thelog.com
Marine Resources Committee tables agenda items to November
Two new co-chairs given three months to get up to speed on fishing topics.
By Parimal M. Rohit
FORTUNA — A commissioner turnover caused the state’s Fish and Game Commission to delay the discus- sion of key fishing topics at the Marine Resources Committee (MRC) to a later
MPA From page 27
the California coast. “This has been a hard process from
the very beginning,” Kellogg said, adding Florida has more than 800 war- dens to enforce MPA rules, compared to about 250 to monitor California’s protected areas. “It’s all about continu- ing to encourage the governor and the legislature to allow us to have the funds to hire more wardens. We need to have [more than] 800 game wardens in the state of California and do the job right.” California MPAs were created in 1999 under the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA). There are 50 MPAs in Southern California and 29 along the Central Coast. A planned MPA for San Francisco
Bay is currently on hold, according to Fish and Game Commission staff. The commission’s responsibilities include adopting a master plan for MPAs, implementing regulations to govern the protected areas, approve regulatory adjustments to the network, enact adaptive management reviews and consider petitions to add, delete or modify an MPA. “We have 1,100 miles of coastline with biologically different areas and socially different areas,” Mary Brittain of DFW said. “The commission has specific, discreet responsibilities asso- ciated with the network.” The National Resource Defense
Council (NRDC) presented some enforcement technology options to commissioners at their Aug. 4 meeting. Options included upgrading DFW’s record management system, analyzing spatial data to engage in predictive policing, tracking vessels with a moni- toring system and using targeted radar and camera surveillance. DFW, according to NRDC’s report,
currently has an annual operating budget of $70 million to enforce its policies on land and water. The agency enforces regulations for fisheries, MPAs, pollution, wildlife, habitats and homeland security. MPA enforcement, specifically, is achieved through “a variety of enforcement technologies and collaborative partnerships,” the NRDC report stated.
date, it was announced Aug. 4. The replacement of MRC’s two co-
chairs in June resulted in a cancella- tion of the committee’s July meeting. Sonke Mastrup, executive director of the Fish and Game Commission, said the cancelled meeting would not be rescheduled, meaning the committee would only meet twice this year. Commissioners Eric Sklar and
Anthony Williams will assume their co- chair responsibilities Nov. 4 and dis-
cuss items originally scheduled for July 8, including California’s fishing com- munities and master plan updates on the state’s fisheries and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Sklar and Williams will also be dis- cussing the Abalone Fishery Management Plan, fisheries bycatch workgroup and pier/jetty fishing. Heading into 2016, Sklar and
Williams will also be reviewing the Spiny Lobster Fishery Management
Plan and
annual sportfishing regulations.
A member of the public requested the MRC begin videotaping meetings.
The Log • Aug. 28 - Sept. 10, 2015 • 29
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