Two If By Sea
An effort to create offshore wilderness areas has some fishermen sharpening their spears
(June 25, 2009) This summer, a nonprofit outfit called Ecotrust will be going around the North Coast asking fishermen to reveal their favorite ocean fishing spots. The interviews are part of a process to determine where to establish marine protected areas (MPAs) in state waters — from shore to three nautical miles out. California is mandated by the 1999 Marine Life Protection Act to design a network of such areas, and it’s been tackling the task region by region.
Ecotrust, which held introductory meetings in Eureka and Fort Bragg this week and will hold another one in Crescent City next Thursday, is gathering socioeconomic data for the state. Data from seafloor mapping, currently underway, also will be used. And, in each region, local stakeholders work with the state to propose areas for protection. A science advisory team vets the proposals, and a state-appointed Blue Ribbon Task Force decides which ones get forwarded to the state Fish and Game Commission, which makes the final determination.
So far, two regions have undergone the process — the central coast, around Monterey, and the north central coast, which includes the southern portion of Mendocino’s Point Arena. The south coast is underway, and now the north coast is on deck. The San Francisco area will be last.
When it’s all said and done, there will be an interconnected network of these MPAs, some of which will be off limits to all fishing and marine product extraction, and others which allow restricted fishing.
To some folks here in the North Coast region, from Alder Creek near Point Arena to the border with Oregon, this thing’s like some kind of slow-motion tsunami — they’ve seen it coming for a long time, they don’t like it, but damned if they can get out of its way.
Others see it as a big, speeding, wayward ship of good intentions that needs some local pilotage to slow it down and get it back on course.
And yet others view it with confident optimism, and hope.
Last Friday was a blustery day. And even though the fish were out there — hordes of them, according to recent fishing reports, plying the jaggy rocks and underwater canyons off Cape Mendocino and the rocky zone near Trinidad — the fishermen knew better. It wasn’t a day to be on the ocean. Better to dock the boat in its slip in port or on a trailer, curbside, in town, and just stay in.
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FIVE Comments
Comment / By joshua kinch / June 25, 2009, 12:08 p.m.
Excellent article. The history of fishermen is to overfish. It is a historical fact. The fishery is weak, and hurting. All involved should gladly step back and involve in healing. This includes Native Americans. No bitching. No sniveling. Fish first. It is time.
Comment / By George N. Ponnay III / June 25, 2009, 4:54 p.m.
The article is indeed well written. If you did actually read the piece, you would note that the history of fishing is NOT to overfish and that these people depend on healthy fish stocks in order to continue to make their living.
If the fishery is indeed weak, where is the scientific data to prove it? That’s the point of the current hitch with the entire MPA process.
The MPAs are law. I can accept that. However, their implementation without sound scientific foundation serves neither the fish nor people who’s livelihood depends on them.
Comment / By sd / June 26, 2009, 8:20 p.m.
The fishermen are not the only people to blame for the decline in fish numbers. What will we do with the waters once the fish numbers come back, will it always be government no-go zone!
Comment / By RT / July 1, 2009, 1:05 p.m.
Sorry George, I’d have to agree with Joshua - most fisheries have traditionally been managed in ways that encourage overfishing and as stocks decrease the main response is to fish it harder with more efficient capture methods. Certain fisheries like halibut in Alaska are limited-entry fisheries and are managed conservatively and each permit holder has a vested interest in the long-term health of the fishery.
I do agree that the science is lacking in regards to our local rock-fish stocks and with the current state budget woes, the MPA’s up here will be based on the “best available” information, which is unfortunate. Also with the budget woes how will the closed areas be enforced? How will monitoring occur to document the effectiveness (or lack of) of the closed areas?
My biggest concerns is where the real $ is coming from to drive this process, which is non-profits that appear to have an anti-fishing agenda already set. There have already been conflict-of-interest charges filed against participants in some of the recently established MPA’s.
The best course of action if you fish, ab dive, or harvest sea weed/kelp is to get involved, attend the meetings, and stay involved.
Comment / By Anonymous / July 3, 2009, 12:07 p.m.
The last time I could buy a 50 pound black cod off the boat was over 15 years ago, or about the time many fish species mature!
When a fish lives 80 years, how long do we expect to hunt and gather them using radar?
The science is always inadequate but I’d rather err on its side for now.