Posted by Cormerant on June 15, 2000 at 07:33:10:
In Reply to: Re: We better have that zone if we don't wan't to dive in the desert posted by Gianni on June 14, 2000 at 16:19:15:
Eric, When you have a protected area the fish spawn and travel outside the zone and make for a richer fishing/hunting ground outside of the boundary than the protected area was when it was open. Yes we do rely on seafood but in the case of the Channel Islands, as many as 100 squid boats from as far north as Alaska fish those waters and they export the resource. As squid is a vital food source for all manner of marine life, what do you think that does to the rest of the food chain? Why should we allow the degradation of an incredible underwater wilderness teeming with life for any reason? Technically the resource belongs to everyone and I feel it is wrong and counter productive to take huge chunks out of the marine environment puzzle so that a small group can profit at great expense to the marine ecosystem. If the protection of the Channel Islands can demonstrate a dramatic rebound of the entire spectrum of marine life and habitat it will set a precedent for other marine sanctuaries to likewise be protected and will allow scientists to study an area with minimized impact so they can collect clean data and figure out more accurately what we can and cannot get away with in regards to over fishing in the area.
One more thing, in sport fishing the larger fish are often taken. The larger the fish, the more eggs it can lay. For example, a 20 lb. fish can lay 40 times as many eggs as a 10 lb. fish. So it is important to leave the big ones out there to spawn as many little ones as they were designed to spawn.