OUTDOOR NOTES : Announcement of Tainted Fish Drawing Mixed Reaction

There are tainted fish in our waters, eight species that the state says should be consumed in limited quantities or not at all if caught at various points between Point Dume and Newport Beach.

Surf fishermen have been warned about eating too much corbina and surf perch, pier fishermen told of the dangers of eating queenfish and white croaker, and boaters notified that sculpin and rockfish could contain unsafe levels of toxic chemicals.

That news, released last week after a four-year study by Cal-EPA, is reason for concern. But how it is affecting the Southland sportfishing industry depends on who is being asked.

Said Bob Wylie, whose Malibu store has been catering to Santa Monica Bay surf fishermen for decades: “I have people saying, ‘Boy, did you read about it?’ and I say ‘Yep. But I’m 62, been eating fish all my life, born and raised off 14th street in Santa Monica, and I still never have been to the doctor. I’m not worrying about it.’ ”

Are his customers?

“Naw,” Wylie said. “You know what? We’ve got a lot of people that love to fish, just like golfers and tennis or bowling or what have you. They catch and release, unless they get something big and somebody wants the fish. No, that doesn’t bother them.”

At Redondo Sportfishing, business has actually picked up since the study was released, according to owner Terry Turk.

“They’ve said which ones are bad, so that means 99% of them are good,” Turk said, referring to the clearance given by the state to bonito, halibut and barracuda. “I just pass (the warning) off, because it definitely has not hurt our business.”

At 22nd Street Landing in San Pedro, manager Melanie Jones said the news hasn’t hurt her operation, even though she sends boats twice daily to Horseshoe Kelp, where sculpin and croaker were found to contain unsafe levels of toxins.

Jones said that the boats at this point of the season are targeting surface fish and thus there has been little in the way of public fallout.

“We have not, amazingly, got any phone calls regarding it,” Jones said.

But things are different within Los Angeles harbor itself. The area, particularly off the breakwaters and Cabrillo Pier, was hardest hit by the study, with recommendations that the public severely restrict their consumption of the species most often caught there.

George Gregor, an employee at Paul’s Tackle in San Pedro, which for years has catered largely to pier and breakwater fishermen in the harbor area, said business has dropped 30% in the last week.

“It stinks,” Gregor said of the study. “They didn’t explain everything about the contamination of the fish. I mean, you gotta eat it just about every day before you start glowing.”

Gov. Pete Wilson is about to name a replacement for Pete Bontadelli as director of the California Department of Fish and Game.

The governor’s office, which appoints state agency directors, and the DFG remain closemouthed on the matter, but speculation is that an announcement of a new appointment may be made as early as this week.

Bontadelli worked for the DFG as a special assistant to the director from 1984-86 and then as chief deputy director, and became the department head in November of 1987.

Briefly

SALTWATER--The arrival of squid in local waters appears to be just what the local fleet needed. Yellowtail have moved into Santa Monica Bay and are in waters around Catalina and San Clemente islands, and for the first time in several years, bluefin tuna have shown off the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

“A skiff got three of them yesterday and they’ve hooked some (Tuesday),” said Terry Turk, owner of Redondo Sportfishing. The tuna are averaging about 17 pounds.

San Diego’s fleet is still smarting as the tuna and dorado for the most part remain out of range of the overnight fleet. Long- and medium-range boats are finding bluefin tuna averaging 20-50 pounds near San Martin and Guadalupe islands. Best catch: a 200-pound bluefin taken by Oceanside’s Red Saunders aboard the Kanani Kai.

Bay Area: Salmon action has picked up, with many fishermen reporting limits at Buoy 1 outside the bay. The Salmon Queen had eight limits of fish to 16 pounds Tuesday.

Central coast: Conditions have improved and the search for albacore is expected to continue. The Ranger 85, running southwest out of Berkeley, did find the elusive tuna last week, apparently attracting the fish with lights in the water at night and baiting them in the morning. Twenty anglers took 40 albacore to 25 pounds last Thursday.

Cabo San Lucas: Blue marlin still feeding, with fish to 500 pounds reported daily. Yellowfin tuna averaging about 70 pounds and dorado ranging from 15 to 75 pounds. Tim Cunningham, Mission Viejo, celebrated his 18th birthday by catching a 72-pound bull dorado and three tuna at 70 pounds apiece. Bait supply is poor but green and yellow, and orange and yellow lures are working for billfish, red and white for tuna.

East Cape: Tuna are plentiful off the coast near Hotel Las Arenas, with most boats coming in with at least two fish. Dorado and sailfish are scattered throughout the region. Blue and striped marlin are prevalent in the southern stretch.

Loreto: Dorado are moving back south but sailfish and yellowfin tuna remain plentiful. Yellowtail fishing best in mornings at Punta Lobo with mackerel.