In Reply to: California Establishes Network of Marine Reserves posted by on August 15, 2006 at 23:47:31:

I spent the whole of yesterday sitting in the F&G Commission
meeting in Monterey.

Here's what they passed in Monterey dive areas:

Breakwater to the Aquarium is a State Marine Conservation Area, allowing hook and line fin fishing and hand kelp harvesting. That
means no spearfishing, but there's not much already (City of
Monterey prohibits it from the beach, and if you have a boat, you
go where there's more fish. But there's also a closure of fishing
from the Monterey breakwater (except for the handicapped) during
peak weekend diving hours, exact times to be negotiated.

Aquarium to Lover's Pt. is a State Marine Reserve, NO TAKE.
This will be an interesting area in 20 years.

Lover's Pt. to Pt. Pinos is an SMCA, recreational finfish
take by hook and spear, hand kelp harvesting.

Pt. Pinos to Pt. Joe is an SMR, NO TAKE.

There's a postage stamp SMR on Carmel Inner and Outer Pinnacles,
but that's all. NO TAKE.

There's an SMCA inshore of a line from Pescadero Pt. to Granite
Pt. Recreational fishing allowed.

The best part is an SMR from North Monastery Beach all the way
to Malpaso Creek Bridge (south of Yankee Pt.). NO Take.

And there's an SMR at Pt. Sur.

The SMCAs are pretty much no change from current practice. The
SMRs are what's important.

It's not everything we wanted (we really wanted breakwater to
Lovers to be an SMR, and a bigger SMR in north Carmel Bay, but
it is a LOT better than what we have (tiny SMR at Hopkins, the
current 800 acresish SMR (effectively, it's actually a diffent
reg under Parks and Rec, not DFG) at Pt. Lobos).

A lot of local divers worked very hard for this.

Chuck

• Re: Re: California Establishes Network of Marine Reserves Elaine 20:01:52 08/16/06 (0)