National fishing and conservation groups recently announced their support for a single, community-supported marine protected area (MPA) proposal adopted by Tribal, fishing and environmental stakeholders for California’s North Coast as part of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative.
Jim Martin, West Coast Regional Director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), on September 9 announced that the RFA has endorsed a resolution in support of the "Unified Array" for marine protected areas on California's North Coast Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative process.
The resolution has been submitted for the consideration of local governments, tribes and tribal communities, fishing associations and conservation groups. It asks the Governor's MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force (BRTF) to approve the network of MPAs approved by the local regional stakeholder group, including the need to allow traditional tribal gathering.
“Any approved MPA array design will need to allow traditional, non-commercial, gathering, subsistence, harvesting, ceremonial and stewardship activities by California Tribes and Tribal Communities,” the resolution reads.
"In other regions of the state, there were numerous proposals moved forward for the BRTF's consideration and they cherry-picked from these proposals to craft their own, to the great disadvantage of recreational anglers in those regions," said Martin. "We are very pleased with the work the stakeholders achieved in the north coast region, and urge all recreational fishermen to join us in support of their work."
Martin said RFA members throughout California volunteered for duty on each region's MLPA regional stakeholder group.
"The entire membership thanks RFA members Tim Klassen, Ben Doane, Brandi Easter and Kevin McGrath for their tireless work on behalf of all recreational fishermen and divers on the north coast," said Martin. "We urge all recreational fishing associations, clubs and organizations to join us in support of the "Unified MPA Array" by endorsing this resolution and sending it to the Blue Ribbon Task Force."
The RFA-endorsed resolution regarding the Unified MPA Array can be found online at: http://www.joinrfa.org/...
Then on September 17, the Partnership for Sustainable Oceans (PSO), which represents recreational fishing and boating interests in California, sent a letter to the Blue Ribbon Task Force (BRTF), the MLPA oversight group, urging them to accept the Regional Stakeholder Group’s (RSG) unified array proposal.
“The unified array is the result of immeasurable time and hard work put in by the RSG,” said Allen Sansano, director of Fisheries Affairs for NorCal Kayak Anglers, a PSO member. “A lot of tough decisions and compromises were made among the different community interests to come up with this consensus position. This is a proposal that our community can live with and will support.”
Throughout the MLPA implementation process in other regions of the state, community groups have submitted multiple proposals only to see the BRTF create its own preferred alternative.
“By abandoning the RSG-created proposals in previous regions, the BRTF wasted the time and energy of the RSG members and disenfranchised many of those involved in the process,” noted Bob Fletcher of the Sportfishing Association of California and former Chief Deputy Director of the Department of Fish and Game. “Given that the MLPA is supposed to be an open, transparent and community-driven process, the BRTF should accept the recommendations of the North Coast community instead of making its own.”
Sansano concluded, “Modifying the unified array would seriously undermine the hard work and consensus reached by the community stakeholder group. Without local support and cooperation, MPAs have been shown to be completely ineffective or even counter-productive. Given the significant potential effects that the MLPA will have on businesses, traditional user groups and the recreating public, it’s important that this process is done correctly and based on sound science with the least economic impact.”
The PSO includes the American Sportfishing Association, contributing members of the Avalon Tuna Club, Berkley Conservation Institute, Coastside Fishing Club, International Game Fish Association, Kayak Fishing Association of California, National Marine Manufacturers Association, NorCal Kayak Anglers, Shimano Sport Fisheries Initiative, Southern California Marine Association, Sportfishing Association of California, United Anglers of Southern California and Watermen's Alliance.
I applaud the perseverance and hard work by the Tribal, fishing, environmental and business community stakeholders in developing a single proposal for the North Coast under the MLPA process. The stakeholders helped minimize the economic costs to local communities and did their best to protect tribal fishing and gathering rights.
The MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force meets in Fortuna, CA on October 25 and 26 to consider the proposal. I urge you to send letters in support of the "Unified Array" via email to mlpacomments [at] resources.ca.gov.
However, the question needs to be asked - what does the Initiative really protect the oceans from? The MLPA Initiative has completely taken oil drilling, water pollution, corporate aquaculture, wave energy development, habitat destruction and all other uses of the ocean other than fishing and gathering off the table.
The privatization of ocean conservation management under the shadowy and unaccountable Resources Legacy Fund Foundation is at the core of everything that is wrong with the MLPA process. Oil industry, real estate, marina development and other corporate operatives with conflicts of interest in the outcome of the process dominate the Blue Ribbon Task Forces that lead the MLPA Initiative.
The time has come for a suspension of the privately-funded initiative, and for state and federal investigations of the conflicts of interests and violations of state, federal and international laws that have proliferated under the MLPA process. For more information, go to: http://www.indybay.org/...