NOTEBOOK: NEARSHORE FISHERY PLAN APPROVED.

Byline: Bill Becher Special to the Daily News

The California Fish and Game Commission has adopted the first-ever Nearshore Fishery Management Plan for California's ocean waters. The plan establishes guidelines for managing 19 species of nearshore fish, including varieties of rockfish, cabezon, greenling and sheephead.

Mandated by the state legislature, the plan includes the use of controversial Marine Protected Areas, opposed by many sport-fishing groups. The plan also establishes regional regulation and a restricted-access program for the state's commercial fishery. The plan is available on the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Web site at www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/nfmp/index.html.

--Ocean fishing warms up: After dodging some bad weather, long-range boats out of San Diego are finding plenty of bluefin tuna, albacore and some yellowfin. A few dorado are starting to move in as water warms up after the recent hurricane.

Kevin Ward moored the Searcher on Sept. 8 after a three-day trip for bluefin and albacore. Jim Kerr of Santa Clarita won first place, for a 44.7-pound bluefin tuna. He said he bagged it with a sardine on a 2/0 Super Mutu hook, with 30-pound Big Game line, a Penn 555 reel and a Seeker Classic seven-foot rod.

Keith Wolf of Lancaster was second, for a 28-pound albacore, and Jason McClanahan of Imperial Beach was third, for a 26-pound bluefin tuna.

--Deer disease concerns: Concerned about protecting California's deer and elk herds from chronic wasting disease (CWD), the Fish and Game Commission has approved regulations restricting how hunters bring deer and elk meat into the state. CWD is a neurological disease that is fatal to deer and elk. Although CWD has not appeared in California, it has been found in wild deer and elk in limited areas of Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Wisconsin, South Dakota and New Mexico.

The Department of Fish and Game said Californians who plan to hunt out of state should decide in advance how they will handle their deer and elk. Some professional meat processors might require that carcasses be tested for CWD.

``We are working with commercial meat processors to make sure they understand how the new regulation will affect them,'' said Dr. Pam Swift, a wildlife veterinarian for the DFG.

--Drought hurts East Walker: East Walker River, famous for large brown trout, is in trouble because of drought conditions and warm weather. A number of fish have been found dead in the river north of Bridgeport in the Eastern Sierra, likely killed by low levels of dissolved oxygen in the water. As water heats up, it is less able to carry oxygen.

Flows in the East Walker have decreased to 47 cubic feet per second, and the amount of water stored in Bridgeport Reservoir, which feeds the river, also has fallen.

Large fish are the first to suffer from lowered amounts of oxygen in water. Anglers, who often release East Walker trout, are being encouraged by the DFG to keep the one fish over 18 inches permitted there. Removing larger trout might help the fish population as a whole.