DockRat
08-30-2009, 08:24 PM
From the ' Easy Reader ' weekly newpaper :thumps:
Council takes up fight for Rocky Point
by Mark McDermott
Published August 20, 2009
The City Council has joined the fight for Rocky Point.
The council moved Tuesday night to send a delegation to the next round of meetings regarding the Marine Life Protection Act, a state law currently in the process of being implemented. The law will create a network of marine reserves intended to increase fish and other marine wildlife populations. The ongoing MLPA political process is in the midst of identifying exactly where those reserves will be located.
Locally, the concern is that an area along the north coast of the Palos Verdes Peninsula known as Rocky Point will be closed to fishing. At Tuesday night’s council meeting, the city’s harbor commission asked the council to authorize a study of the economic impacts of such a closure locally, and allow harbor commissioners to attend MLPA meetings to argue on the city’s behalf that Rocky Point not be designated as a reserve.
Councilman Bill Brand suggested instead that the council itself step into the MLPA fray. He said that the political process is moving quickly – with key meetings occurring in September and October – and that elected officials needed to be heard at those meetings.
“I think it’s really important to come out strong on this now,” Brand said. “This is our only opportunity.”
Rocky Point is the most productive and popular nearby fishing area. Local fishermen and marina operators have strenuously argued that such a closure would be both economically and culturally damaging to Redondo Beach, changing the very nature of a harbor that has historically been known for its small boat, recreational fishing enthusiasts.
The area was included in earlier reserve proposals in the MLPA process and appears to fit the scientific criteria for desired reserves – ecosystems rich in biodiversity and capable, if protected from fishing, of producing a sharp increase in “biomass” that would theoretically increase fish populations overall.
Brand said that Rocky Point’s importance to Redondo Beach qualifies the area for an exception allowed within the MLPA’s scientific guidelines, due to the potential socioeconomic impacts its closure would have locally.
“I think at this point Rocky Point qualifies as an exception, and we can make an argument for that,” Brand said.
Mayor Mike Gin, with council guidance, on July 27 wrote a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opposing the entire MLPA South Coast project – the Marine Act implementation is separated by regions – unless more finite goals are set and “key performance indicators” are included in the law to gauge its impact both environmentally and economically. The letter also called for “sunset clauses” to allow for the removal of fishing restrictions when goals are met.
Gin’s letter also argued that the closure of the Rocky Point area “would have a devastating socio-economic impact on the region.”
Councilman Steve Diels stressed the importance of these arguments. He said that the MLPA could be beneficial both economically and environmentally, but in its current form is more likely simply to be a punitive environmental law with no built-in “look-backs” to measure both its biological and economic impacts.
“It may be that Rocky Point is the right place, but there is no look-back to determine that…I suspect that that they are not right, and they are selecting big, broad regions to pass a law and go to cocktail parties when they are done and say, ‘Look at what we have done,’” Diels said.
“If they are not setting goals, just passing a law to keep people out of there…I don’t support it,” Diels added. “Their goal should be to return the Santa Monica Bay to a viable ecological and marine environment.”
Harbor, Business, and Transit Director Gwendolyn Parker said that another of the harbor commission’s recommendations – that the city conduct an economic analysis of the potential closure of Rocky Point – was not feasible to budget and understaffing constraints in the city. Instead, the council and mayor will send another letter asking that MLPA officials undertake such a study.
Harbor commissioner Trisha Murakawa lauded the council, particularly Brand, for showing leadership on the issue. But she stressed the importance of the city doing its own economic analysis so that city officials can go to MLPA meetings with information about how many businesses would be affected, how many employees, and how much revenue would be lost.
“We just want to make sure some kind of economic analysis be done, so you can go armed with that information,” she said. “We feel that is imperative.”
Sean Guthrie, vice president of Marina Cove Ltd., which operates King Harbor Marina, likewise stressed the importance of an economic study. He estimated the city could lose as much as $3 million annually. He said that a study already commissioned in the MLPA process “stopped at the docks” and failed to measure economic impacts beyond the obvious losses in fishing.
“This is moving fast,” Guthrie said. “That is the big issue. They are not giving economic consideration. The only way to do that is to come armed with your own data.”
Ed Ramirez, a kayak angler from Manhattan Beach, said that socioeconomic considerations have been ignored in the MLPA process.
[The] focus is on the science, the science, and the science, and the socioeconomic data…‘Oh, it’s ancillary,’ and they are just turning a blind eye to it,” Ramirez said. “…So it is going to be in our back yard, very possibly from the Redondo pier down to Point Vicente. So speaking loud and firm and addressing how we are opposed to this is the only way to make something happen.”
Leslie Page, the property manager at the Redondo Beach Marina, said that the marina is putting together its own study regarding the economic impact Rocky Point closure would have on its businesses, restaurants, and fishermen. She urged the council to make its voice heard in the upcoming MLPA process.
“This is so vital for us as a community,” Page said. “We need you guys.”
The council approved sending a delegation that will include Gin, Brand, and at least one other council member. The next MLPA proceeding is a meeting of the South Coast Regional Stakeholder group on Sept. 9 and 10 in Los Angeles. Three competing marine reserve proposals are expected to emerge from that meeting. ER
http://www.easyreadernews.com/story.php?StoryID=20035296&IssuePath=
Council takes up fight for Rocky Point
by Mark McDermott
Published August 20, 2009
The City Council has joined the fight for Rocky Point.
The council moved Tuesday night to send a delegation to the next round of meetings regarding the Marine Life Protection Act, a state law currently in the process of being implemented. The law will create a network of marine reserves intended to increase fish and other marine wildlife populations. The ongoing MLPA political process is in the midst of identifying exactly where those reserves will be located.
Locally, the concern is that an area along the north coast of the Palos Verdes Peninsula known as Rocky Point will be closed to fishing. At Tuesday night’s council meeting, the city’s harbor commission asked the council to authorize a study of the economic impacts of such a closure locally, and allow harbor commissioners to attend MLPA meetings to argue on the city’s behalf that Rocky Point not be designated as a reserve.
Councilman Bill Brand suggested instead that the council itself step into the MLPA fray. He said that the political process is moving quickly – with key meetings occurring in September and October – and that elected officials needed to be heard at those meetings.
“I think it’s really important to come out strong on this now,” Brand said. “This is our only opportunity.”
Rocky Point is the most productive and popular nearby fishing area. Local fishermen and marina operators have strenuously argued that such a closure would be both economically and culturally damaging to Redondo Beach, changing the very nature of a harbor that has historically been known for its small boat, recreational fishing enthusiasts.
The area was included in earlier reserve proposals in the MLPA process and appears to fit the scientific criteria for desired reserves – ecosystems rich in biodiversity and capable, if protected from fishing, of producing a sharp increase in “biomass” that would theoretically increase fish populations overall.
Brand said that Rocky Point’s importance to Redondo Beach qualifies the area for an exception allowed within the MLPA’s scientific guidelines, due to the potential socioeconomic impacts its closure would have locally.
“I think at this point Rocky Point qualifies as an exception, and we can make an argument for that,” Brand said.
Mayor Mike Gin, with council guidance, on July 27 wrote a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opposing the entire MLPA South Coast project – the Marine Act implementation is separated by regions – unless more finite goals are set and “key performance indicators” are included in the law to gauge its impact both environmentally and economically. The letter also called for “sunset clauses” to allow for the removal of fishing restrictions when goals are met.
Gin’s letter also argued that the closure of the Rocky Point area “would have a devastating socio-economic impact on the region.”
Councilman Steve Diels stressed the importance of these arguments. He said that the MLPA could be beneficial both economically and environmentally, but in its current form is more likely simply to be a punitive environmental law with no built-in “look-backs” to measure both its biological and economic impacts.
“It may be that Rocky Point is the right place, but there is no look-back to determine that…I suspect that that they are not right, and they are selecting big, broad regions to pass a law and go to cocktail parties when they are done and say, ‘Look at what we have done,’” Diels said.
“If they are not setting goals, just passing a law to keep people out of there…I don’t support it,” Diels added. “Their goal should be to return the Santa Monica Bay to a viable ecological and marine environment.”
Harbor, Business, and Transit Director Gwendolyn Parker said that another of the harbor commission’s recommendations – that the city conduct an economic analysis of the potential closure of Rocky Point – was not feasible to budget and understaffing constraints in the city. Instead, the council and mayor will send another letter asking that MLPA officials undertake such a study.
Harbor commissioner Trisha Murakawa lauded the council, particularly Brand, for showing leadership on the issue. But she stressed the importance of the city doing its own economic analysis so that city officials can go to MLPA meetings with information about how many businesses would be affected, how many employees, and how much revenue would be lost.
“We just want to make sure some kind of economic analysis be done, so you can go armed with that information,” she said. “We feel that is imperative.”
Sean Guthrie, vice president of Marina Cove Ltd., which operates King Harbor Marina, likewise stressed the importance of an economic study. He estimated the city could lose as much as $3 million annually. He said that a study already commissioned in the MLPA process “stopped at the docks” and failed to measure economic impacts beyond the obvious losses in fishing.
“This is moving fast,” Guthrie said. “That is the big issue. They are not giving economic consideration. The only way to do that is to come armed with your own data.”
Ed Ramirez, a kayak angler from Manhattan Beach, said that socioeconomic considerations have been ignored in the MLPA process.
[The] focus is on the science, the science, and the science, and the socioeconomic data…‘Oh, it’s ancillary,’ and they are just turning a blind eye to it,” Ramirez said. “…So it is going to be in our back yard, very possibly from the Redondo pier down to Point Vicente. So speaking loud and firm and addressing how we are opposed to this is the only way to make something happen.”
Leslie Page, the property manager at the Redondo Beach Marina, said that the marina is putting together its own study regarding the economic impact Rocky Point closure would have on its businesses, restaurants, and fishermen. She urged the council to make its voice heard in the upcoming MLPA process.
“This is so vital for us as a community,” Page said. “We need you guys.”
The council approved sending a delegation that will include Gin, Brand, and at least one other council member. The next MLPA proceeding is a meeting of the South Coast Regional Stakeholder group on Sept. 9 and 10 in Los Angeles. Three competing marine reserve proposals are expected to emerge from that meeting. ER
http://www.easyreadernews.com/story.php?StoryID=20035296&IssuePath=