Saving fish with parks in Pacific

As Lt. Chris Graff throttles his 58-foot catamaran, the shiny, aluminum hull rises out of the water on an airplanelike wing and draws bead on a lobster boat bobbing in the waves ahead.

Mr. Graff is one of the state Fish and Game wardens charged with enforcing a dramatic plan to restore collapsing fisheries here.

In California, the concept of "ecosystem management" - protecting species by protecting broad swaths of habitat - has gone aquatic. Instead of just setting quotas on specific fish or closing key areas on a seasonal basis, the state is implementing a system of marine parks, many of which would ban all types of fishing.

The still-evolving plans on America's longest state coastline have enraged many fishermen, but scientists say they could become a model for managing the world's overstretched fisheries.

"[This] is a giant change in the status quo that is being watched closely by other states and other nations as well," says John Ugoretz, a biologist with the state department of Fish and Game.

While the state's plans have stirred controversy, fishermen and scientists alike recognize the scope of the challenge.

Years ago, fleets of boats routinely lurched back into port sagging with loads of sea bass, yellowtail, barracuda, and tuna.

"When I was a small boy, I used to stand on the Newport Pier hauling in Big Bonita fishes, walk along the beach with all kinds of seaweed and shells," says Gary Brown, Coast Keeper for Orange County. "Now all that is gone."

But more recently, recreational divers have complained of depleted reefs, tourists of declines in colorful rockfish, environmentalists of the loss of spawning and other habitat, and residents of the diminished pleasures of pier fishing.

Commercial fishing statistics tell the story. Spurred by recent increases in the markets for live fish used in restaurants and shipped overseas, the harvesting of live fin fish have increased sixty-fold in the past seven years alone: from 20,000 pounds to 1.2 million pounds.

To reverse such declines, recent legislation is intended to embrace equally the concerns of sport fisherman, commercial fisherman, divers, and environmentalists alike.

"Until now, there has been a loose-knit system of laws and protected areas without consistent management or coordination. As a result, marine resources have suffered drastically," says Assemblyman Kevin Shelley, author of one of the measures. "The state has taken on the monumental task of devising a master plan which it has never had to assure an abundance of fish for future generations."

Although the term "offshore national parks" might be too strong a term, according to some observers, others say it gives the correct impression of what the state is attempting to do.

One measure, called the Marine Life Management Act (MLMA), calls on the state's Department of Fish and Game to set up plans, based on science and public input, to protect targeted species. But like ecosystem management on land, the idea is to adopt broad guidelines that recognize the mutual dependence of species and their habitats.

The measure, adopted in 1998 but only now phasing in, calls for approval of plans targeting white sea bass and nearshore ground fish by the Fish and Game Department by year's end.

Page: 1 | 2