California

California to restrict fishing off Central Coast

By TERENCE CHEA

Associated Press Writer
California will ban or severely restrict fishing in more than 200 square miles of ocean waters off the Central Coast on Friday as part of a landmark plan to protect marine life.

The first set of 29 marine protected areas, which go into effect in state waters from Santa Barbara County to San Mateo County, will include 13 reserves where fishing will be prohibited and 15 conservation areas where some commercial and recreational fishing will be allowed. Another site in Morro Bay will permit some sport fishing.

"This starts off a program that will help sustain California’s marine resources into the future," said John Ugoretz, a state scientist who is overseeing the creation of the marine preserves. "We’re trying to make sure that we have healthy fisheries and sustainable resources."

Department of Fish and Game wardens will patrol coastal waters to enforce the new restrictions, and scientists will study the protected zones to understand their effects on fish and other marine life.

The state Fish and Game Commission voted to approve the first network of marine protected areas in April, following more than two years of often contentious negotiations with environmentalists, scientists, fishermen and coastal residents.

State regulators plan to create similar networks in four other regions off California’s 1,100-mile coastline. The next set will cover state waters, which extend three miles from shore, from San Mateo County to Mendocino County.

Scientists say California’s marine protected areas represent a new approach to saving the world’s oceans from overfishing and hope other states and countries follow suit.

A report in the journal Science last year warned that nearly a third of the world’s seafood species have collapsed and all populations of fished species could collapse by 2048 if current fishing and pollution patterns persist.

While traditional fishery management focuses on preserving individual species, California regulators are now seeking to protect entire ecosystems that are rich in marine life, from rockfish and abalone to migrating salmon and whales.

But many fishermen complain that the marine protected areas will restrict fishing in the most productive areas, and could lead to overfishing in unprotected regions. They worry the new rules will hurt the state’s commercial and sport fishing industries.

"We think the restrictions are way too severe," said Vern Goehring of the California Fisheries Coalition. "It restricts and prohibits fishing in an inordinately large portion of the best fishing areas."

Ugoretz and other scientists say the marine protected areas will serve as nurseries for fish and invertebrate species and eventually lead to healthier fisheries.