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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.

Closer to home, 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 KFACA 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
 

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I’m beginning to feel a bit like Chicken Little, running around trying to stir up a ruckus, yelling, “Closures are coming, Marine Protected Areas are coming!” Nobody likes to hear bad news. We all need to accept the fact that the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) is state law that is here to stay, and try to deal with it as best we can. Unlike with Chicken Little, the fishing closures I’m warning of are sure to come.

Imagine for a moment how it would feel if all of La Jolla were off-limits, or the best areas off Malibu, or the kelp off the Dana headlands, or all the waters off Palos Verdes. These could be just the tip of the iceberg. It could happen, and may yet happen. Do I have your attention now?

The MLPA is all about establishment of a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) along the California coast. We don’t know what an MPA will look like. Bureaucrats are hard at work crafting the MLPA Draft Master Plan Framework that will govern how the lines will be drawn. The where will come later.

MPAs may turn out to be permanently closed to fishing of all kinds. Locked up forever, throw away the key. MPAs could also be marine parks which allow recreational fishing, perhaps limited by season or gear restrictions. We don’t want recreational anglers to get the short end, so we are feeling our way along trying to find how we can have the slightest influence on the outcome.   

As for where the lines will be drawn, we will learn soon enough. Central California is first on the chopping block. They might feel the pain before Southern California, but this sort of phased process is bad for all of us. The rules could be set before the SoCal fishing community really gets in the game. What happens in CenCal will tell us how much bad news to expect.

The big boys of the fishing world are taking sides. The Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) has put together the California Fisheries Coalition. The Coalition brings together recreational, sportfishing, and commercial fishing groups. It shouldn’t be hard to tell what their goals are, to keep as much water open to fishing of all kinds as possible.

United Anglers of Southern California (UASC) is going it alone, trying to push a legislative agenda that would turn the MPAs into Marine Parks. Fishing is allowed in Yosemite, but not strip mining; why shouldn’t recreational fishing be allowed in MPAs, but non-sustainable commercial gears be kept out? Please, if you don’t belong to the RFA or UASC, join up! Put your money to work to fight for what you believe in.

In the meantime, the Draft Master Plan Framework will be ready soon, and then the real fight is on. When the pens come out to carve up the map, the KFACA will do what we can to get across the kayak anglers’ viewpoint. We don’t want to be frozen out, or lose our best fishing grounds without so much as a peep. The more backing we have the better our snowball’s chance.

Please tell your kayak fishing buddies that the KFACA is open for business and recruiting supporters. Signing up is easy. Just click here to join.  And when we come to ask for a bit of your time, to write a letter or make a call, think again about that nightmare scenario. The one in which the yellowtail are going off at La Jolla, but the entire area is off limits. The one where the threshers are out in force off Malibu, but all the best launch spots are closed to anyone with a fishing pole. And forget going after white seabass off Palos Verdes, or Catalina, or any other number of places that have been locked up for good. No, I don’t like that nightmare one bit. Let’s work together to see we get common sense, a fair deal for recreational anglers, and revitalized fisheries husbanded with sound science and good management.  

By Paul Lebowitz
 

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Sportfishing boats fishing at anchor should be given at least the distance an iron jig can be tossed. Suggested minimum distances are 100 yards off the bow or sides, and 200 yards off the stern in the boat’s chum line.

In areas with ample room for maneuver, boats moving at high speed and generating a big wake should pass no closer than 100 yards from a kayaker. If a sportfishing boat or other vessel appears to be on a course that could threaten you, hail them on VHF channels 16 or 18 and ask them to alter course. If you feel a vessel has endangered you either intentionally or out of recklessness, report the incident to the Coast Guard or Harbor Patrol.

By Paul Lebowitz
 

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Interview with Jim Davis, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary

Recently at San Diego’s Day at the Docks, I had an opportunity to talk with Jim Davis, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Public Affairs Officer for the Greater San Diego Region. Mr. Davis had several tips he wanted to share with kayak anglers.

Naturally, Mr. Davis’ chief concern was safety. Kayak anglers must have a Coast Guard approved PFD readily available for each person on board. Should you unexpectedly need it, it would be much more effective if you were already wearing it. State law requires all children 11 and younger to wear PFDs while on the water. To improve the visibility of our tiny craft and ourselves, we should choose brightly colored PFDs.

Kayakers traveling at night must display or have a white light ready to hand. The light should be visible from a distance of half a mile in clear weather.

In San Diego Bay, red and green buoys mark the lateral system or shipping channel. The saying “red, right, returning,” is a reminder that the line of red buoys marks the right edge of the channel for vessels heading into port. The channel is dredged to accommodate the deep drafts of ships. Since kayaks don’t require deep water for navigation, Mr. Davis recommends kayakers avoid the channel and its shipping traffic hazards. The channel should be crossed expediently, at right angles, and should not be drifted or fished.

With basic safety requirements out of the way, Mr. Davis turned to security matters. Those who fish San Diego bay should already be aware the bay hosts numerous military establishments. No-access security zones have been established throughout the bay. A chart showing the closed areas is available at http://www.uscg.mil/d11/sandiego/mso/sdseczones.pdf. Although some waters are blocked off with huge floating barriers, not all security zone waters are as conspicuously marked.

Although they don’t appear on the map, security zones extend 100 yards from the perimeters of all military establishments. For instance, waters bordering the North Island Naval Station are off-limits out to 100 yards.

Additional security zones forbid approaching closer than 25 yards of the piers and abutments of the Coronado Bay Bridge, 100 yards of the moored carrier museum Midway, or 100 yards of a cruise ship entering, moored, or departing the bay. In addition, U.S. Navy vessels may not be approached closer than 100 yards unless authorized by an official patrol.

It is true the security zones have taken some favorite fishing spots out of play for bay anglers. Most of us are unaware of one additional closure. There is a restricted area surrounding the San Diego Bay bait barge. It is forbidden to swim, fish, moor, or anchor in a restricted area. 

Fines are steep, up to $27,500 per violation. It should be needless to say, if you are approached by a U.S. Navy patrol boat, the Harbor Police, or the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, you should comply with any of their directions.

By Paul Lebowitz
 

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La Jolla Shores Beach Launch Etiquette

La Jolla is one of the best kayak launch sites we know of in Southern California. Think of the benefits - variety of sea life, coastal beauty, amenities, and about the only place where you can pull your car on the beach to offload your gear.

But as we all know, there are some rules that have been set by the lifeguards including; 5 minute load or unload, keeping a clear path along the water line, no kayak surfing in the launch area, and others. Unfortunately, the lifeguards routinely need to give verbal warnings at the launch ramp.

We all love the beach launching aspect and should take that as a privilege not a right. It would be a shame to see that privilege taken away due to injuries, confrontations, or abuses. Without access to the ramp, we would need to drag our yaks and gear from the parking areas.

That is why whenever I go to La Jolla I try to do my part and follow a few simple rules:

1. Get there early and beat the traffic. Not only the launch site traffic. Parking too.

2. Keep my yak way up on the dry sand. Lifeguards do not like the yaks (or cars) blocking vehicle traffic or access along the water line.

3. Get my car off the sand as quickly as possible. Not as important at a 6:00 a.m. launch when few people are around. Very important when leaving because that is usually midday when launch site traffic is at it's peak.

4. Pack/arrange/organize my kayak and gear and break down what I can before going to get my car.

5. When the car is on the sand, it's time to unload/load - limit socializing, eat later, play later. Nothing seems to bug lifeguards more than when the area is jammed with vehicles that are parked and not actively being loaded or unloaded.

6. I avoid blocking the beach access driveway, giving other traffic the space needed to cross loose sand without bogging. When driving onto the beach I keep to a steady speed to glide over the loose sand and don’t stop where I might get stuck.

7. When the beach launch is crowded such as on the weekends and holidays I carry my kayak or use wheels or a kayak cart to get my kayak to and from the beach. Doing so can save time by allowing me to go straight to my parking spot and leisurely ready or stow my yak.

8. I dispose of all of my trash properly. Besides being unsightly, a hook carelessly discarded in the sand could ruin a beachgoer’s day.

9. Be good neighbors by being very aware of the hotel guests when launching early. In order to minimize their disturbance, avoid shining your headlights directly on the hotel, or playing loud music.

You might not be able to load or unload in five minutes. If all we had was a yak, paddle, and seat it would be easy. But there is a lot of gear on our rigs and it can easily take 10 to 15 minutes. However, if you follow these etiquette tips it is much less likely you will be approached by a lifeguard.

Contributed by KFACA members Bernard and Pumori