Posted by Ken Kurtis on January 22, 2002 at 12:42:06:
In Reply to: Re: DFG scraps MLPA closure plans and starts over posted by joe diver on January 21, 2002 at 22:59:56:
"Joe Diver" anonymously wrote: "If they do, kiss your diving good by. This will just be the start
of a closure to all diving and fishing."
Absolutely not!!!!! This is the type of scare tactics that opponents of this measure try to use.
Even the commercial fisherman concede that the fisheries are in trouble and that SOMETHING must be done. Something like 90% of the fished species in California are under tighter restrictions or closures due to the threatened collapse of the fisheries so don't for a minute think that "business-as-usual" works. It doesn't. If it did, we wouldn't be in the shape we're in today.
In fact, there was just instituted an emergency closure of the cowcod fishery because the species is threatened with extinction due to overfishing. They talking 30-90 YEARS for the species to recover.
And that's not to say that the recreational fisherman and divers shoulder a huge portion of the blame. They don't. There are many problems dealing with the commercial catch that DFG must deal with. But to think that recreationals are totally without fault or have no impact on the ecosystem is simply balderdash.
It's really simple: They aren't as many fish today as there were (pick a number) years ago. If we don't change the way we do things, there won't be any fish left in a few years. "Come Dive the California Barren" just doesn't have a great ring to it, now does it?
The big problem here is that the MLPA is aimed at consumptive users (the word used at the hearings is usually "extractors") and if all you do is take, take, take from the ocean . . . yeah, you're gonna feel like this is directed at you.
Personally, I think that more fish and the ability to dive in reserves and protected areas will be GOOD for the diving industry. In the short term, it's going to be hard for the fisherman but in the long term, more fish and healthier fish stocks will be good for them, too.
MLPA is not an easy sell but it's a needed remedy that can succeed with the cooperation and input of all who will be affected by it.
Ken Kurtis
NAUI Instr. #5936
Co-owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Beverly Hills, CA