36 • Feb. 27 - Mar. 12, 2015 • The Log
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Coastal sanctuary proposed near Santa Barbara
By Parimal M. Rohit
Another segment of the California coast could soon be federally protect- ed waters, as the Northern Chumash Tribal Council nominated a stretch of Pacific Ocean between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo to be declared a National Marine Sanctuary. The tribal council submitted paper-
The California Fish and Game Commission discussed proposed legislation to limit the catch size of Pacific bluefin tuna. Earlier this month, two anglers aboard Pierpoint Fishing’s Toronadoshow off a bluefin tuna catch.
Fish and Wildlife ponders bluefin tuna regulation
By Parimal M. Rohit
SACRAMENTO — Southern California anglers could soon be facing tight restriction on bluefin tuna catches south of Point Conception, as the Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) discussed a restrictive policy to address overfishing and keep pace with federal and international regula- tions.
The Fish and Game Commission
considered a proposed regulation at its Feb. 11 meeting in Sacramento to limit the catch size of Pacific bluefin tuna and dictate how the species is fil- leted while at sea. According the Inter-American
Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), the Pacific bluefin tuna stock is esti- mated to be less than 4 percent of its “unfished abundance.” “It’s a pretty severe state of over-
fishing,” Marci Yaremko, DFW’s state and federal fisheries program manag- er, said, adding the 4 percent mark is “extreme” and “pretty serious.” IATTC recommended a reduction in catch of 20 to 45 percent for the entire range of stock. To meet this goal and help restock the Pacific bluefin tuna population, the Pacific Fishery Management Council voted in November 2014 to reduce the bag limit for bluefin tuna to two per day. The bag limit reduction from 10 to two per day is projected to reduce the catch 30 percent, which is within the 20 to 45 percent range recommended by IATTC. Yaremko said reducing the bag limit to one bluefin tuna per day would reduce the catch about 50 per- cent, which would be outside the IATTC’s suggested range. “These animals are so valuable. This is a fish where a single giant bluefin … brings in $1 million in Tokyo. It’s no wonder they hunt them to that level of abundance. Our job is to see what we can do about it,” Fish and Game Commissioner Michael
Sutton said. “We’re limited. The feds have the primary authority in manag- ing these fish.” Yaremko added it is difficult to dis- tinguish bluefin tuna from other types of tuna when processed at sea. Accordingly, she said the state needs to consider clarifying its policy of fil- leting tuna while at sea. “We needed to address changing
the regulations governing filleting tuna at sea … and how to continue to allow filleting at sea in a manner that would allow identification of the species and counting of the species in a mixed-bag type of situation,” Yaremko said. DFW proposed regulation changes
to conform to federal rules. The proposed regulation, if adopt- ed, would require all tuna species fil- leted aboard a boat or brought ashore as fillets south of Point Conception to be individually bagged. The bag must be marked with the species’ common name, and each fish must be cut into six pieces with all skin attached. The new regulation specifies how the fish must be cut: four loins; the collar with pectoral fins attached and intact; and, the belly fillet, with vent and both pelvic fins attached and intact.
An angler requested the Fish and
Game Commission exclude skipjack tuna from the proposed fillet rule. However, Yaremko said DFW is trying to conform to federal and internation- al direction. Since the fish species was not included in federal or internation- al policy recommendations, state offi- cials will not incorporate an exemp- tion for skipjack tuna in proposed reg- ulations. IATTC is a 21-member commission
responsible for tuna conservation in the eastern Pacific Ocean and includes the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, the Koreas, Chinese Taipei and countries in Central and South America.
work to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Feb. 2. It is reportedly the first-ever public nomina- tion for a stretch of California coast to be des- ignated a marine sanctu- ary.
porpoises, a diverse fishery, and many more seals, otters and marine wildlife.” There are currently four National
Marine Sanctuaries in California, including three along the central coast and San Francisco Bay Area. The only National Marine
The Northern Chumash Tribal Council stated the intent of its
“The unique coastline and ocean waters are the most beautiful in the world to the First Peoples and the communities that live along this ecologically rich, biologically diverse healthy coastline,” the tribal council stated in its nomina- tion papers. The Northern Chumash Tribal
Council stated the intent of its request is to protect the stretch of the central coast from fracking and oil extraction. “The Chumash Heritage National
Marine Sanctuary will protect the his- torical and cultural heritage of the Chumash people from any future pro- posed oil and gas drilling or explo- ration, seismic surveys and other dis- turbances of the sea floor and habitat. The sanctuary would promote, sup- port and coordinate scientific research and monitoring of coastal resources,” the nomination papers stated. “The sanctuary will protect an abundantly rich and diverse marine ecosystem that is a nursery and home for many fish and marine mammal species, and a migration lane for seven species of whales and six types of dolphins and
request is to protect the stretch of the central coast from fracking and oil extraction.
Sanctuary in Southern California sur- rounds Channel Islands. It also is the only National Marine Sanctuary in California not protecting a mainland coastline; the eastern edge of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is a few miles west of the Ventura coast. As currently pro- posed, the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary would cover the California coast from Gaviota in Santa
Barbara County to Cambria in San Luis Obispo County. Portions of the Channel Islands and Monterey Bay National Marine sanctuaries border the sanctuary proposed by the Northern Chumash Tribal Council. It is unclear, however, whether
approval of the tribal council’s nomi- nation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary would pro- hibit recreational fishing along a stretch of the California coast between Channel Islands and Sonoma County. In a letter of support, Cambria
Fishing Club President Jordan Pavacich said members of his group frequently fish in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. “We know that a sanctuary designa- tion has not and will not interfere with the pursuit of our sport,” Pavacich said. “With the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary to the south, we need protections for the irreplaceable resources that lie between the two sanctuaries.” However, some anglers say if the
Tips from the bridge Question:
What are the most effective ways to hook live bait?
Larry Phoenix from Rampage Sportfishing:
“Make sure your hands are wet when you hook ‘em. Hook sar- dines through the nose and anchovies through the gill plate. They swim better that way. If you drop bait on a deck, then throw it away.”
Capt. Larry Phoenix operates Rampage Sportfishing and can often be found aboard his 45-foot Hatteras in Dana Point Harbor.
976-tuna.com and Pierpoint Fishing photo
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