Posted by . on October 23, 2002 at 23:52:27:
In Reply to: new DFG laws posted by photoman now on October 23, 2002 at 18:03:41:
State bans fishing in areas surrounding Channel Islands
SANTA BARBARA (AP) A state commission decided Wednesday to create one of the nation’s largest marine reserves by banning fishing in areas around the Channel Islands.
The state Fish and Game Commission voted 2-1, with two members absent, to create what is essentially a 130-square-mile, offshore wilderness area.
I just believe there is more than enough science to show that the Channel Islands need to be protected, said commissioner Bill Hatoy.
Speaking to nearly 200 angry fishermen in the audience, he said, Some of you will call me wrong ... But I think your grandchildren will call me right.
The measure will prohibit all fishing in specific sections around the five islands. However, there will be some exceptions when the ban causes extreme economic hardships for fishermen.
Environmentalists have argued that the no-fishing designation is essential for revitalizing biodiversity in waters where commercial catches include lobster, squid, sea urchin and various species of fish.
There just aren’t as many big fish as there were when our mothers and fathers and grandparents were catching them, Gregory Helms, a program manager for the nonprofit Ocean Conservancy, said before the vote. We have the ability to do something about it and hand something down to the future.
Sports fishermen against the move wore red T-shirts to the hearing in a show of solidarity.
Incrementally, they are taking away our rights a little bit at a time, said Norm Plott.
Also in the crowd were people concerned about the loss of their livelihood. Bob Valney said he has been taking people on fishing tours in the Channel Islands for 14 years.
This will really limit us, he said. It will force me to raise prices. Boat payments don’t go away. Insurance doesn’t get any cheaper. It’s basically choking the industry.
An economic impact report done for the commission indicated the sportfishing and diving boat operators could lose as much as $6 million a year in income from creation of the reserve. Commercial fishermen could lose as much as $3 million a year.
John Calene, a self-employed sea urchin diver, said he would be hurt by the move to protect the waters.
Once these areas are closed, there is no trickle out, he said. It will just increase the amount of pressure on even fewer areas for catching the sea urchins.
Under the 1999 state Marine Life Protection Act, the reserve could be the first of many along the Pacific coast of California to provide safe passage and breeding areas for marine life. The strategy marks a change from past preservation efforts because it targets an entire region and its sealife rather than simply setting size or catch limits or enacting seasonal closures.
Sport fishermen aren’t universally opposed to protecting the waters.
The technology for fishing is scary now, Steve Roberson told the commission. I’ve got a global positioning system, and I can find any rock pile with any fish ... The fish are getting hammered because they can’t hide.
Only about 1 percent of the world’s oceans have been placed off-limits to fishing. In California, the percentage of protected waters is less than 0.02 percent.
Leading scientists have called for 20 percent of the oceans around the globe to be turned into protected reserves. Earlier this month, Australia created the world’s largest marine protected area, a 25,000-square-mile zone around the McDonald Islands in sub-Antarctic waters.
The push to create the Channel Islands reserve has been in the works for four years and is being closely watched as a test case of the Marine Life Protection Act, which calls for a plan to protect waters throughout California.
Currently, the only no-take area in the Channel Islands sanctuary is about a square mile in size. Statewide, only about eight square miles are off limits to fishing.
Federal action next year could increase the size of protected areas around the Channel Islands to more than 400 square miles. The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary covers a total of 1,500 square miles south and west of Santa Barbara.
It includes San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa and Santa Barbara islands.Publish Date:October 23, 2002
from Daily Breeze Article