Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
gear back and forth, seagulls cawing, radio chatter. That's when bay fishing
comes alive,” he says.
Apart from the last few fishermen, some residents still know the ways
of the bay with the intimacy of the past, when more of the local populace
relied on the bay for food, transport, and a living. Bar pilots guide the wal-
lowing tankers and top-heavy container ships in and out of the Golden
Gate. Miners claw and suck sand from the bay bottom to fill freeway beds,
and dredgers do the same to keep shipping lanes and port berths safe for
marine navigation. Ferry operators still zip to and fro in busy white boats,
powered by the jet engines that have replaced the early paddlewheels.
Their wake is so powerful it sometimes erodes the mud from bayshore
marshes. Engineers still make salt by trapping sheets of bay water in the
sun. And builders still negotiate with the shifting elements to raise bridges
and anchor waterfront seafood joints over and around the water.
But most people only cross the bay or admire it from afar. They may
not know the bay intimately, but its bridges and freeways keep them ap-
prised of its moods and colors. Almost everyone smiles at the sight.
“The bay gives our region its name and creates a sense of place which
defines the community where we live,” says Will Travis, 20-year leader of
BCDC, the government agency in charge of preserving this watery re-
gional treasure. “The bay is our Eiffel Tower, our El Capitan, our Big Ben.
It is a visual icon which gives our region its identity as a place different
from everywhere else.”
But to all those who live or visit here, perhaps the most amazing qual-
ity of the bay is its proximity. “To me, the bay is direct access to wild na-
ture—unmanaged, unmanicured nature,” says swimmer Emma Macchia-
rini.
