Posted by Brad on November 01, 2002 at 19:48:10:
In Reply to: Re: Got anything to prove it? posted by Steve on November 01, 2002 at 17:52:39:
I have slipped into the water at SCI on a number of occasions and have seen the broken bull kelp and shiny handholds. I get right back in the boat and move on to another place. It is very disheartening.
There should be an established protocol for divers in the reserves. The diveboat operators that are going to benefit from the reserves should be getting together right now to define a new set of guidlines. They should assume key rolls as advocats and monitors of the reserves.
We are entering a new era. There will be new changes that will cause the casual participants to redefine their priorities. I'm optimistic, the free-for-all is coming to an end. Common sense and conservation won the battle over exploitation. I'm hoping this will bring caring people together because there is more work to do.
The living resources of the state belong to all the RESIDENTS of the state. If it were up to me, the first priority would be to ensure that none of the fish caught within state waters would be exported and that all who currently hold commercial licenses must be a resident or forefit their license.
Year to date, 62 million pounds of OUR sardines were landed in San Pedro and shipped directly overseas (mostly to japan for longline bait). I don't know that they were caught in state waters, but that volume of vital forage should never be extracted from our waters. The beneficiaries are too few for us to bear that loss.
When it comes to commercial exploitation, we all share the loss, but we never share the profit...