Last night in Ventura there was a public forum on the possibility of slightly increasing the no take zones in the CINMS. Most of the speakers were against adding any more protected area to the reserve. I spoke in favor of making them as big as possible. The thing that always makes an impression on me at those meetings is how little credence anyone connected to the fishing industry gives to any scientific research. Some were claiming that there are are more fish now than there were 40 years ago. The others blamed all the declines of marine life on el nino. One blamed everything on the growing sea lion population. They are like creationists in that they cannot acknowledge any truth that doesn't fit their own dogma. In their view all science and research is worthless and has been discredited. They also dismiss the notion that everything in the sea is interconnected and don't allow that if you tamper with one species it will effect others. It felt like going back to the middle ages or to a klan meeting. Glad to have been able to speak out in defense of conservation but feel a chill from rubbing elbows with the marine environment equivalent of Holocaust deniers.

• Education Program Elaine 11:06:26 09/27/06 (1)
  • Re: Education Program stephen clark 11:37:33 09/27/06 (0)