CalOceans News

Blue Ribbon Task Force announced for South Coast

2008-08-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

The state recently announced the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force for the South Coast. This group of respected officials and community leaders will oversee the creation of marine protected areas in Southern California. The group's first meeting will be in San Diego on September 8, 2008.

Here's who is on the Task Force for the South Coast region:

William W. Anderson, President of Westrec Marina Management, Inc.
Don Benninghoven (chair), former executive director of the League of California Cities
Meg Caldwell, Director and Senior Lecturer on Law, Stanford Law School's Environment and Natural Resources Law & Policy Program
Susan Golding, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Golding Group and Former Mayor of San Diego
Dr. Jane Pisano, president and director of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Catherine Reheis-Boyd, Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff for the Western States Petroleum Association
Gregory F. Schem, President and Chief Executive Officer of Harbor Real Estate Group

Public workshops draw a crowd

2008-07-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

In late June and early July, hundreds of South Coast residents attended public workshops hosted by the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative.

The goal of the meetings was to introduce ocean users and enthusiasts -- from fishermen to divers to bird watchers -- to the process that will create a series of Marine Protected Areas from Point Conception in Santa Barbara County south to the Mexico border.

News coverage from one of the workshops
DFG homepage for the South Coast process

Nominations are open for south coast regional stakeholder group

2008-06-25T11:50:00.001-07:00

The Department of Fish and Game is now accepting nominations for the regional stakeholder group that will work to design marine protected areas for California's south coast.

What do stakeholders do, you ask? Here is how it worked on the North Central Coast.

Fish and Game Commission proceeds with compromise plan

2008-06-19T14:51:00.000-07:00

On June 11, 2008, the California Fish and Game Commission adopted the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force’s proposed MPA plan as its “preferred alternative” for environmental review purposes. The Commission directed further analysis of the compromise plan as well as the three original MPA proposals developed by stakeholders.

In the coming months, members of the public will have the opportunity to provide comments to the Commission on protections for the North Central Coast. You can send one now on CalOceans.org. Final adoption of the North Central Coast MPAs is expected to occur in late 2008 or early 2009.

World Ocean Day shows California's leadership - UPDATED

2008-06-09T15:48:00.000-07:00

Sunday, June 8 was World Ocean Day. Here are a few recent editorials by some of California's ocean leaders highlighting the challenges our oceans face, and the progress we are making:

Honoring an unsung hero -- our ocean
State Senator Joe Simitian
Santa Cruz Sentinel

For ocean to thrive, balance is in order
Assemblymember Fred Keeley (ret.)
Sacramento Bee

We need to live life with ocean in mind
By Wallace J. Nichols
San Jose Mercury News

ANOTHER VIEW: More to be done for oceans
By By Pam Slater-Price - County supervisor
North County Times

Press Kit: Information on California’s marine protected areas

2008-05-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

Click here to download our current press kit (PDF) with contacts list, fact sheets and other background information on California’s marine protected areas.

The press kit includes:

a brief summary of recent progress on California’s north central coast marine protected area (MPA) network
a north central coast contact list for press inquiries
a glossary of terms
frequently asked questions on marine protected areas
a summary of California’s Marine Life Protection Act success
initial monitoring results from the Channel Islands marine protected areas
marine reserves at a glance
NRDC Factsheet: America's underwater parks

Commission will receive MPA proposals on June 11

2008-05-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

The Fish and Game Commission will receive the proposed alternatives to protect the North Central Coast (including the compromise plan created by the Blue Ribbon Task Force) on June 11.

Who: MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force and the California Fish and Game Commission
What: Joint meeting to formally transmit the north central coast marine protected area recommendations
When: Wednesday, June 11 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Where: Sacramento, California (specific location to be determined and posted with agenda next week)

"A Sheltered Sea" film now online

2008-05-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

The Baum Foundation has just made their stellar film about the MLPA process available for free online.

"A Sheltered Sea: The Journey of the California Marine Life Protection Act" is a 23-minute documentary that tells the story of this landmark law that is now being implemented along the California coast. The film is narrated by the stakeholders, scientists, and public servants who are making it happen.

Take a few minutes and watch "A Sheltered Sea" online. (For the full film, click on "high speed" or "low speed" depending on your internet connection.)

Thank You Ocean podcast provides MLPA introduction

2008-05-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

Last week's "Thank You Ocean" podcast featured a very helpful introduction to the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA).

Melissa Miller-Hensen, Program Manager for the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative, explains the policy and the science behind California's landmark law. Click here to listen.

Maps of North Central Coast "Preferred Alternative" now online

2008-05-01T16:23:00.000-07:00

On April 30, the MLPA Initiative released maps and specifications of the marine protected area plan recommended for the North Central Coast.

View them here: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/northcentralcoast.asp

The Blue Ribbon Task Force's "Integrated Preferred Alternative" is based on three proposals developed by regional stakeholders.

Initiative staff writes:

"The BRTF adopted the IPA on April 23, 2008 and will forward this recommended preferred alternative to the California Fish and Game Commission, along with three proposals developed by the MLPA North Central Coast Regional Stakeholder Group in March 2008."

The last one standing

2008-04-24T16:51:00.000-07:00

The last one standing
by Kate Wing

Originally posted on the NRDC Switchboard

It started raining in San Rafael around 5:30 pm last night, right around rush hour, and the 250 people who'd shown up to talk about marine protected areas were getting antsy. They'd been there since 9 am, wearing shirts and hats and stickers, supporting one proposal or another, waiting for their two minutes to have their say and now there were kids to pick up, dinners to get ready, long drives home on the winding, dark, wet roads of Sonoma and Marin. It's not as amazing to me anymore that two hundred plus people showed up at a public meeting on marine protected areas -- we've had at least that many at the final decision meetings for the Channel Islands and the Central Coast -- no, I was amazed by how many were left when public comment finally opened. At 10 pm.

Fifty people were there to talk about their kayak fishing, their time fishing with kids, the marine mammals they see wounded and sick on the beach, the abalone and kelp they see underwater. For the last year, we've had a group of 45 volunteers from all different background and interests, going over the coast with a magnifying glass, looking at the best habitats, the best fishing holes, the most photogenic dive sites. That group came up with three proposals, placing between 9% and 14% of the 760 square mile region in fully protected marine reserves. Since those proposals were announced letters, emails and petitions have poured in to the state and last night was the chance to have your say in person.

Today, the Governor's Blue Ribbon Task Force looked at the menu before them and faced the very hard job of pulling it all together. They picked ideas from each of the proposals to make their recommendation, including places like the Farallons and Point Reyes, where all three groups had virtually identicial suggestions. It's a real compromise, and I expect that for some once the bleariness of the last two days wears off, they'll wake up wondering what happened to my favorite site? What is going on at Duxbury reef? But from my view, it's a hopeful sign. Maybe we can all get along.

Here's a shot by one of the stalwarts from last night, John Albers-Mead of the Friends of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. A Hermissenda nudibranch making slow and steady progress, like the MLPA.

Compromise proposal for ocean protection urged by Governor’s Task Force

2008-04-24T16:47:00.000-07:00

SAN RAFAEL, Cal. – New protections for California’s northern coast between Santa Cruz and Mendocino County, were recommended today after more than a year of public discussion and debate. Governor Schwarzenegger’s Marine Life Protection Act Blue Ribbon Task Force proposed creating 18 MPAs, fully protecting 80 square miles (11%) of North Central Coast ocean waters and leaving almost 90% of the coast open to fishing. The Task Force built their compromise around a “middle ground” option that had been created by a coalition of stakeholders.

“No one got everything they wanted, but everyone got something,” said Samantha Murray of the Ocean Conservancy, who was a key architect of the “middle-ground” Proposal 1-3. “The Task Force had a difficult task but we hope that this compromise of a compromise will still offer a legacy for all Californians.”

The Task Force reviewed three different proposals developed over the past year by an advisory group of conservationists, fishermen, scientists, boaters and divers—one that provided the most protection of sensitive and productive marine habitat, one that provided minimal protection, and a “middle ground” that marked a compromise between the two. Starting with the middle ground proposal, known as proposal 1-3, the Task Force suggested individual protections for iconic places such as the Sonoma Coast, Point Reyes, Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, and the Farallon Islands. The Task Force also recommended special closures to protect seabirds and marine mammals from disturbance.

The Task Force proposal is smaller than two of the three options it considered, and some coastal sites were dropped or given reduced levels of protection. “Seals and sea lions need to be able to breed in peace, and they need food for their pups,” said Bob Wilson, of the Marine Mammal Center. “The Task Force’s compromise does not offer our wildlife enough food and shelter.”

“Duxbury reef is in my backyard, and I think about it every day,” said Fred Smith of the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin, a member of the stakeholder advisory group. “It’s a shame that some of our greatest treasures are left out of this plan.”

The backbone of the Task Force proposal is a network of fully protected marine reserves, where destruction of wildlife and habitat is prohibited. Scientists have found that these high protection areas are extremely effective in rebuilding and preserving marine ecosystems. Studies of existing marine reserves show that reserves over time can allow fish to grow older and bigger, producing up to 200 times as many young. An independent economic evaluation estimated that the worst-case potential impacts of all three plans would affect only 5-8% of the existing economic value of area fisheries.

“This is the second step in creating a statewide network of MPAs, and each time we get better at working together.” said Karen Garrison of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and a member of the stakeholder advisory group. “Protection of our most productive and most vulnerable marine resources is the smart thing to do if we want to ensure an ocean future for all Californians.”

Op-Ed: The ocean is for all Californians

2008-04-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

The ocean is for all Californians
by Samantha Murray and Josh Churchman

Published in the Marin Independent Journal
April 23, 2008

Over the past year, a group of your friends and neighbors, of fishermen and environmentalists, of docents and divers, have been working together to try to find common ground in a plan for protecting our ocean through a network of marine protected areas. It hasn’t been easy. In fact, at times it’s been downright painful. We’ve got the bruises and scars to prove it.

Because this north central region of California is so full of marine life, there is virtually no piece of coastline that isn’t somebody’s favorite fishing spot, some birdwatcher’s favorite place to look at common murres, or some stellar sea lion’s favorite place to pick up a date. But what we learned from working together is that all the stakeholders had one thing in common: we all cared deeply about the health of the marine ecosystem and we want this effort to result in a system of ocean protection that will serve as our gift to the future-- one small bright spot amid so many troubling legacies.

Around the world marine protected areas are being put in place to help improve the productivity and resilience of ocean life, from habitat to fish to seabirds to marine mammals, all the way up the food chain. In combination with good fishery management, these protected areas can make fishing become more stable, and help ocean habitats better withstand future threats from development, climate change, and our growing population. But setting aside areas of the ocean to ensure protection in the long-term can have very real impacts on ocean users today. Which is why it has been so important to make sure everyone has a seat at the table in designing California’s marine protected areas.

This week, the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force will consider three options for marine protected areas. Several fishermen have been working to develop their own proposal. Many conservation organizations support a different option. But some fishermen and some conservationists have taken a different approach - working together to create a true middle ground of a marine protected area proposal that provides enough habitat protection to give California’s fish and wildlife a fighting chance for recovery, while also leaving many favorite fishing spots open. That's where we come in; after hundreds of hours spent hashing out lines on a map and meeting with local communities, making guest appearances on crabbing boats and taking trips to tiny hidden campgrounds you never knew existed, this common ground effort – dubbed Proposal 1-3- is supported by several commercial fishermen, charter boat operators, recreational fishermen, conservationists and divers from Mendocino to San Mateo. And we’re proud to say that we had a hand in it.

In the end, nobody got everything they wanted. Yet all sides ended up saying they could live with the compromise. Not a bad outcome when you consider how diverse the group was, how many people had to find common ground and how elusive that common ground can be. In the end it is about doing the best we can to leave something lasting for the future generations to thank us for. And taking a risk to seek that common ground together.

We’ve come a long way in realizing that we all have a stake in the health of our ocean. The Blue Ribbon Task Force should honor the compromises that both sides have made, and recommend an alternative to the California Fish & Game Commission that works for both fishermen and conservationists. This compromise is called 1-3 and it truly is the middle ground. After all, a balanced compromise is not easy to achieve. But bruises and battle scars aside, this balanced proposal is the best avenue all Californians have for a healthy, thriving ocean

Find out more about the three different proposals for marine protected areas at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/nccrsg-proposals.asp

Samantha Murray is a diver and conservationist with Ocean Conservancy in San Francisco. She served on the north central coast regional stakeholder group on marine protected areas.
Josh Churchman is a commercial and recreational fisherman from Bolinas. He also served on the north central coast regional stakeholder group on marine protected areas.

Op-Ed: How best to protect local marine life

2008-04-23T11:21:00.000-07:00

How best to protect local marine life
By DON McENHILL

Published in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat
April 23, 2008

I've heard it said that we manage through leadership or through crisis. California certainly has its share of crises, which can make it easy to forget about tomorrow while we fight today's fires. But when it comes to the sea, you have to take the long view, the view from the coast stretching out over miles of waves. You have to keep in mind that the little choices we make now add up over time, and lead accordingly.

Over the course of the past 10 months, people from Half Moon Bay to Point Arena and beyond have gathered to design marine protected areas (MPAs) for the coast. MPAs are an investment in the long term health of the oceans and California is the only state developing such an MPA network.

MPA offer these special marine ecosystems protections similar to what we have on land (like underwater parks), and restore the ones that are hurting from overuse. Fish like yellow eye, canary, bocaccio and blue rockfish are over-fished in places like Saunders Reef; northern red abalone populations remain low and poaching is on the rise. Hot spots of biodiversity like Fitzgerald Marine Park in San Mateo have experienced steady and steep declines in landings over the past couple of decades.

Creating a proposal that works for a broad range of interests -- fishermen, divers, boaters and conservationists -- and that meets scientific standards is no easy task. Stakeholders also paid careful attention to economic analysis and listened to the needs of fishermen and local businesses and residents.

While the three proposals under consideration score almost the same on economics, they offer us very different legacies for the future. Proposal 4 includes kelp forests and rocky reefs along the Sonoma coast, granting 14 percent of the region the highest level of protection as marine reserves.

Proposal 1-3 is a carefully crafted compromise among many interests, avoiding local favorite fishing spots and protecting 12 percent of the coast. I've watched my friends and colleagues -- both fishermen and conservationists -- hard at work on these packages and I believe California deserves nothing less than protection included in the common ground MPA proposal 1-3.

The ocean is its own world, home to colorful rockfish, anemones and corals, and pods of whales. We are lucky to be able to visit and enjoy this world, as fishermen, wildlife watchers or beach-goers and we rely on it. It is a major economic engine for this state, but it's also so much more than that. More than six million people go outdoors just to photograph and appreciate California's wildlife each year, one million of whom are tourists who leave their dollars here on the Sonoma and Mendocino Coast.

California's coastal waters offer the sanctuary of solace and recreation not only for what you can take out of them, but also for what's left behind.

We have an opportunity to lead now and help avoid future crises. We have a chance to recognize the many voices that make California strong by choosing an MPA plan with broad support. Marine protected areas are only effective if they're strong enough, and California deserves a network that protects our most special places. The Blue Ribbon Task Force should recommend proposal 1-3 or 4 this week.

Don McEnhill is a Healdsburg resident and program director at Russian Riverkeeper.

Fact Sheet: Central Coast Marine Protected Areas

2008-01-01T17:30:00.000-08:00

This fact sheet introduces the new marine protected areas established on California's central coast in 2007 (PDF).

Older Press Releases (2007)

2008-01-01T17:19:00.000-08:00

Here are links to download older press releases in PDF format:

December 6, 2007
Marine Life Protection Act Announces Move to Southern California

September 17, 2007
NEW CENTRAL COAST MARINE PROTECTED AREAS EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 21

April 13, 2007
CALIFORNIA FISH & GAME COMMISSION ADOPTS FINAL MARINE PROTECTED AREA PLAN FOR CENTRAL COAST