Santa Cruz Sentinel

Robert Walker

I am of the opinion that opinions too often do not advance the discourse on a particular issue, but fracture it further if no one bothers to address others’ contentions.

One recent writer to the Sentinel says it’s not over-fishing, but declining habitat that reduced local salmon populations, and that generally, local ocean waters are not stressed or over-fished. Another says the Boston cod industry was reduced by over-fishing, and thus, Central Coast fisheries need to be protected from a similar fate; one other says protecting certain marine areas causes over-fishing in other areas.

The oceans are not as static an environment for protection as the forests, so that affects any discussion of Marine Protected Areas. So, what are the facts as they pertain to local waters? Are they over-fished and need special protections, or are MPAs and the Marine Life Protection Act works of an overly utopian mindedness and impractical and at odds with industry realities?

A fourth writer recently requested readers not to vote if they are not informed. It would be infinitely easier to be informed if we, the public, weren’t endlessly subjected to opinions which failed to work through relevant facts and other points of view.

Robert Walker lives in Soquel.