Art,

>   I grew up in SF. We used to go fishing every Sunday off that curved Muni
pier. We caught dozens every week. Smelt, anchovie, perch.  Some people
caught White Sea Bass and other exotics as well.
>   But the bay has become so poluted, that few people bother to fish there
anymore. The crabbers and shrimpers have to get farther and farther from the
bay's opening. I would imagine that stricter policeing by (who) the Coast
Guard might make a long ter m difference for the better.

Too true! You know, Homeland Security has already made a difference to
geologists. When mapping the formations of the Tennessee Valley's rich
farmland, we discovered that farmers have been told to watch out for
suspicious characters who might seek to contaminate America's crops or
whatever. Possibly the contamination of bays by industry and shipping has
passed beneath the Administration's radar screen hitherto.

I visited San Francisco last June. It's still a very beautiful place, with a
lot of much-loved natural environments nearby. There's still a lot to
cherish, but, as you say...

>   It will be up to the San Franciscans to take an interest.

Incidentally, Mobile Bay (Alabama) still yields an abundance of edible
shellfish, but I have given up on eating raw oysters. I know too much about
pollution to be comfortable doing that anymore, and it's too bad: Eating
oysters is not just a pleasure, but a whole subculture.

The Gulf of Mexico has been invaded by exotic jellyfish that are probably
rather good at removing molluscan larvae from the water, but I don't know
whether anyone has performed any serious research on that.

You may recall that I've been tracking numbers of Donax variabilis on
Alabama beaches for a couple of years. The results are so, well, 'variable'
that they aren't too convincing, but as best I can tell, a little bit of
trash actually helps to feed the cute little coquinas. The ghost crabs
(Ocypode quadrata) are also more numerous where trash is available; it takes
a great deal of manmade disturbance to the beach to reduce their numbers (as
measured by the number of burrows they make). Unfortunately, a great deal of
manmade disturbance is, in fact, occurring on the Alabama coast these days.
If anyone has observations on the abundance of Donax in their own favorite
areas, I'd appreciate discussing them.

All the best,
Andy

Andrew K. Rindsberg
Geological Survey of Alabama