Noyo Jim
09-30-2008, 02:07 PM
Proposed Regulations Threaten North Coast Abalone Resource
By Jim Martin
This Thursday, the California Fish and Game Commission will meet at the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa to hear public testimony regarding the implementation of the Marine Life Protection Act. After more than a year of public stakeholder meetings, a range of alternatives for marine protected areas, including no-fishing zones, have been proposed for the Commission's consideration.
Fifty years ago, north coast recreational abalone divers – as co-managers of their fishery along with the Department of Fish and Game – built a strong reserve component into the regulations as a hedge against overfishing. By limiting the take of abalone to breath-hold diving, and banning scuba gear we protected the "seed corn" for next year's harvest. Southern California took a different route: scuba gear was allowed in the recreational fishery and commercial divers harvested the resource without many controls. As a result that fishery was depleted and is now closed.
Recreational abalone divers have worked actively for many years with Fish and Game to conserve the abalone resource. Last year the Sonoma County Abalone Network (SCAN) paid seven thousand dollars for our wardens to learn about how Canada deals with its abalone poaching problem.
There is a fatal flaw with the proposed regulations for marine protected areas on the Sonoma coast. The area closures add up to a 30% loss of public access points for shore-based divers. Public access is limited because of the steep cliffs, by private property, and by the lack of boat launching facilities in the region.
Most of this redirected diving effort will directed into Fort Ross. Concentrating abalone diving on the coast is much like transforming a gentle rain into a fire hose. The same fishing pressure when channeled into a few spots will scour the resource and damage the fishery.
Fortunately, the Commission has a chance to head off this unintended consequence of marine protected areas. Some of the proposed conservation areas ban abalone diving, but almost no other types of fishing, and they should be removed from the range of alternatives. By moving one boundary line at the proposed Stewarts Point Marine Reserve, just a mile and a half to the north, the Commission would take a huge step in maintaining a sustainable fishery that provides millions of dollars worth of economic value to Sonoma County.
The changes we are requesting in no way reduce the overall protection levels of the proposed network of marine protected areas. Conservation areas that fail to meet the MLPA science guidelines should be removed from consideration. Indeed, the protection values increase when the regulations focus on marine reserves, rather than species-specific regulations like those proposed for Sea Lion Cove, near Point Arena. This new public access site, at the Stornetta Ranch, was purchased in part with $1 million contributed by recreational anglers and divers through the Sport Fish Restoration Act fund. Now they want to kick us out?
Anglers and divers have contributed billions of dollars for American habitat conservation. It's a sustainable funding model that has served us well for over a century. In return for our financial support for conservation and management, our public access to natural resources has been preserved for future generations to enjoy.
Self-styled ocean protection advocates are offering a new model for conservation: private foundation funding for habitat programs that do not respect the traditions and outdoor heritage that we hold dear. Time will tell if this new model of resource protectionism will prove to be sustainable. When the trust funding dries up, and a new environmental crisis attracts this foundation money, will the abalone divers and anglers still be around to advocate for the resource, and pay for its management?
Jim Martin is the West Coast Regional Director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance (www.JoinRFA.org) and a board member of the Sonoma County Abalone Network (www.abalonenetwork.org). He lives in Fort Bragg.
By Jim Martin
This Thursday, the California Fish and Game Commission will meet at the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa to hear public testimony regarding the implementation of the Marine Life Protection Act. After more than a year of public stakeholder meetings, a range of alternatives for marine protected areas, including no-fishing zones, have been proposed for the Commission's consideration.
Fifty years ago, north coast recreational abalone divers – as co-managers of their fishery along with the Department of Fish and Game – built a strong reserve component into the regulations as a hedge against overfishing. By limiting the take of abalone to breath-hold diving, and banning scuba gear we protected the "seed corn" for next year's harvest. Southern California took a different route: scuba gear was allowed in the recreational fishery and commercial divers harvested the resource without many controls. As a result that fishery was depleted and is now closed.
Recreational abalone divers have worked actively for many years with Fish and Game to conserve the abalone resource. Last year the Sonoma County Abalone Network (SCAN) paid seven thousand dollars for our wardens to learn about how Canada deals with its abalone poaching problem.
There is a fatal flaw with the proposed regulations for marine protected areas on the Sonoma coast. The area closures add up to a 30% loss of public access points for shore-based divers. Public access is limited because of the steep cliffs, by private property, and by the lack of boat launching facilities in the region.
Most of this redirected diving effort will directed into Fort Ross. Concentrating abalone diving on the coast is much like transforming a gentle rain into a fire hose. The same fishing pressure when channeled into a few spots will scour the resource and damage the fishery.
Fortunately, the Commission has a chance to head off this unintended consequence of marine protected areas. Some of the proposed conservation areas ban abalone diving, but almost no other types of fishing, and they should be removed from the range of alternatives. By moving one boundary line at the proposed Stewarts Point Marine Reserve, just a mile and a half to the north, the Commission would take a huge step in maintaining a sustainable fishery that provides millions of dollars worth of economic value to Sonoma County.
The changes we are requesting in no way reduce the overall protection levels of the proposed network of marine protected areas. Conservation areas that fail to meet the MLPA science guidelines should be removed from consideration. Indeed, the protection values increase when the regulations focus on marine reserves, rather than species-specific regulations like those proposed for Sea Lion Cove, near Point Arena. This new public access site, at the Stornetta Ranch, was purchased in part with $1 million contributed by recreational anglers and divers through the Sport Fish Restoration Act fund. Now they want to kick us out?
Anglers and divers have contributed billions of dollars for American habitat conservation. It's a sustainable funding model that has served us well for over a century. In return for our financial support for conservation and management, our public access to natural resources has been preserved for future generations to enjoy.
Self-styled ocean protection advocates are offering a new model for conservation: private foundation funding for habitat programs that do not respect the traditions and outdoor heritage that we hold dear. Time will tell if this new model of resource protectionism will prove to be sustainable. When the trust funding dries up, and a new environmental crisis attracts this foundation money, will the abalone divers and anglers still be around to advocate for the resource, and pay for its management?
Jim Martin is the West Coast Regional Director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance (www.JoinRFA.org) and a board member of the Sonoma County Abalone Network (www.abalonenetwork.org). He lives in Fort Bragg.