Marine Life Protection Act .... Say Goodbye To Nearshore Fishing!!

[bones]

CAPT Scott from the FNN put up this notice many months ago and everyone here just kind of blew it off. BUT THE BALL KEPT ROLLING!
I've got to admit......Fisherman as a whole can be VERY passive and not willing to stand up for many causes they believe in. The MLPA IS A FACT FOLKS and it's steam rolling ahead with not much resistance from the fishing community as a whole. Sure......The commercial fisherman have shown their concern and the guys who own and opperate the Charter services but the regular good old joe fisherman who likes to shorefish or spend a day out on his own boat has not stepped up to the plate.I copied these links from another board where the topic is widely discussed.If these maps don't freak out the fishing community here then you folks better check yourself for a heartbeat!

These maps just came out so if you still want to catch your near shore yellowtail, white seabass or bugs, you may want to pay attention to the areas the enviro's are trying to close off to all. The MLPA affects everyone here from the surf fisherman to the guys who like to fish the nearshore islands and it's VERY extensive!
I believe that FNN has grown to a huge amount of members and the forums here are a good medium to help us group together and keep the fishing community informed.

Talk about this in your clubs, friends, etc. and start ramping up for a fight. This is happening faster than you think.

This is the link to the general site.........
California Department of Fish & Game, Marine Life Protection Act Initiative

These are the maps that are being proposed by ENVIROS
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/pdfs/agenda_030309n6ii.pdf

These are the maps proposed by our constituents
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/pdfs/agenda_030309n5ii.pdf
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/pdfs/agenda_030309n4ii.pdf

I hope that this is worthy of Dana putting up a sticky to keep this topic at the top of the board.

I just want my kids and future generations to be able to enjoy our little sport in the future and they want to close ALL of my favorite spots to surf fish!

[bsp]

That's really bad. Bones, do you know how I can get involved?

[CAPT'N]

As part of the process, MLPA has hearings where any one can speak. The want public input. But alas, the meeting come with hundreds of fish petting activists speaking, and rarely a single fisherman on the pulpit.

Tonight in Long Beach just steps from the Fred Hall show there was an open call for public comments.

I have friends there that are stakeholders-representatives of the fishing side of the equation.

Want to get involved-you need to get educated. Read what Bones posted,

hear is an article from my clubs on line monthly called the Chum Line

"MLPA—AND THE BEAT GOES ON
FOR OBVIOUS REASONS THIS PAGE WILL BE DEVOTED TO THE ACTIVITIES WITHIN
THE MLPA PROCESS. NOTHING COULD BE MORE IMPORTANT TO THE FUTURE
OF RECREATIONAL FISHING.
John Ballotti writes: The next meeting of the MLPA South Coast Regional
Stakeholder group is in our backyard in Long Beach on March 3-4. The meeting
will be held at the Hilton Long Beach Executive Center, 701 W. Ocean Blvd, Long
Beach. Public Comment is scheduled for approximately 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday the
3rd and 8 a.m. on Wednesday the 4th. Having a strong, informed fishing interest
contingent at the upcoming meeting is critical. Up to now, public input has been
dominated by those who do not have our interests at heart. It is time for the
whole RSG to hear from those whose lives and livelihoods will be affected by the
recommendations made by the stakeholders. After moving the meeting to Long
Beach, I would hate to think of the consequences of a fishing interest “no show”.
It is hard enough to get our message across now, but an embarrassing lack of
interest by fishermen will add fuel to the closure fire. Time is set aside for public
comment. We need those comments! "

and another:

MLPA—AND THE BEAT GOES ON
THE FOLLOWING IS AN UPDATE BY JOHN BALLOTTI WHO IS ONE OF THE SOUTH COAST REGIONAL
STAKEHOLDER REPRESENTATIVES. HE REPRESENTS THE RECREATIONAL COMMUNITY AT MEETINGS AND
SUBMITS PERIODIC REPORTS FOR OUR CONSUMPTION. THANKS JOHN...
On January 13-14 the South Coast Regional Stakeholder Group (SCRSG)
met in San Diego in final preparation prior to breaking into three working
groups to propose draft Marine Protected Area (MPA) Networks in the South
Coast Region. After adopting the regional objectives in support of the MLPA
goals, general presentations were made by members of the Fish & Game
Department, The Science Advisory Team (SAT), and the Marine Life Protection
Act Initiative Team (MLPA I-Team) designed to prepare the group for their
task of proposing MPAs in the South Coast Region.
The MLPA I-Team then revealed the three working groups that are charged
with the task of developing MPA proposals. The teams consist of cross interest,
cross regional representatives that mirror the composition of the entire
SCRSG. Working sessions are scheduled for January 29th and February 10th
to develop the draft proposals. At the next full SCRSG meeting scheduled for
March 3 and 4, the working teams will present their draft proposals to the
entire group. Additionally, any external proposals received by February 18th
submitted by the public that meet
the guidelines will also be presented.By design this is an iterative process.
Each proposal will be reviewed by the SAT, commented on, and adjusted
until compliance to the guidelines and consensus is achieved. No one
expects unanimous adoption of any one proposal. In the end there will
be a number of proposals forwarded to the Blue Ribbon Task Force. By
the March dinner meeting we will know the extent of the differences in
the proposals. Stay tuned."

If you wqant to be on the mailing list for MLPA information:

MLPAinitiative@lists.ceres.ca.gov

Thats all folks........................

Capt.

[sansou]

Bones and CAPT'N,

What do the cattleboat operators have to say? Do they even show up or do they all leave the talking to their RSG?

[bones]

From a surf fisherman/harbor fisherman's viewpoint.......Alot of guys have told me recently that they don't have the resources to enforce such closures but then I started to think. Take Newport harbor for example.....
The residents there don't even want fisherman fishing in their little private community. Once they make it a protected area and make sure that all of the residents are aware that fisherman are no longer allowed to be there......... any resident can make a call to the harbor patrol and turn you in. Kinda hard to deny you are fishing when harbor patrol rolls up on you and tells you that you are in violation of a FEDERAL law.
Hey......They will use the eyes of the locals to turn you in. Coastguard,Lifeguards,Harbor patrol,DFG wardens.....Even local police and residents will be hunting you down. It won't take much to enforce the MLPA. The citations and resulting fines will generate alot of extra revenue for the local cities.
Don't kid yourself folks.......They were able to do it from PT Conception all of the way up to the Oregon border. SoCal will be no different if we don't make a serious stand.
Keep in mind that the MLPA is Already a done deal. The only thing right now that is on the table is what will be closed. 20% of the areas or 80%.........

[bones]

Bones and CAPT'N,

What do the cattleboat operators have to say? Do they even show up or do they all leave the talking to their RSG?

Good question Rich......Scott is much more in the loop than I am since he is deeply involved with the LA Rod and Reel club. I've just been reading alot about it on BD. BD is a board where 99% of the guys are offshore fisherman and the debate on this subject is very heated. All Scott had to tell me was this is why there are NO LONGER Cattleboats north of Pt Conception!

[Wingnut]

Damn, that's A LOT of prime fishing real estate going to be affected.
If you don't speak up... you won't be heard.
Better to do something about it now than having to complain about it when it's too late.

[e-cat]

If you fish the Santa Barbara area, look very closely at what is on the chopping block- Every single proposal, has us loosing a large zone from the Goleta Pier -North (the enviro proposal takes an even bigger swath, starting some 300 yards south of the pier-) As was stated allready- You need to get involved on some level- Attend a meeting and voice your opinion, in a civilized way. Proper comunication, rather than ranting and raving will get you you heard- Write a clean and concise letter and email it to the people working on these things- Tell them your feelings, and even give them contructive modifications to what is being offered- Do something!- There is a lot of prime Flatty Habitat, that is easaily fished from shore, Kayak, Float Tube, or small boat, that will be gone very soon - Steve

[CAPT'N]

Good question Rich,

First- Bones is right-The MLPA IS a done deal, but here is the "Open Door"

The MLPA leaves what areas to close to the local area stakeholder groups advisers. Meaning they take the recommendations under consideration.

From past MLPA areas, the level of interest of the people in the affected areas has a large impact on the closure areas. For example, the MLPA directs that x% of an area must be protected, but the Ecos push if 20% is good, then 99% closure is better. They are always out in force at the meetings!

The voice of the fishermen of the communities directly effected, is paramount to the success or failure to keep areas open. For example, Mike fisherman (sorry Bones) fishes Malibu on weekends for Flatties, he buys coffee and and rolls from Starbucks in the morning, pays for parking near the beach, then when he is done tops off his gas and buys lunch in the city of Malibu.

When he can not fish Malibu, Malibu loses $, repeat this for all the fishermen/fisherwomen that fish the ocean and you see there is a $$$ impact to the local merchants, and the city tax base. This may sound far fetched, but this is the type of "data" that the Ecos cant argue against. This argument actually works, as many merchants do attend as they are worried!

The point is we need to be a voice!

As far as the boat owners, landings, and crew, some are very involved, some not. The results will be reflected in the number of voices heard, and the arguments they make. Many prime fishing areas WILL be lost, but we can mitigate the damage for us and for future generations.

The Los Angeles Rod and Reel Club is to my knowledge the only fishing club with two stakeholders on the MLPA panel. Check out our website, read our Chum Line monthly for MLPA updates, and subscribe to the link below for MLPA e-mails.

HERE: MLPAinitiative@lists.ceres.ca.gov



Capt'n

[Granny Fish]

I need to go to some of these meetings and learn more. I'm having a hard time understanding the reasoning behind such restrictions on these areas. What studies have been done to support the need for closure?