Seacidal
04-01-2009, 12:29 PM
Doesn't sound all that different, does it?
Fishing Permanently Banned
The California Fish and Game Commission on Wednesday permanently banned fishing from 175 square miles of ocean around the Channel Islands.
The decision culminated four years of scientific and public study and debate over the wisdom of substituting traditional fishing restrictions, such as size and catch limits on selected fish, with a reserve system that protects all forms of marine life.
Hundreds of angry, placard-carrying fishermen said the decision would cut into their livelihoods as well as put some of their favorite fishing grounds off limits.
Approving the Channel Islands reserves was a test case for state Fish and Game officials, who next year will consider imposing no-fishing zones and conservation areas along the state's 1,150-mile coastline.
Scientists say the sea life inside the boundaries of existing reserves is remarkably abundant compared to surrounding waters that are open to fishing.
According a marine scientist at Oregon State University, "the larger the reserves, the larger the potential benefits, including the size of the resident fish. The larger the fish, the more eggs it tends to produce."
"You have to have big, fat females in the system, because they produce an
enormous amount of eggs."
The world's leading marine scientists have called for 20% of the oceans to be set off-limits to keep many types of fish from becoming extinct.
A panel of scientists had recommended that 30% to 50% of the waters around the Channel Islands be protected to allow depleted species to recover and begin "seeding" surrounding areas with larvae and spillover fish.
Fishermen wanted 13% or less placed off limits.
When a two-year effort to reach consensus failed, the state Department of Fish & Game and the Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary came up with a compromise plan.
By Kenneth R. Weiss
Times Staff Writer
October 24 2002
Fishing Permanently Banned
The California Fish and Game Commission on Wednesday permanently banned fishing from 175 square miles of ocean around the Channel Islands.
The decision culminated four years of scientific and public study and debate over the wisdom of substituting traditional fishing restrictions, such as size and catch limits on selected fish, with a reserve system that protects all forms of marine life.
Hundreds of angry, placard-carrying fishermen said the decision would cut into their livelihoods as well as put some of their favorite fishing grounds off limits.
Approving the Channel Islands reserves was a test case for state Fish and Game officials, who next year will consider imposing no-fishing zones and conservation areas along the state's 1,150-mile coastline.
Scientists say the sea life inside the boundaries of existing reserves is remarkably abundant compared to surrounding waters that are open to fishing.
According a marine scientist at Oregon State University, "the larger the reserves, the larger the potential benefits, including the size of the resident fish. The larger the fish, the more eggs it tends to produce."
"You have to have big, fat females in the system, because they produce an
enormous amount of eggs."
The world's leading marine scientists have called for 20% of the oceans to be set off-limits to keep many types of fish from becoming extinct.
A panel of scientists had recommended that 30% to 50% of the waters around the Channel Islands be protected to allow depleted species to recover and begin "seeding" surrounding areas with larvae and spillover fish.
Fishermen wanted 13% or less placed off limits.
When a two-year effort to reach consensus failed, the state Department of Fish & Game and the Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary came up with a compromise plan.
By Kenneth R. Weiss
Times Staff Writer
October 24 2002