SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — Three abalone divers were killed in separate accidents over the weekend in Northern California, where powerful rip currents were reported.

The Press Democrat reports a very low tide drew divers to the beaches looking for sea snails.

The body of a 66-year-old retired Pacifica firefighter was found Saturday afternoon off Sonoma County's Shell Beach.

On Sunday morning, several divers helped pull a 36-year-old San Francisco man to shore after he got caught in a rip tide off nearby Salt Point State Park. He couldn't be revived.

Several hours later, a diver was found dead north of Fort Bragg. A Sonoma County sheriff's sergeant says the man was found about 15 feet below the water and might have been snagged in rocks.

 

Since Ab's have been so over fished, the state past a law on how they are harvested. North of Point Conception (near Santa Barbara) you can not use air tanks, so the diver must 'free dive'. This makes it a lot harder to get them and it also protects the Ab's. But on occasion a diver will become trapped or tangled and drown, or a shark may visit... The down side is that the price for Ab's makes them a target for poachers. I cry no tears for a dead poacher, but the recreational diver who is lost is a shame. Divers know the risk, but it is still a shame.