[Water_news] 3. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: WATERSHEDS - 4/17/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment

 

April 17, 2008

 

3. Watersheds -

 

 

Editorial

Rescue at sea

San Francisco Chronicle – 4/17/08

 

The deep blue is a sick place, depleted by overfishing and neglect, and it's in need of a break in the form of more marine protection areas. A recent addition was off the central coast, south of Half Moon Bay.

 

The next decision involves a zone along a 150-mile stretch northwards to Mendocino. Up to 15 percent of the offshore area would be off limits to commercial and sport fishing for bocaccio, yellow eye, blue rockfish and abalone, among others. Boating and diving may be permitted, but the overriding mandate would be to leave things alone underwater.

 

The protected spots were chosen for their potential as underwater ecosystems where large, older fish, who are the most prolific parents, can rebound in numbers.

 

The process to define and decide on these protected areas isn't without pain. The state's hard-hit commercial fishing industry isn't pleased. Its fortunes are clearly in decline: Fish catches have dropped by two-thirds over a 14-year period. The fleet has shrunk as well, from 1,760 vessels to 750. Further limits on fishing grounds will hurt this hard-pressed group, already facing loss of the salmon season.

 

But it's in California's long-term interest to protect its coastal waters by carving out marine preserves. Underwater parks off-limits to fishing aren't new - one of the earliest was at Point Lobos near Carmel in the 1960s - but the concept was given broader reach in 1999 when the state Legislature approved a coastal inventory of possible sanctuaries along the state's 840-mile long coastline.

 

Next week, a task force will decide on the size of the protected areas, with the 15 percent figure the largest among four alternatives. This number is favored by a broad population of environmentalists, scientists and outdoors groups, who have held numerous public meetings in recent months. After that comes a decision by state Fish and Game Commission. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has actively pushed for greater coastal protections, has a role to play by urging his appointees to approve the preserve maps.

 

Will the preserves succeed in restoring the world under the waves? Scientists believe that by identifying the most likely places for a fish rebound, there's a good chance. Karen Garrison, co-director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Ocean Initiative, said underwater populations returned in similar designated areas in Australia, Belize and elsewhere in the United States. Give these rocky coves and reefs time, and fish populations return on their own.

 

One factor, she noted, will be public support. With only a limited number of park rangers and game wardens available, it will be up to California residents themselves to abide by the look-but-don't-take guidelines that go with marine reserves.

 

The preserves offer the best chance to rescue an essential part of California. The protected areas are a sensible step in safeguarding this legacy.#

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/17/ED42106KGC.DTL