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Strong support heard for a balanced network of marine protected areas in the North Central California

Posted by: Maven on May 15, 2009 at 7:54 am

From Leila Monroe of the NRDC Switchboard Blog:

With stories as colorful as marine life under the sea, citizens traveled from the length of the state to Sacramento today to speak their mind about the finalization of a plan of marine protected areas for the North Central Coast of California. The Fish and Game Commissioners — who listened for five hours as speakers presented their views on the plans developed by a selected group of stakeholders according to scientific guidelines and reviewed over the course of more than 52 public meetings in the extensive public process proscribed by the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) — were well entertained.

Dozens spoke in support of the Integrated Preferred Alternative (IPA), a compromise plan developed by the “Blue Ribbon Task Force” that balances the components of plans presented by environmentalists, fishermen, and others. A mom brought her five year old to speak out for strong protection of our oceans. A big-wave surfer/nurse described the value of the IPA to protect wild places to preserve the health of ecosystems so he, and the special-needs kids he teaches to surf, can enjoy these for many years to come. A deep water diver described his years of spear fishing many miles out to see in 100’s of feet of water, watching over the decades as fish populations diminish and the waste of fishing tackle and other debris accumulates along the sea floor. Many ocean enthusiasts supporting the IPA described the problem of shifting baselines — our elders tell us how beautiful and abundant the ocean used to be, but that memory is lost as the generations progress and marine environments degrade.

Read more of Leila’s post at the NRDC Switchboard Blog by clicking here.

May 15, 2009 · Filed Under Oceans & Beaches

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