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04/04/2007: "Good News For A Different Kind Of Fishermen"

During marlin season, most of the local fleet will spend a lot of nights anchored on the lee side of Catalina Island. It's a great experience, made all the better by the periodic sighting of the bald eagle community that exists on the island. Few things are as spectacular as the sight of one of these majestic birds perched high on a rocky outcropping or swooping in to snatch a fish for dinner.

I had assumed that the colony was in trouble, as we hadn't seen as many in recent seasons as before, but apparently I'm wrong. According to news reports, a pair of eaglets have hatched in the wild on the island, something that hasn't happened since DDT wiped out the original colony over fifty years ago.

"We were shouting and excited and happy when we got the news," said Ann M. Muscat, president and CEO of the Catalina Island Conservancy.

The chicks belong to an 8-year-old female and a 21-year-old male introduced under a program aimed at restoring the island's bald eagle population.

"We may have more good news next week," Muscat said. Another nest also contains eggs that are expected to hatch.

We focus on the billfish element of the local fishing scene at SCMO, but these eagles are as an important part of the overall experiece as anything, and I'm thrilled to see them doing well!