[robmandel]

bittersweet day. got to see lots of new friends again but under rather shitty conditions. such an awesome bond among us kayak fishermen. really awesome. there are not better people in the world.

got there early, had to leave sometime after the break. had to get the kids from school and what not. really a shitty thing they did, with the public comment and all. did they ever get there???

guys, stand proud. we fought like hell. you have to understand. this process was a sham and the out determined right from the outset. it didn't matter what we did. we did everything we could, and Paul and our reps and guys who organized and got info and all that, went so far beyond the call. of course we had everything on our side: data, science, economics, and basic fairness and common sense. it didn't matter.

the whole "public" part of this was the cover. they knew what they watned to do, and what they had to do to get it done. textbook tactics. you want A, B, and C so you ask for A, B, C, D, and E. so, you "give up" D and E which to them was the part of PV. they can say they heard the public, they listened, all that shit, made necessary swaps and trades and cuts, and all that. and in the end, get exactly what they wanted in the first place.

we played on their turf, by their rules, with their referees. but we fought like hell. we didn't lay there and play dead. they perhaps didn't figure on that one.

I knew it from the start, but it was never more evident when after the break marvelous meg up and decides that only Malibu option 1 will be discussed (my home turf). 3 met all the science, had the best kelp, a compromise on the canyon, best public access, and least commercaial and recreational loss. so she chooses the worst option. of course they saved rocky point (PV), taking that would have killed redondo and the city council made that one clear.

this isn't the end. it's the beginning. they'll come back to close more. but for us, the fight must continue. legally, politically, etc. the DFG already said they can't (and my guess is honestly, won't, as the politics and PR would be a nightmare) enforce it.

again, we put up a helluva fight and have every reason to be proud. know that there wasn't anything, or anything more, we could have done to alter the outcome. it was an honor to be able to stand tall alongside all ofyou that were there, at c-bad, at LAX, at LB, and LAX again.

in the future, we need to do a MLPA protest event: we get as many of us as possible and do a major launch at each of the closed areas. just get a few hundred of us out there, all lined up, on the water, and make our presence known. waht a sight it would be !!!

especially after the closures.

again, you guys are awesome, amazing, and truly the best. this isn't a failure, it's a victory. it might not seem like it, but we fought and they didn't kill us. they've made us stronger.

see y'all on the water.