Ocean Zone News Blog

Laguna Beach Independent

Editor,

There’s a false claim from some in the fishing community that “there’s no science” and that marine protection needs to “be studied more”. Scientists have, in fact, studied this situation extensively, and have proposed remedies including the Marine Protected Areas as part of the Marine Life Preservation Act. Do we need to study until our fish populations are nearly extinct and their populations can hardly recover – like the abalone, like the striped marlin, and like the giant sea bass? California’s nearshore fishery landings (commercial and recreational marine harvest recorded, shoreline to 20 fathoms depth) has declined precipitously from approximately 4,000 metric tons in 1980 to approximately 1,000 metric tons in 2000 (Schroeder and Love, UCSB, 2002), despite stricter regulations. Commercial fishing is still outpaced by the recreational fishermen who take approximately 60% of the total nearshore catch. Although “catch and release” has been suggested, this has been proven to be ineffectual as it still results in fish mortality and “may perilously delay population recovery or even cause local extinction.”

Malibu Times

Published:
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 2:20 PM PDT
Activities could be restricted at the beaches if they are included in marine protected areas by the state.

By Olivia Damavandi / Staff Writer

Malibu residents gathered at City Hall last week to give input and receive information about the Marine Life Protection Act, which could possibly affect access and activities, such as fishing, at Westward Beach, Point Dume and Paradise Cove. No final decisions will be made until the end of this year.

Fiji Daily Post

Ignorance on the activities of certain fish species can cause its depletion or worse still being wiped out from our fishing grounds if people do not act now.

Seasonal fish that had been thought of as to be always plentiful in certain times of the year has also been found to be decreasing in numbers in some local communities, said Conservation International project officer Loraini Sivo who has also been involved in surveys regarding fish behaviours.

She says when fish gather together or “aggregate” they are there for a purpose and that is to reproduce or “spawn”.

Bay Area Indymedia

By Judith Vidaver

In 1999 the California State Legislature passed the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA). This Act seeks to protect diversity of marine life and “help sustain, conserve and protect” marine populations.

To do this, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) would be established with varying levels of restrictions on allowable activities. The Act further requires monitoring and adaptive management of MPAs. While well-intended, the implementation has been fraught with controversy.

LRC Blog

June 20, 2009

Posted by Butler Shaffer on June 20, 20

Tom: Just wait until Obama announces a planetary system of zoning, a move that is implicit in the environmentalist political agenda. The oceans today; the continents and the atmosphere tomorrow!

The study of chaos reminds us that complex systems are inherently unpredictable, a truth that renders all forms of centralized planning bound to failure. When Joe Biden remarked that “everyone guessed wrong” on the effect of the Bush/Obama stimulus plan, he was unwittingly acknowledging the unpredictable nature of government planning. Sad to say, few have picked up on the significance of his remark.