Some Black Sea Bass we saw when SCUBA diving off La Jolla Cove. San Diego, CA. The Black Sea Bass were hunted to endangered status due to the fact they have no real natural predators, are rather slow moving and curious. They tended to be easy for fisherman and spear fisherman to catch, and this resulted in the decimation of their population in the waters along the California coast. In the early 1990's, the California Department of Fish and Game listed them as a protected species. As a result of it now being illegal to kill these fish in California waters, their population is slowly starting to bounce back.