MLPA Update - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

JoeBeck · 05-06-2011, 02:30 PM

Just got this in my email. Made a donation.

Southern California's Coastal Waters Still Open to Recreational Fishing
MLPA Regulations Will Not Go into Effect until Later This Year, if Ever

Sacramento, CA – May 6, 2011 – Although the California Fish and Game Commission (FGC) adopted regulations in December 2010, to close much of southern California's best coastal waters to sportfishing, the regulations still must go through additional steps before they become law. The regulations, adopted as part of the state's Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) process, must still be submitted to, reviewed and approved by California's Office of Administrative Law before legally going into effect.

In response to the general uncertainty within the sportfishing community as to when the South Coast MLPA regulations will be effective, the Partnership for Sustainable Oceans (PSO), which represents California's recreational fishing and boating community, sent a letter to the Department of Fish and Game expressing serious concerns about the lack of accurate information provided to anglers about the effective date of the South Coast MLPA regulations. According to the California Department of Fish and Game, as stated during the May 4-5, 2011 California Fish and Game Commission meeting, this will occur in Fall 2011 at the earliest. However, the department's Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations booklet, posted March 1, 2011, erroneously states that the regulations will go into effect Spring 2011, and the Department's website currently states only that the regulations are expected to be effective Mid-2011.

"In talking with numerous anglers, I've noticed that there is considerable confusion about whether or not these areas of the ocean are still open to recreational fishing," said Bob Fletcher, former president of the Sportfishing Association of California. "On behalf of the Partnership for Sustainable Oceans, I'd like Southern California's anglers, and the tens-of-thousands more who come to this region to fish each year, to know they are still free to pursue our state's healthy marine fisheries."

"Whether intentional or not, the Department of Fish and Game has done an extremely poor job in telling anglers when the South Coast regulations will go into effect ," continued Fletcher. "This lack of communication is causing anglers to unnecessarily stay off the water for fear that the regulations are already in place."

Fletcher further said, "During the May Fish and Game Commission meeting, Commissioner Richard Rogers was so brash as to proclaim that anglers should currently abide by the MLPA regulations, notwithstanding the Department's failure to complete the required regulatory process. The regulations have no legal effect until then. Unlike fellow Commissioners Jim Kellogg and Dan Richards, who have seriously weighed the huge economic burden that the MLPA will place on businesses and the state, Rogers continues his unabashed anti-business and anti-recreational fishing stance. Now is the time for Governor Brown to replace Rogers with a more sensible and objective Commissioner."

In addition to having yet to be finalized procedurally, the MLPA regulations in the South Coast are currently being challenged in the courts. On January 27, 2011, United Anglers of Southern California, Coastside Fishing Club and Bob Fletcher filed a lawsuit in the San Diego County Superior Court seeking to set aside the MLPA regulations for the North Central and South Coast study regions. The lawsuit cites a lack of statutory authority for the Fish and Game Commission to adopt the regulations, and, in the case of the South Coast regulations, numerous violations of the California Environmental Quality Act, in the commission's environmental review of the regulations.

"Although anglers can still fish throughout most of southern California's coastal waters, it may not be this way for long," said John Riordan of United Anglers of Southern California. "I encourage all anglers, and anyone who supports public access to public resources, to help us fight the flawed MLPA process in the courts by visiting www.OceanAccessProtectionFund.org and making a donation today."

05-06-2011, 02:30 PM	#1
JoeBeck Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: San Diego Posts: 370	MLPA Update Just got this in my email. Made a donation. Southern California's Coastal Waters Still Open to Recreational Fishing MLPA Regulations Will Not Go into Effect until Later This Year, if Ever Sacramento, CA – May 6, 2011 – Although the California Fish and Game Commission (FGC) adopted regulations in December 2010, to close much of southern California's best coastal waters to sportfishing, the regulations still must go through additional steps before they become law. The regulations, adopted as part of the state's Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) process, must still be submitted to, reviewed and approved by California's Office of Administrative Law before legally going into effect. In response to the general uncertainty within the sportfishing community as to when the South Coast MLPA regulations will be effective, the Partnership for Sustainable Oceans (PSO), which represents California's recreational fishing and boating community, sent a letter to the Department of Fish and Game expressing serious concerns about the lack of accurate information provided to anglers about the effective date of the South Coast MLPA regulations. According to the California Department of Fish and Game, as stated during the May 4-5, 2011 California Fish and Game Commission meeting, this will occur in Fall 2011 at the earliest. However, the department's Ocean Sport Fishing Regulations booklet, posted March 1, 2011, erroneously states that the regulations will go into effect Spring 2011, and the Department's website currently states only that the regulations are expected to be effective Mid-2011. "In talking with numerous anglers, I've noticed that there is considerable confusion about whether or not these areas of the ocean are still open to recreational fishing," said Bob Fletcher, former president of the Sportfishing Association of California. "On behalf of the Partnership for Sustainable Oceans, I'd like Southern California's anglers, and the tens-of-thousands more who come to this region to fish each year, to know they are still free to pursue our state's healthy marine fisheries." "Whether intentional or not, the Department of Fish and Game has done an extremely poor job in telling anglers when the South Coast regulations will go into effect ," continued Fletcher. "This lack of communication is causing anglers to unnecessarily stay off the water for fear that the regulations are already in place." Fletcher further said, "During the May Fish and Game Commission meeting, Commissioner Richard Rogers was so brash as to proclaim that anglers should currently abide by the MLPA regulations, notwithstanding the Department's failure to complete the required regulatory process. The regulations have no legal effect until then. Unlike fellow Commissioners Jim Kellogg and Dan Richards, who have seriously weighed the huge economic burden that the MLPA will place on businesses and the state, Rogers continues his unabashed anti-business and anti-recreational fishing stance. Now is the time for Governor Brown to replace Rogers with a more sensible and objective Commissioner." In addition to having yet to be finalized procedurally, the MLPA regulations in the South Coast are currently being challenged in the courts. On January 27, 2011, United Anglers of Southern California, Coastside Fishing Club and Bob Fletcher filed a lawsuit in the San Diego County Superior Court seeking to set aside the MLPA regulations for the North Central and South Coast study regions. The lawsuit cites a lack of statutory authority for the Fish and Game Commission to adopt the regulations, and, in the case of the South Coast regulations, numerous violations of the California Environmental Quality Act, in the commission's environmental review of the regulations. "Although anglers can still fish throughout most of southern California's coastal waters, it may not be this way for long," said John Riordan of United Anglers of Southern California. "I encourage all anglers, and anyone who supports public access to public resources, to help us fight the flawed MLPA process in the courts by visiting www.OceanAccessProtectionFund.org and making a donation today."