May/June MLPA Update from the KFASC

Important meetings are coming up regarding YOUR fisheries. Please read on about the Central Coast Regional Stakeholder Group meetings. If you can somehow attend a meeting (they will be held during regular working hours anywhere between Pt Conception and Pigeon Pt) please let me know and I'll put you in touch with our contacts on the panel. You can find me via the website or email to [email protected].

Thanks, and I'll see you at the SC Derby! Anyone for Big Sur the day BEFORE?  

Paul L



Kayak Fishing Association of (Southern) California
May / June 2005 Newsletter


Confused Seas Ahead
MLPA Moving Forward Toward Fishing Closures After a Short Pause

Folks, we’re navigating through snotty seas and worse could be on the horizon. The past few weeks were the calm before the storm. The Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) process will resume its march towards fishing closures on June 8th at the first meeting of the Central Coast Regional Stakeholder Group. This group is responsible for suggesting the first network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for 166 miles of coast stretching from Pigeon Point to Point Conception.

In the meantime, the major political forces in the recreational fishing world are scrambling. For now, they will continue to stay the course and work within the process. However, abundant signs point to a loss of confidence in a process that smells of tainted special interest money and seems to point at a predetermined conclusion of massive closures. The influential Coastside Fishing Club of northern and central California recently issued a White Paper scathingly critical of the work on the MLPA (http://www.coastsidefishingclub.com/drupal/ubbthreads/user_uploads/172106-00004716.pdf). To me it reads like a shot across the bow of the environmental interest groups that are directly funding the MLPA. Coastside could be readying for a future fight in the courts.  

United Anglers of Southern California (UASC) cooked up an unexpected proposal to classify the entire coast as an MPA. As radical as it sounds, there could be merit in the idea, and UASC has a great track record when it comes to fisheries regulation and legislation. As UASC sees it, an MPA is not necessarily a reserve, and they picture profound positive implications in unifying fisheries decision-making under the California Fish and Game Commission. I’m not sure, but I’ll keep an open mind.

And so, the MLPA process moves on. Hold on tightly to that paddle friends, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. As events unfold, the KFASC will try to steer with wind and tide to a conclusion we can hopefully live with. Taking the lead of the big boys, we’ll continue to work within the process to protect our interests, but we’ll keep scanning the horizon, ready to change course for a sweet patch of glassy water.  

Paul Lebowitz


How You Can Help

The KFASC extends a warm welcome to new members. Thanks for your support and offers to help. At this point our greatest need is in Central California for representatives to attend Central Coast Regional Stakeholder Group meetings. We always need people who can alert us to issues in their local communities, and then lead a focused response.  In the future we may ask for your support in letter writing campaigns or other political outreach efforts. Contact KFASC leadership at any time by writing to [email protected].


MLPA Update: Central Coast Regional Stakeholder Group Selected

On May 16th the MLPA Initiative staff and the Department of Fish and Game announced the membership of the Central Coast Regional Stakeholder Group. This group, working with a professional mediator, will labor to produce the state’s first network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) under the aegis of the MLPA. The MPAs will be located along a broad stretch of the California coastline ranging from Pigeon Point to Point Conception.

The first meeting of the Stakeholder Group will take place on Wednesday, June 8th in Monterey. For additional information, please refer to the DFG’s MLPA meetings website: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/mlpa/meetings.html#centralcoast.

The KFASC is not directly represented on the Stakeholder’s Group, nor did we expect to be. It is up to us to work with the representatives of the recreational fishing community who were selected: Howard Egan of the Recreational Fishing Alliance and Ben Sleeter of the Coastside Fishing Club. The KFASC needs your help to do so. If you can attend any of the upcoming meetings of the Stakeholder’s Group, please contact us at [email protected].
 

DFG News Release: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/mlpa/centralcoast.html.
MLPA Initiative, Department of Fish and Game Announce Central Coast Regional Stakeholder Group
 
 
Members of the Central Coast Regional Stakeholder Group
(May 16, 2005)
•   D'Anne Albers, Executive Director, Friends of the Sea Otter
•   Rick Algert, Harbor Director, City of Morro Bay
•   John Aliotti, Owner, Carmel Canyon Spot Prawns (alternate for David Crabbe)
•   Don Canestro, Reserve Director, Ken Norris Rancho Marino Reserve, UC Santa Barbara
•   Tom Capen, President, Port San Luis Commercial Fishermen’s Association
•   David Crabbe, Vice President, California Wetfish Producers Association
•   Dave Edlund, Chair of Skindiving, Central California Council of Diving Clubs
•   Howard Egan, Sanctuary Affairs Coordinator, Recreational Fishing Alliance
•   Jay Elder, Harbormaster, Port San Luis (alternate for Rick Algert)
•   Eric Endersby, Diving Representative, Recreational Fishing Alliance Advisory Board
•   Ellen Faurot-Daniels, Oil Spill Supervisor, California Coastal Commission
•   Ray Fields, President, The Abalone Farm
•   Kaitilin Gaffney, Central Coast Program Manager, The Ocean Conservancy
•   Tom Hafer, President, South-Central Nearshore Trap Organization
•   Bob Hather, Member, Board of Directors, Central Coast Fisheries Conservation Coalition
•   Gordon Hensley, Executive Director, San Luis Obispo Coastkeeper
•   Carol Jones, Co-owner, Tom’s Sportfishing (alternate for Tom Mattusch)
•   Michelle Knight, Vice President and Owner, Adventures by the Sea
•   Kris Lindstrom, President, K. P. Lindstrom, Inc.
•   Ron Massengill, recreational fisherman and conservationist
•   Tom Mattusch, Owner, Hulicat Sportfishing
•   Huff McGonigal, Environmental Policy Specialist, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (alternate for Holly Price)
•   Josh Mendenhall, Moss Landing Manager, Monterey Bay Kayaks (alternate for Michelle Knight)
•   Marla Morrissey, Conservation Chair, Marine Interest Group of San Luis Obispo County
•   Darby Neil, Owner, Virg's Landing Sportfishing
•   Holly Price, Resource Protection Coordinator, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
•   Milos Radakovich, coastal naturalist and educator
•   Mike Ricketts, President, Monterey Fishermen’s Marketing Association
•   Robin V. Robinson, artistic community
•   Jesus Ruiz, California State Coordinator, National YMCA SCUBA Program
•   Steve Scheiblauer, Harbormaster, City of Monterey
•   Walter Schobel, Flight Chief, Airspace and Offshore Management Flight, Vandenberg Air Force Base
•   Art Seavey, Partner, Monterey Abalone Company
•   Marc Shargel, Sea Life Photographer, Lumigenic Media (alternate for John Wolfe)
•   Steve Shimek, Executive Director, The Otter Project (alternate for D’Anne Albers)
•   Ben Sleeter, MLPA Advisor, Board of Directors, Coastside Fishing Club (alternate for Howard Egan)
•   Mike Stiller, President, Santa Cruz Commercial Fishermen’s Association (alternate for Mike Ricketts)
•   Jim Webb, President, Cambria Fishing Club (alternate for Bob Hather)
•   John Wolfe, Advanced Assessment Team Volunteer Diver, Reef Environmental Education Foundation  
 
Learn more about the MLPA at the state's MLPA Initiative Website www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/mlpa/index.html.

Paul:

Thanks for your continued effort.