MLPA News Roundup

Marin Independent Journal: Where were you Wednesday?

The Fish and Game Commission, at a supposedly public meeting in Woodland, ignored the appeals of Sonoma County Pomo Indians, Point Arena fishermen, Marin abalone divers and dozens of others who pleaded from podium with the five-man commission to go easy on Marin and Sonoma county fishing access. The concerned taxpayers were ignored, the environmental "green machine" activists appeased, and the severest possible restrictions of the Marine Life Protection Act passed into law. You'd better check the regs before your next fishing trip. More here.


Point Reyes Light: State closes fishing holes, 3—2

[...]Still, many wonder what agendas may be behind the MLPA.

Schwarzenegger, who showcases his green policies, has done little to address water pollution, and supports other projects that counteract the mission of the MLPA.

Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisheries, calls the MLPA “conservation light,” or conservation for those who don’t want to do any heavy lifting. Grader and other fishermen are upset that the MLPA is not adhering to its original goal of addressing water pollution.

“What I see here is a resource grab. The first thing that the corporations want to do before grabbing public trust resources is to get rid of the people who live or subsist on the land and ocean,” said Judith Vidaver, of the Ocean Protection Coalition, in a June meeting to oppose the MLPA process.

The five-member Blue Ribbon Task Force includes Catherine Reheis- Boyd, Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff for the Western States Petroleum Association.[...] More here.


Laguna Beach Independent: Fishing Closure Unnecessary and Unwarranted

Closing off areas of our coastline, other than tide pools, is neither necessary nor warranted. Current regulations are working very well for both fisherman, fish, and the economy. I strongly recommend that the environmental extremists back off and find something else to destroy. More here.


Commission Bans Indians, Seaweed Harvesters From Traditional Areas
Racism and elitism prevails over science and environmental justice

By Dan Bacher

Lester Pinola, the past chairman of the Kashia Rancheria in Sonoma County, and members of his tribe have harvested abalone, seaweed and mussels for hundreds of years in the inter-tidal zone off Stewarts Point. More here.