A squid boat ran aground in the pre-dawn darkness Friday morning at North Beach in the Point Reyes National Seashore.
The Lake Bay, a 58-foot fiberglass purse seiner registered out of Smith River, Calif., was carrying roughly 1,000 gallons of fuel and 30 to 50 tons of squid when it beached, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
As the tide rose Friday morning, the crew attempted to pull the boat from the beach with a skiff. But the Lake Bay, which draws 8 feet of water, had become partially buried in sand.
Shortly after the tidal peak at 8:30 a.m., the tow rope broke and the crew gave up. A salvage company was called in by the Coast Guard and National Park Service.
No fuel was spilled and no one was injured, the Coast Guard reported. By Saturday morning, most of the fuel and oil had been removed and an excavator was on site. By Tuesday, salvage plans were underway.
Richard James, an Inverness resident who cleaned up beaches and shipwrecks along this stretch of coast for years, said he encountered the vessel sitting in the surf with its net hanging out from the back and small amounts of debris washing ashore.
He learned that the ship, built in 1975, was the first of its line, produced by Delta Marine Industries in Seattle. One agency told him that the squid would be buried in the sand, the most environmentally friendly option for disposal.
Salvaging the vessel will mean crushing fiberglass, metals, and plastics on site. “During this process, the wind carries the smaller, lighter bits of foam and fiberglass far and wide,” he said.
According to Mr. James, who has served on the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary’s advisory council, local efforts are underway to create a protocol that allows grounded vessels to be safely recovered intact.
On Tuesday, the vessel was still in one piece and the beach was closed to the public, said Joshua Winchell, a spokesman from the Department of the Interior. The cause of the wreck remains under investigation.
A purse seiner is a specialized fishing boat that employs a vertical net to encircle dense schools of pelagic fish.
