Marine protection act could reel in fishing lines
By Ed Zieralski
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
October 18, 2008
Recreational fishing in Southern California's near-shore waters and even from its beaches could change drastically in about 1½ years.
That's the estimated time it will take stakeholders, a science advisory team and what is being called a blue-ribbon task force to arrive at compromises that will identify a new network of marine protected areas between Point Conception and the U.S.-Mexico border.
The numbers were staggering from the Central Coast in terms of closures, and fishermen need to know it. There now are 29 marine protected areas covering 204 square miles of the Central Coast, with 85 square miles designated as “no-take fishing zones.”
“It amounts to 40 percent of the best sportfishing areas,” said Bob Fletcher, president of the Sportfishing Association of California.
There's no way fishermen here will tolerate losing 40 percent of their best fishing grounds in Southern California. Or is there?
Fletcher lists figures showing that the state, with just the Central Coast MLPA final and the North Central Coast moving toward a conclusion, already has closed off 9 percent of California's waters to recreational fishing. That includes the Channel Islands closures and the Central Coast region of the MLPA.
When all this started during the passage of the MLPA in 1999, environmental protectionists threw out a number estimating the amount of water they wanted to close to fishing off California. The number was 20 percent. They're nearly halfway there and have completed only one region.
Originally Posted by hookset
Marine protection act could reel in fishing lines
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