and maintenance of artificial structures inside the conservation area is allowed pursuant to any required federal, state and local permits, or as otherwise authorized by the Department.
SBZZ – If you were a “lawyer,” you’d research the intent of the meaning behind “take” and discover that it doesn’t apply to gently picking up an octopus in a tide pool to look at.