CalOceans News

Keeping California's prime fishing spots open

California’s Marine Life Protection Act was passed to safeguard the health and productivity of ocean resources, and well-designed marine reserves have been shown to boost fishing yields and profits.  By protecting the places where fish and shellfish feed and breed, California can rebuild depleted fish populations while leaving the vast majority of coastal waters open to fishing (see a map of fishing areas left open under a compromise marine protected area plan proposed for southern California).

Bill Weinerth has been fishing off California’s coast for more than 50 years.  In an opinion editorial in Saturday’s Ventura County Star, he said:

I say that if we don’t set aside some key spots now, we won’t have any reason to pass on our fishing knowledge; there will be few fish left. Our fishing experiences and traditions are falling into myth: I couldn’t take my boys back to the places in Malibu where my dad taught me and expect to pull in the same size and quantity. The simple fact is, the fish we do catch are smaller and it’s harder to get them.

My sons, skilled fishermen, have to go farther out every year for those smaller fish. The fishing culture of my childhood is not there anymore — but I believe that marine protected areas can help bring back some of what we’ve lost.

Weinerth’s experience of fewer and smaller fish is borne out by the data.  According to the Pacific Fisheries Management Council’s research, California’s commercial fishing revenues have declined by more than half since 1990, and the number of fishing boats calling at California ports has declined by nearly three quarters in the same period.

A well-designed system of marine reserves and protected areas would help rebuild California’s struggling fishing industry.  It worked at the Channel Islands, where, five years after the state established a network of marine reserves, a study found that sportfishing had increased, as had commercial landings for some of the Island’s largest fisheries: squid, urchin, lobster and crab.

Plans for southern California’s new marine protected area network will be finalized by the Fish and Game Commission at their December meeting  in Santa Barbara.  Ocean advocates, who dominated the public comment session at the Commission’s October meeting, are expected to make a strong showing again, urging protection of treasured places like La Jolla, Catalina, and Naples Reef off the Gaviota Coast.

• Tags:
• mlpa
• Marine Life Protection Act
• south coast mlpa
• ipa
• integrated preferred alternative

Southern California ocean protection effort advances

The California Fish and Game Commission held their meeting of the year on the Marine Life Protection Act in Ontario this week.  They heard over four hours of public testimony from seventy-five south coast residents, each weighing in on marine protected area plans for the south coast.
 
Many surfers, scientists, divers, and conservationists lobbied for stronger protections for iconic ocean areas like Rocky Point and south La Jolla, but the commission voted 3-2 to maintain the compromise plan known as the “Integrated Preferred Alternative” as their proposed project.
 
The compromise plan draws from three stakeholder proposals developed over a year of study and negotiations among different interest groups.  It would protect beloved ocean areas like Naples Reef, Dume underwater canyon, Laguna, and Swamis Reef while leaving the vast majority of the coast, including most of the region’s most popular fishing grounds, open for fishing. 

“We applaud the Commission’s decision move forward with this vital ocean protection effort,” said Greg Helms of the Ocean Conservancy. “New research unveiled at last month’s American Association for the Advancement of Science conference shows that well-designed marine protected areas provide both economic and environmental benefits.  With so many southern California businesses depending on the health and productivity of our coastal waters, we can’t afford to delay protection.”
 
The Commission’s decision indicates initial support for the compromise plan, but a range of options will be analyzed in environmental review, including proposals developed by conservationists and fishermen. There will be further opportunities for public input at Commission hearings over the coming months, with a final decision expected later this year 
 
“The compromise plan is a step in the right direction, but there is still room for improvement,” said Marcela Gutierrez of WildCoast. “By strengthening the protections around Palos Verdes and south La Jolla, we can better meet the science and increase benefits for fish and fishermen.”
 
For more information on the Marine Life Protection Act, visit www.caloceans.org, or www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa.

• Tags:
• Fish and Game Commission
• ipa
• integrated preferred alternative
• Marine Protected Areas
• South Coast

Scientists: Marine protected areas benefit fish and fishermen

A new study by Christopher Costello, economist and professor with UC Santa Barbara's Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, provides further proof that ocean protection is a win-win for the economy and environment. 

Costello published an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week explaining that, with the science available, we can conserve fish and eat them too. 

Marine protected areas, when placed in the hot spots where fish and shellfish feed and breed, can help rebuild fish stocks and boost fishing industry profits.

Costello, who sits on a panel of science experts helping to guide implementation of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), pointed to the south coast MLPA process as an example of science-based ocean protection that would benefit both sea life and people.

He said the excellent information we have about southern California's marine life and habitats means local stakeholders can design marine protected areas that will keep coastal waters healthy and productive for the long-term and keep anglers in business.

The compromise plan for southern California's ocean will do just that--it's good for fish and fishermen, and leaves nearly 90% of coastal waters open for fishing.  Click here to download a map of popular fishing areas that will remain open.

• Tags:
• Marine Life Protection Act
• Fishing
• south coast MPAs
• ipa
• integrated preferred alternative
• sustainable fisheries

Solutions for a changing ocean

Ocean Beach resident Mike Laude has been diving and fishing southern California's waters for three decades.  He remembers swimming from Windansea to Bird Rock, "gawking at halibut, lobsters, abalone, moray eels, starfish, urchins, garibaldi, schools of sargo, barracuda, opal eye, and bait fish." 

Like many south coast watermen, Laude enjoys watching sea life, and hunting for his dinner amid the kelp forests and rocky reefs.  In a December 4 North County Times op-ed he writes about catching lobsters nearly as old as he was, and watching abalone numbers dwindle. 

Richard Holt, who serves on the Advisory Council for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, has been fishing and diving south coast waters even longer than Laude.  The picture above is from his website, showing a typical day's catch at Palos Verdes from the 1950's (all caught without SCUBA gear.)

Fish and shellfish are getting smaller and fewer each year, and habitat protection is a key part of the solution.  Mike Laude has followed Marine Life Protection Act process, and come out in support of the compromise plan for southern California.

Many other divers and anglers, along with scientists, conservationists, and educators are expected to attend a December 9 Marine Life Protection Act meeting in Los Angeles to voice their support for a strong marine protected area plan.  The future bounty of our ocean is at stake.

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• Marine Life Protection Act
• marine protected area
• integrated preferred alternative
• south coast study region
• historic catches
• fisheries

Protecting fish AND fishing access

The compromise marine protected area plan for southern California recommended by the Blue Ribbon Task Force was designed to balance fishing access with conservation.  It includes protection for key feeding and breeding grounds like Naples Reef, Point Dume, Laguna, and south La Jolla, while leaving nearly 90% of south coast waters open for fishing.

The compromise plan (also known as the Integrated Preferred Alternative, or IPA) will not effect pier anglers at all, and will allow ongoing commercial and recreational fishing in popular spots like:

- Ellwood and Carpinteria Reefs in Santa Barbara County
- The entire coast of central and southern Ventura County
- Kelp beds in northern Los Angeles County
- Central Malibu and the Santa Monica Bay, including the eastern half of Big Kelp Reef
- The waters north of the Palos Verdes peninsula (including Rocky Point)
- All of Orange County, except Laguna
- North San Diego County, including the Oceanside Pier and Solana Beach kelp beds
- Northern La Jolla and Point Loma
- Most of Catalina Island

Click here to download a complete list (and map) of fishing areas left open under the BRTF's compromise plan.

• Tags:
• integrated preferred alternative
• ipa
• South Coast
• Marine Life Protection Act
• mlpa
• mpa
• BRTF

South coast plan has "something for everyone"

The San Diego Union Tribune calls the marine protected area plan recommended by the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force "a good compromise."

The Task Force met on November 11 to finalize their recommendations after receiving more than 10,000 emails and hearing over ten hours of public comment.  This level of community participation shows how passionate southern Californians are about their coast and ocean--it's truly the region's most iconic attraction, and many local people rely on the sea's bounty to make a living.

The Blue Ribbon Task Force considered both the economy and environment when weighing options, and recommended a middle ground plan that balanced
the concerns of different user groups

In a November 17 editorial, the San Diego Union Tribune said the south coast plan "will be good for everyone in the long run if it allows our coastal bounty to grow and thrive."

And that is precisely what the marine protected area plan is designed to do.  By protecting biological hot spots like Naples Reef, south La Jolla, and Point Dume, it will help rebuild depleted fish populations and restore fragile ecosystems.

• Tags:
• Marine Life Protection Act
• mlpa
• South Coast
• Marine Protected Areas
• Blue Ribbon Task Force
• integrated preferred alternative