site.”
Selling the Marine Life Protection Act to North Coast fishermen — and official-types — might turn out to be as tricky as crossing the bar at Humboldt Bay’s entrance. Mind ye don’t capsize, MLPA Initiative staffers, and become one with the fishes.
OK, nobody was really acting that scary at the workshop last night at the Wharfinger, where MLPA staffers talked with individuals about various aspects of the process that may result in marine protected areas in our region. But resistance to the idea was evident in certain conversations, which invariably started like this:
Skeptical fisherman: “We don’t need this act. We already have laws restricting our fishing.”
MLPA staffer, polite but a hint exasperated: “This isn’t about preserving specific fish stocks, it’s about preserving whole ecosystems.”
And MLPA staffers were heard saying, repeatedly, that the outcome — where these marine protected areas end up here on the north coast — depends on input from local fishermen. But some fishermen seemed skeptical.
Franklin Klopp — yes, the very man who’s got a lake named after him out at Arcata Marsh — was hanging around outside the workshop talking to Dennis Mayo and Vivian Helliwell, who were pushing a petition to suspend implementation of the MLPA. “These people are sponges,” Klopp said, smiling as he nodded his head in the direction of the workshop room. “They take in what you say, act like they’re soaking it up — and then they blow back up again.”
Inside, similar grumblings could be overheard in small groups that gathered before info panels. “You give them your information on where you fish, and then that’s where they put the marine protected areas,” said a suspendered fellow leaning on a pair of ancient wooden crutches.
But not everyone spoke bleakness. Greg Dale, of Coast Seafoods which grows oysters in Humboldt Bay, said he’s been watching the MLPA implementation process as it has made its way region by region along the coast.
“I’m fairly neutral,” he said. ” I think we have to have a little bit of confidence in the process. I think we can work with the process, and maybe we can all benefit. There’s no need to be terrified of it. You hear a lot of negatives about it, and you hear a lot of positives — but it’s a tool.”
Meanwhile, said Jennifer Savage — who’s working for the Ocean Conservancy to promote the MLPA (and also happens to be one of NCJ’s columnists) — the local conservation community is slowly gathering force to, hopefully, work with the fishermen and local officials in shaping a system of reserves amenable to all.
Ah, but as for those official types: On Monday,
a letter
expressing concern about the MLPA initiative process was lobbed off to Mike Chrisman, Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency. It was signed by the counties of Del Norte, Humboldt and Mendocino; the cities of Eureka, Fortuna, Trinidad, Crescent City and Point Arena; the Trinidad Rancheria; the Humboldt Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District, the Crescent City Harbor District and the Noyo Harbor District; and the Shelter Cove Resort Improvement District.
This article appears in Fixing the World.
Hi All
We lost Sea Lion Cove for Seaweed Harvesting and Ab diving off Point Arena. Well actually a whole lot was lost. Native rights – right out the window. A late Friday resignation by Commissioner member Cindy Gustafson replaced in time for the vote on Tuesday by old crony BRTF member Don Benninghoven for a 3-2 count led some to say it smelled like fishy fascism.
In response: To Frank Hartzell’s article (3rd in a series) "The MLPAI does not seek to industrialize the ocean, merely to put it off limits by varying degrees to fishing, seaweed harvesting and abalone diving."
Rather, neither the MPA designation itself, nor the MLPA Initiative decision can protect industrialization of the coastal waters. As was revealed last year, Diane Feinstein designated the Farallones Cordell Banks as a MPA and had to protect it specifically with legislation against oil development.
The Ocean Conservancy had been known (1991-2001) for it’s ocean pollution and trash campaigns and it’s shark protection alliance global campaign. Such (great) easy iconic work (not to diminish it’s valued effort) to discuss – when behind the scenes, at the top –
Immediately after leaving the MAXXAM – PL – KaiserTech positions (1992c) Dr John Mick Lindl had a stint at the Ocean Conservancy. Dr John was then Environmental Program Grants Director for the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation while the foundation was in it’s infancy and served for the next 4 years there. Why is it that he reported to Lew Coleman (Cole) personally, and only.
The MLPA-I is not about protecting fish.
Read more about it!
http://www.astral-arts.com/dsl/mlpa_maxx.pdf
It took Jennifer Savage of Ocean Conservancy until the end of Chris Skyhawk’s Thursday eve radio show to call it what it is – The MLPA Initiative.
An appropriate question might be "Why is it called an Initiative"? To confuse those ‘outside’ the process’? We didn’t vote on it, and we won’t get to either. No actually it is derived from the G&B Moore Foundation grant requirements as they don’t fund projects, they only fund "Initiatives".
What is an initiative?
It directly corresponds to "regional governance reform, monitoring and enforcement…"
The MLPA has been hijacked. Look into Dr John Mick Lindl’s involvement:
Maxxam, Pacific Lumber, KaiserTech, Enron, Kaiser Aluminum, the world’s 4th and 2nd largest oil companies, the world’s largest oil full-service provider company, ALL have ties to the Ocean Conservancy, the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation and the MLPA – I.
It is easy to talk good about MPA’s and the MLPA, as it was initially passed into law in 1999. Dr. John Lindl was gone from the MAXXAM-Pacific Lumber-KaiserTech presidencies by 1992-1993. His work was done.
Although Jennifer Savage of the Ocean Conservancy on Hawk’s 080609 radio show on KZYX stated that the MLPA is not a fisheries management tool:
The Magnusen Stevens Act clearly states:
According to the MSA,? Essential FIsh Habitat – ?EFH must be described and identified for the fishery as a whole? (?16? ?U.S.C.? §?1853?(?a?)(?7?))?.? ?The EFH Final Rule clarifies that every Fisheries Management Plan (FMP) must describe and identify EFH for each life? ?stage of each managed species.? ?As further clarification,? ?NOAA General Counsel has stated that? “?Fishery?” ?as used in the MSA in reference to EFH refers to the fishery management unit? (?FMU?) ?of a FMP.
The MLPA – Initiative is a fishery management tool, & so much more.
Now we come to Governance Strategy and Budget, a description from the G&B Moore Foundation:
The Resources Legacy Fund Foundation is providing $30 million over six years, 2008-2013, in support of CCMI activities. Other Foundations supporting elements of the activities described here (amounting to 100’s of millions of dollars) include the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Marisla Foundation, the Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment, and the Annenberg Foundation.
The Ocean Protection Council, established by state law in 2004, provides a vehicle for reform of policies and programs and for more focused state funding to reflect an ecosystem-based approach (EBM). For instance, building the capacity of the Ocean Protection Council’s Science Advisory Committee can introduce independent science advice into the assessment and design of state ocean and coastal programs in a particularly relevant way.
In 2004, the MLPA Initiative, a public-private partnership with The Resources Agency, the Department of Fish and Game, and the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, was launched with the goal of designing and establishing the statewide network of of MPAs required by the 1999 MLPA.
Fisheries Management Tool
With Governor Schwarzenegger’s signing of the California Ocean Protection Act in? ?2004,? ?California established a multi-agency Ocean Protection Council to coordinate state policy consistent with EBM.? ?Through the establishment of a Science Advisory Council and other measures,? ?the? ?Ocean Protection Council is establishing itself as a vehicle for governance reform.?
The Schwarzenegger Administration has committed to completing MPA networks in the four regions of the outer coast by the end of 2011.
And if I am not mistaken protections against offshore oil run out in 2012.
Now what is the rush?
As far as the process being open, most north coastal counties residents don’t have broadband connections and while the ‘Process Promoters’ talk of ‘anyone with internet access can participate’ it’s simply not true. The documents, although they don’t say anything of immediately accessible useful importance (and this is purposeful layering of access), to participate in this digital democracy requires broadband.
Try accessing/commenting to FERC as an Intervenor or, or viewing MMS documents.
This is the Digital Divide.
As far as Abalone: A distinction must be made between poaching (the rubber army blues) and overfishing. According to current DFG surveys the ab resource stands at an average of 7400-8000 per hectare all age classes. The fishery is considered sustainable at 6000 per hectare and closes at 3000 per hectare. Visit the many Abalone networks website. They are very concerned about poaching. The Sonoma County Abalone Network is on top of it. Look up Sea Lion cove, Point Arena (which is now a closed area) on Utube.
The MPA’s and Ecosystem Based Management models are based in the Public Commons Section of the Magnusen Stevens Fisheries Act and thus spatial mapping of multiple use is important.
Therein lies the unanswered question posed at every meeting and hearing: Do MPA’s protect against industrialization, militarization, or privatization by lease… and the answer is a resounding No One Knows.
Anyways the Farallones are more than an MPA. It is the world’s largest underwater nuclear dumpsite.
http://www.astral-arts.com/farallones.html
Regional Governance: Because of the federal consistency law and the Fisheries Management Councils, and international law, the Farallones were a test of the overlaps.
And if MPA’s and the MLPA-I really were about protecting fishery resources and habitat, then why does the (NMFS) continue to maintain certain regulations pertaining to foreign fishing should there be a situation in the future in which allowing limited foreign fishing in an underutilized fishery would be of advantage to the U.S. fishing industry?
And that information can be found in the Summary of Maritime Literacy Planning Meeting 6-7 February 2006 in LA.
MLPA: The Maxxam Connection
1991. MAXXAM’s President, John Seidl, is selected to be a vice president of the Board of Directors of the Nature Conservancy. Seidl resigned from MAXXAM in 1992.
By 2001 he was Environmental Grants Program Director of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
I got his last name wrong it is Seidl.
I spend the last three years up to my ears preparing for and participating in the Southern California MLPA "process". It has been a
I learned the following:
1. Organize and keep your members informed.
2. Regardless of what the DFG or MLPA I-Team or Ecotrust tell you, any and all information will be distributed to your hardliner opponents. For example, ECOtrust asked the fishermen to report fishing spots in a survey. Ecotrust promised me reptedly the results would be kept confidential. Within weeks of the surveys completion Surf rider and Bay keeper were using our maps against the fishermen.
3. The MLPA process is funded by private foundations who drive the time line and influence Ken Weisman.
4. Enforcement of MLPA’s will cost 30,000,000 to $70,000,000 per year. There is no funding available for enforcement. Law abiding fishermen will comply with the laws but poachers will have free rain. You will be creating poaching reserves.
5. The MLPA process is not collaborative.
6. Some RSG members just plain hate fishermen and divers. They will vandalize property
Remember the states promises during the creation of Redwood park. The tourists never came to Orick and the salmon did not rebound in redwood creak as DFG promised.
Volker Hoehne
Vice President, San Diego Freedivers
Treasure, Watermen’s Alliance
if you speak at these meetings and you fish, dive, kayak privat boater, or whatever, you better ask for the ITEAM or the BRTF to look up from the emails they are reading and pay attention to what your saying…. These folks do not play fair,,, just watch all the videos and watch Meg caldwell….
Fellow fishermen,
We are concluding the Southern California MLPA closures. It has been a painful and but learning experience. Part of your coast will be closed regardless of what you do. The best strategy is get organized.
The southern California Divers took notes from the central coast MLPA experience.
We learned during the So-Cal and Cen-Cal MPA process:
1) Eco-trust cannot be trusted. They distributed confidential fishing reports anti-fishing groups.
2) DFG does not have fishermens backs
3) NRDC, “keeper groups” ( coast keeper, bay keeper, ….), and Surf rider do not like divers, fishermen or spearfishermen
5) The anti- consumptives primary strategy is divide and conquer. Separate recreational from commercial fishermen lie to both groups and close both fishing areas. NRDC will go for every point, every large reef, and every estuary with all their cronies singing "All the fish are gone", " We must take all their habitats" "Save our Ocean" "Think Big" and guess what, the commission believes them.
6) Socio Economic impact is no important to the BRTF, the SAT or the Ken Weismann. “they” will promises all kinds of things to get you on board with closures, only to back out of there promises. Get promises in writing.
7) the SAT and the BRTF will change guild lines to rules to harm fishermen.
8) The MLPA process is not collaborative, it majority rule.
A quote from animal farm sums the anti-consumptives feel “two legs bad four legs good”.
The irony is DFG and sciencemag.org ? California fisheries are one of the worlds best managed.
It is true that worldwide many fisheries are overfished. So why all the PR hype about pending collapse for non pelagic fish in California waters? It comes down to one thing, Cash. Well intentioned folks give money to ecological crisis.
Volker Hoehne
VP San Diego Freedivers,
Officer Watermens Alliance.
HSU Alum.