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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The Seaweed Rebellion: North Coast Enviros Battle Schwarzenegger and Big Green Over MLPA


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Posted by Eric S on June 22, 2009 at 08:30:45:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The Seaweed Rebellion: North Coast Enviros Battle Schwarzenegger and Big Green Over MLPA posted by Chris Knight on June 21, 2009 at 23:23:34:

Sea ranch is NOT a heavily fished area. My sister in law has a house there and I go up there a lot, not always to ab dive (very seldom actually - there are much better places).
First off, Sea Ranch is all private except for 5 access beaches which are very long walks to get to, and 3 of them do not provide ideal structure and conditions to host any sort of ab populations. Also, Sea Ranch has little safe access points even for those that have a pass card and are allowed to walk the bluff and park on the private roads. Not that many people that live at Sea RAnch abalone dive; most of them are old and retired. There are some rentals and so there is some seasonal ab diving by guests but not the raping and pilaging like you suggest.

I get down to Southern California a few times a year. I am a member of the Sea Divers and get out to the Channel Islands once in a while too. From what I see down there there are no ab populations because they blew it and grossly mis-managed it. If there never was a commercial ab fishery and if they never allowed scuba for recreational take maybe you'd still have some abs. There has been no commercial take up here since the late 40's and scuba was never allowed. That is why the numbers drastically change when you cross the magic line. When you get further north the numbers go down because the territory is less hospitable to red ab populations. In Oregon I believe they still allow scuba.

As far as your assessment that abs in the whole state are declining, yes that's true (as a whole), but if you look at it that way then it's Socal thats dragging the numbers down not a decrease in numbers on the North Coast.

As far as you thinking I'm trying to protect some sort of selfish self interest of mine, no, that's not true. Like I said, I'm not an ab addict and am not trying to protect some sort of me me me thing (I know plenty like that though).

It would bother me though to see a bunch of legislators freak out that the ab populations are collapsing on the North Coast and make a hasty knee jerk decision based on the limited knowledge on what they see at Vandamme bay or a handfull of other easily accesses spots, that's all.

Personally I could care less if they shut the whole thing down tommorow, but I think you guys are overreacting a bit.

Finally, they need to focus on poachers as the main threat to North Coast ab populations, not necessarily the guy out there getting 3 abs three or four weekends a year. Even if they shut it down completely or reduced take there would still be poaching in large numbers. Poachers don't care, the laws are weak and they know it.




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