The year 2009 marks the 30th anniversary of the publication of the Ocean Projects 1979 year book describing oceanographic studies at the White Point Shore Station. These studies were organized by Paul Meister, an aerospace engineer by day but first and foremost a lover of the ocean and the life within.
Paul gave generations of Angelenos his excitement of scuba diving and especially of his premier dive site: White Point. He was careful that it was called White Point and not White's Point. He worked out of Issei Cove named in honor of the Japanese who frequented the area before WWII.
He studied there for over 20 years until his death in 2004. His work included observing the fish, the kelp and the invertebrates, making extensive observations of their behavior. He named every feature in the cove, and drew detailed maps depicting the area. One of the first charts I saw of his was the density of the abalone per square meter. By the time I was diving Issei Cove, there was never an abalone to be seen.
Paul organized or assisted in abalone experiments, kelp experiments, hydrothermal vent experiments and many more. In later years he organized the "Peanut" Conference, one held at Cal Tech and another at Scripps, where amateur researchers would present and discuss their findings. His and his colleagues' work are a valuable baseline for our current ocean studies.
