CalOceans News

Shoulder to shoulder on the North Coast

While the approval of a network of marine protected areas for southern California has hogged all the recent press on the Marine Life Protection Act, the North Coast process has been moving along right on schedule.

In fact, we’re only a week away from the Fish and Game Commission
meeting at which the North Coast's landmark unified proposal will be presented.

So it’s good to read articles like this one that show the strength in solidarity of the North Coast community. Fishers, environmentalists, tribes, recreational users, and local businesses stood up at a hearing last week in Eureka to reiterate their support for the Unified Proposal.

Under the plan, 13 percent of state waters will be protected through the creation of 17 marine protected areas. The plan, developed by the North Coast Regional Stakeholder Group, earned unanimous support from the Blue Ribbon Task Force in October.

While the Regional Stakeholder Group--which includes representatives from the conservation, business, tribal, and fishing communities--started out working at cross purposes, they found common ground in their desire to balance the region's economic and environmental health, protect tribal harvest, and embrace the opportunity for self-determination. 

We hope they can maintain this unity, and continue to focus on the public benefits of smart and science-based ocean protection throughout the Commission process!

• Tags:
• Marine Life Protection Act
• mlpa
• north coast
• RSG
• BRTF
• FGC

North coast MPA planning gets underway

After several months of public outreach and education, the north coast Regional Stakeholder Group process--where local leaders representing a variety of industries and interests will work together to map out a network of marine protected areas that will extend from Point Arena to Oregin--is ready to begin.

The north coast Regional Stakeholder Group (RSG) includes members of the conservation, fishing, business, tribal, science, and education communities.  Many of them worked together in the Tri-County Working Group to find common ground ahead of the RSG process.

The first north coast RSG meeting will be held at the Red Lion Hotel in Eureka on February 8 and 9.  Click here for information about all upcoming MLPA meetings on the north coast.

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• north coast
• regional stakeholder group
• RSG
• mlpa
• marine protected area
• external array
• tri-county working group

Spotlight on the south coast

The planning meetings have come and gone. The Blue Ribbon Task Force, Regional Stakeholder Group, Science Advisory Teamand general public have all had their say. Now the future of southern California’s coastal waters sits with the Fish and Game Commission, which met December 9, to gather input from the community and MLPA advisors before sending off four marine protected area plans for further economic and scientific analysis.  

South coast residents can still weigh in via mail or email, and will have additional opportunities to comment in person when the Commission returns to southern California for three more meetings in 2010.  
 

Although the Commission has adopted the BRTF’s Integrated Preferred Alternative as the “proposed project,” all four of the current proposals for marine protected areas on the south coast remain on the table.

So what does that mean? It means now is the time to remind the Fish and Game Commission that science should guide our state’s resource management decisions.  And the conservation plan—also known as Proposal 3—is the only one that meets science guidelines and protects all southern California’s iconic ocean places, like Naples Reef, Point Dume, Palos Verdes, Laguna, Catalina Island and La Jolla. At the December 9 meeting, Dr. Steve Murray of the Science Advisory Team confirmed that Proposal 3 would produce the greatest ecosystem benefits.
 
Please send an email or note to the Commissioners voicing your support for Proposal 3.

Marine Life Protection Act Initiative
c/o California Natural Resources Agency
1416 Ninth Street, Suite 1311
Sacramento, CA 95814

Tell them to adopt a plan that will serve the region’s economy and environment. We only get one shot at this and we need to get it right!

• Tags:
• south coast region
• Marine Life Protection Act
• marine protected area
• mpa
• mlpa
• marine reserve
• BRTF
• FGC
• RSG