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Ray
Hiemstra, Associate Director of Programs, selected as Regional
Stakeholder Group member
April 7 Fish & Game Commission Meeting:
At this meeting, the hard-fought reserve in Laguna could be changed
in one of several options, such as changing the reserve to a "Conservation
Area", or moving the boundaries of the reserve in ways that
do not meet the science guidelines. Coastkeeper needs your help
in communicating to the Fish & Game Commission that a Reserve
in Laguna Beach that meets the science guidelines is the only acceptable
option. Voice your opinion to the Commission with
this template letter!
March 3 Fish and Game Commission Meeting:
At this meeting in Ontario, the Commission adopted the
IPA as the officially preferred alternative for the environmental
review process. Stakeholder Group Alternatives 1, 2 and 3 will also
be reviewed as alternatives to the IPA. In another critical development,
the Department of Fish and Game staff presented various changes
to the IPA to address potential problems with the IPA boundaries.
Potential changes to the Laguna Reserve may not be as protective,
or would no longer meet the science guidelines for a reserve. All
suggested changes will be addressed at the April meeting in Monterey.
February 2010: Now that the environmental review
process is underway, the Fish & Game Commission seeks public
input on the MPA Alternatives. This is our chance to let the Commission
know how much support their is for high levels of protection across
Orange County.
December 9th: At this joint meeting of the California
Fish & Game Commission and the Blue Ribbon Task Force, the task
force will give their recommendations for South Coast MPA's to the
commission. The task force selected an "Integrated Preferred
Alternative" set of Marine Protected Areas. The suggestions
from Regional Stakeholder Groups 1, 2, and 3 will also be provided
to the Commission.
Learn more about the proposals: Integrated
Preferred Alternative , Regional
Stakeholder Group Proposals 1, 2, 3
Click
here to view You Tube video, "MPA's Works with Pierce Brosnan"
- "South
coast marine protection plan formulation is a drawn-out process"
(Malibu Surfside News) 12/17/09
- "Fishing
interests vow to fight no-take marine preserve" (Laguna
Beach Independent) 11/13/09
- "Panel
backs no-fishing zones off Southern California coast"
(LA Times) 11/11/09
- "State
panel recommends Laguna fishing closure" (OC Register)
11/10/09
- "Battle
at sea" (Torrance Daily Breeze) 10/17/09
- "No
fishing zone off Laguna: activists say protection is needed"
(OC Register) 9/11/09
- "State
fish and game approves ocean preserves" (The Sacramento
Bee) 8/6/09
- "Rebuilding
global fisheries" (Science) 7/31/09
- "Recreation
allowed in reserves" (Laguna Beach Independent)
7/10/09
- "Leaders
endores citywide fishing ban" (Laguna Beach Independent)
6/19/09
- View
the Round 2 Draft MPA Arrays
- May
18th, OC Marine Resources Workshop
- Round
1 draft MPA arrays and Orange
County draft MPA arrays, May 1, 2009
- "Protecting
California's marine ecosystems" Los Angeles Times,
March 31, 2009
- "No-fishing
zones off OC coast? More proposed maps releasted" OC
Register, March 18, 2009
- "State-wide
group working on setting marine protection area off Dana Point"
- Dana Point Times, March 6, 2009
- "No-fishing
zones off OC? A first look at rough maps" - OC Register,
March 4, 2009
- "Overfishing
imperils ocean life, study says" - San Francisco
Chronicle, March 3, 2009
- "Stakeholders'
group to discuss possible no-fish zones off OC" - OC
Register, January 28, 2009
What is the Marine Life Protection
Act
The Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) was
signed in 1999 and directs the state to reexamine and redesign California’s
system of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The MLPA is
a visionary state law that brings together scientists, fishermen,
conservationists, business owners, residents and Fish & Game
officials to create a long-term plan to restore and protect California's
most unique and threatened marine environments.
What are MPAs? MPAs
are named discrete geographic marine or estuarine areas designed
to protect or conserve marine life and habitat (Defined in Public
Resources Code, Sections 36602 and 36710). Just as parks on
land protect special lands and wildlife from overdevelopment, MPAs
and reserves preserve California's stunning marine ecosystems for
future generations to observe and enjoy.
Here's a list of MPA designations:
State Marine
Reserve (SMR): all extractive
activities are prohibited.
State Marine
Park (SMP): all commercial
extractive activities and potentially some recreational activities
are prohibited.
State Marine Conservation Area
(SMCA): some recreational and/or
commercial extractive activities may be limited.
Why is this necessary?
The Legislature addresses the need to increase
the coherence of California’s MPA systems in order to increase
its effectiveness at protecting the state’s marine life, habitat,
and ecosystems. Scientists have shown that marine
protected areas help restore depleted fish and wildlife populations.
In fully protected marine reserves, scientists have found that fish
can grow more abundant, bigger, more fertile and more resilient
in protected areas.
Where is the Selection Process
now?
A
regional approach is being used in the MLPA Initiative process,
where California’s 1,100-mile coastline has been divided into
five study regions. In September of 2007, regulations for
the first of the five study regions were implemented for the Central
Coast (Pigeon Point in San Mateo County to Point Conception
in Santa Barbara County). In the second study region, four proposals
for redesigning MPAs in the North
Central Coast (Alder Creek in Mendocino County to Pigeon Point
in San Mateo County) were presented on Wednesday, June 11 to the
California Fish and Game Commission at a special meeting in Sacramento.
North central coast regulations are expected to be adopted by the
commission by the end of the year.
While the commission considers north central coast MPAs, the MLPA
Initiative is moving to the South Coast Study Region (Santa Barabra
to California/Mexico Border). Click here
to see the timeline for the South Coast Study Region. After
the South Coast planning process is completed, the north coast process
will begin (Alder Creek north to the California border with Oregon),
followed by the San Francisco Bay process (from the Golden Gate
Bridge northeast to the Carquinez Bridge).
 How
can I get involved in the process?
WRITE
A LETTER OF SUPPORT! Click here for a template. We need your
help to let the MLPA initiative know that you care about creating
MPA's in Southern California!
This Initiative was founded on a process
based on solid public leadership, and seeks the advice of public
policy advisors, scientists, stakeholders, and the interested public.
The success of the first phase of the MLPA Initiative was, to a
large extent, brought about by the active participation of stakeholders
and the general public through the regional stakeholder group, workshops,
public meetings, and providing input on documents and MPA plans
as they developed. The future phases of the MLPA Initiative will
again afford many opportunities for public involvement.
Stay informed!
For more information about the MLPA Initiative, please visit the
initiative website at www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa.
Attend public meetings,
or watch them (live or archived) on the Internet
Add yourself to the mailing
list
Comment on draft
public documents
Send comments (e-mail
or written)
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