Beach science – Born in Redondo
Dive partner Debbie Karimoto enjoys the company of two adult Giant Sea Bass at Casino Point Underwater Park at Catalina Island. Stories and photos by Michael C. Couffer A few kicks of your dive fins off the Redondo Beach shoreline is the tip of the Redondo Submarine Canyon, where currents bring a wealth of nutrients and life up from the depths. No rocky reefs or kelp forests exist off Veterans Park, but creatures that live on and within soft sandy bottoms abound. Many Southern California divers, particularly those with cameras, are aware of the richness of the area. This richness is not so evident during the daylight, but after dark, hoards of shrimps, crabs, and fish appear from beneath the sand or make their way up from the depths to look for food. At certain times of the year, hundreds of market squid appear in the darkness to attach pale, finger-shaped egg cases to the bottom in numbers that make the sea floor look like a patchwork of heavy shag carpeting. What has been known for some time is that the heads of submarine canyons are excellent nurseries for marine life. What was not known until recently is that the shallow area inshore from the Redondo Submarine Canyon is the…
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