Pete Halmay has been diving for California sea urchins for over 40 years. He is also the president of the San Diego Fishermen's Working Group. Here, he remembers in his own words how the fisheries have changed and the role that Sea Grant has started to play in the industry. This is part of a special series celebrating California Sea Grant's 50th anniversary.

“I'm 81 years old now. I'm slowing down but still go diving four days a week. I enjoy it just as much as I always have. On days that I can't go fishing, I don't feel very good. 

One of the tools that helps us understand California’s coastal ecosystem is so unassuming that it’s easy to overlook. But in the belly of the research vessels owned and operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in California, if you look closely, you’ll find a plexiglass box affixed to a series of tubes.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: Clare Leschin-Hoar, cleschinhoar@ucsd.edu
May 1, 2023

California’s beaches are integral to the state’s identity. But when Annie Adams and Mallika Gupta began their recent internship with the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI), they found that many of their peers did not know about a major looming threat in the Pacific: decreasing oxygen levels, which cause what’s known as hypoxia.