Stoppd by the DFG

[dsafety]

I launched at LJ this morning for the first time in nearly four months. I am recovering from an Achilles Tendon tear and finally feel strong enough to get back on the water. This was my first trip to La Jolla since the new MPA boundaries went into effect.

The first thing that I noticed when I reached the buoy line was that there were at least 50 lobster traps set within the newly expanded MPA. I asked some guys on the water if this was new and was told that they have been there all season. This pissed me off.

Like most people familiar with the MLPA fiasco, I am angry about what has come to pass and am hopeful that clearer thinking and lawsuits will eventually result in a more reasonable plan. In the mean time, I will do my best to follow the new laws, (although without any clearly marked boundaries, this will be difficult). The fact that some commercial lobster fishers appear to be thumbing their noses at the new regs angers me as well. So much so that while on the water, I called the DFG to report the violations.

I waded through a bunch of phone menus and spoke to four humans before my contact information was taken. I was told that a warden would call me. Yeah, right. I never got the call.

I spent a beautiful day on the water fishing at times with some old friends and some new ones. Please do not confuse fishing with catching. Today was not my day but I saw at least five pods of whales up close and personal. That was worth the trip.

On the way back to shore, I noticed a large Zodiac heading towards me. It was a DFG boat with two very nice wardens aboard. My first thought was that they had been dispatched to check out my observations about the illegal lobster traps. Nope, they were on a regular patrol checking for fishing licenses and inspecting the day's catch. In the 45 years that I have been fishing with a license, this is only the second time that I have been asked to produce one.

They checked me out and were ready to leave when I mentioned my call about the lobster traps. They said that they had heard about the call but knew nothing more. They had not been asked to check out the problem. At my urging, they went to the buoy line to see what I had reported.

A while later they pulled up alongside again and informed me that all the lobster traps were outside the reserve. Given that most of these traps were about a half mile inside the new MPA, I questioned them about where they thought the reserve boundary was. To my amazement, the told me that the reserve ended at the buoy line and that this was what was programed into their GPS units.

Incredulous, I explained to these guys that the rules had changed. I also told them that if it was their intention to only enforce the pre-2012 boundaries, I would be a happy camper.

They huddled together and called their headquarters. A few minutes later, they sped off back to the offending lobster traps. When I reached them a few minutes later, they thanked me for giving them the heads up. Apparently the guys in the field have not yet all been given their new marching orders.

Their next statement almost made me fall out of my yak. They told me that they had taken down the numbers from the fifty or so buoys that had been set inside the reserve. They would give those numbers to their administrative folks who would "mail the trap owners a letter telling them that they were in violation". If the traps were not moved in a reasonable time, they would issue citations.

I wonder what a "reasonable time" is? I further wonder what would have happened to the poor fisherman who had unwittingly wandered into one of the newly closed, (and unmarked) areas. I bet that fisherman would have gotten a ticket on the spot.

Now I am not ragging on the DFG. The guys I met were very nice and were just doing their jobs. I am a little disappointed that that these guys, (and presumably many other wardens), were not as well informed about the new regulations as a myself, who has been sitting on land, mending a bad leg for the last four months.

As for the lobster fishermen who set their traps in the expanded reserve, I have no sympathy. I hope that they ignore their very generous warnings and have all their gear confiscated. All commercial lobster fishermen have GPS systems to help them figure out where to set their traps. These guys have no excuse for not knowing where the legal grounds are. They are poachers pure and simple. I hope that they get taught a very painful lesson.

Bob