White Point
Location: Rancho Palos Verdes, California
Site/Wreck: White Point
Divers:
Team 1: Sean Cannulas, Rene Tetter
Team 2: Norbert Lee, Juan Torres
Team 3: Jung Hseih, Yury Velikanau
Surface Support: Laurie Dickson, Katie Papac
Mission Impact: 225 square feet of net removed and given to Taylor Griffith at Alta Sea for conservation art
Team Ghost Diving USA returned to Rancho Palos Verdes in pursuit of ghost nets. Our teams made 2 dives that focused on removing nets that had entangled themselves around some rocky pinnacles.
Dive 1:
Teams worked to place lift bags and began to remove section of net entangled in the stony reef. The team members rotated through team responsibilities as part of the mentorship process all of the team members go through. It allows for team members to practice all steps of the net removal process while supervised by a more experienced team member. As teams worked, they discovered that some of the net had become so entrenched in the rocky reef that it could not safely be removed. The divers were careful to evaluate the nets and where they were entangled to ensure they did not damage the delicate environment.
Dive 2:
Divers continued to remove nets and were able to remove all of the nets that they were able to do so safely and without environmental harm. Upon returning to the surface, divers observed Laurie and Katie working diligently to remove various creatures from the nets. They found brittle stars, nudibranchs, and a juvenile masking crab.
Great work by the team! A special thank you to Captain Jim of the Giant Stride!