Gearing up for October's must-attend MLPA meeting - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

PAL · 09-11-2009, 02:10 PM

First off, huge grattitude to those who've attended prior meetings, rallied the troops, written letters, made the phone calls and donated hard-earned greenbacks for the cause. You've made a huge difference. There are too many key characters to list by name - you should be proud of what we've accomplished.

I know its hard, believe me, the coming closures will put a huge crimp in our sport, our lifestyles, and for some of us, our very livlihoods - when this is done, some people won't be able to put food on the table. It's a lot of losing, and something that's impossible to feel good about.

Without our collective efforts, it would be so much worse.

So what have we accomplished? Northern La Jolla is not on any of the three final RSG proposals. Neither is Dana Pt, mainstay for our Orange County brothers. That's the good news, but don't celebrate yet.

We have to guard against a late-inning collapse - remember, the Blue Ribbon Task Force can do anything they want, even conjure up a closure out of thin air. MAKE PLANS NOW TO ATTEND THE OCT 20-22 BRTF MEETING IN LONG BEACH AND CONTINUE TO STRESS LJ'S IMPORTANCE.

Before I get to the bad news, let's talk about the existing LJ reserve. Both workgroups 1 and 2 leave it as is and eliminate the SMCA by the pier. We need to protect this outcome! Workgroup 3 expands the existing reserve AND the SMCA, then changes the regulations to allow only take of bait by dip net. That's right, I said dip net. Bye bye pier spot and north.

Now the real bad juju. Workgroup 1 does a number to San Diego, with closures at south La Jolla, north Pt Loma, Imperial Beach and Del Mar. That's too much for such a small area, unjustified by science guidelines and ruinous economically. At the most, it should be one or the other - we can't have everyone crowded into the north kelp.

OC brothers, you need to follow the same script. Protect your access to the headlands, make sure the SMCAs (blue areas) along the coast for intertidal protection aren't changed to close finfish and lobster. And if you can, toss a lifeline to our friends the free divers, who showed us the way to successful public involvement, and stand up there and hammer the deliberately inefficient MPA design that made it through workgroups 1 and 3 - those wedge designs maximize the loss of public access.

In case you're still with me, we kayak anglers as a group should rally as much as possible to our Malibu bretheren. The modern birthplace of this sport is under attack - workgroups 1 and 3 call for enormous MPAs spanning Pt Dume and on into BKR, our northern heartland. Just like San Diego, there's no scientific justification for such a massive closure, this is all about politics and ideology.

This is no time to quit. Let's get after it in Oct, so next time this year we can celebrate our success when we're out on the water where we belong.

09-11-2009, 02:10 PM	#1
PAL Senior Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 754	Gearing up for October's must-attend MLPA meeting First off, huge grattitude to those who've attended prior meetings, rallied the troops, written letters, made the phone calls and donated hard-earned greenbacks for the cause. You've made a huge difference. There are too many key characters to list by name - you should be proud of what we've accomplished. I know its hard, believe me, the coming closures will put a huge crimp in our sport, our lifestyles, and for some of us, our very livlihoods - when this is done, some people won't be able to put food on the table. It's a lot of losing, and something that's impossible to feel good about. Without our collective efforts, it would be so much worse. So what have we accomplished? Northern La Jolla is not on any of the three final RSG proposals. Neither is Dana Pt, mainstay for our Orange County brothers. That's the good news, but don't celebrate yet. We have to guard against a late-inning collapse - remember, the Blue Ribbon Task Force can do anything they want, even conjure up a closure out of thin air. MAKE PLANS NOW TO ATTEND THE OCT 20-22 BRTF MEETING IN LONG BEACH AND CONTINUE TO STRESS LJ'S IMPORTANCE. Before I get to the bad news, let's talk about the existing LJ reserve. Both workgroups 1 and 2 leave it as is and eliminate the SMCA by the pier. We need to protect this outcome! Workgroup 3 expands the existing reserve AND the SMCA, then changes the regulations to allow only take of bait by dip net. That's right, I said dip net. Bye bye pier spot and north. Now the real bad juju. Workgroup 1 does a number to San Diego, with closures at south La Jolla, north Pt Loma, Imperial Beach and Del Mar. That's too much for such a small area, unjustified by science guidelines and ruinous economically. At the most, it should be one or the other - we can't have everyone crowded into the north kelp. OC brothers, you need to follow the same script. Protect your access to the headlands, make sure the SMCAs (blue areas) along the coast for intertidal protection aren't changed to close finfish and lobster. And if you can, toss a lifeline to our friends the free divers, who showed us the way to successful public involvement, and stand up there and hammer the deliberately inefficient MPA design that made it through workgroups 1 and 3 - those wedge designs maximize the loss of public access. In case you're still with me, we kayak anglers as a group should rally as much as possible to our Malibu bretheren. The modern birthplace of this sport is under attack - workgroups 1 and 3 call for enormous MPAs spanning Pt Dume and on into BKR, our northern heartland. Just like San Diego, there's no scientific justification for such a massive closure, this is all about politics and ideology. This is no time to quit. Let's get after it in Oct, so next time this year we can celebrate our success when we're out on the water where we belong.