The new marine protected area will stretch from El Matador State Beach to Paradise Cove.
By Knowles Adkisson / The Malibu Times
The California State Fish and Game Commission on Wednesday last week selected Oct. 1 as the effective date for implementation of the marine protected areas (MPAs) in Southern California, including an area off the coast of Point Dume.
In a 4-1 vote, commissioners selected this day to start implementing new regulations in the South Coast Study Region, which spans from Point Conception in Santa Barbara County to the U.S./Mexico border. Commissioner Daniel Richards was the only vote in opposition.
The restricted area in Malibu stretches from El Matador State Beach to Paradise Cove. The Point Dume MPA was targeted as a site for protection largely to safeguard an underwater canyon and kelp reef that is rare along the California coast. The new MPA protects the entire canyon and some of the kelp reef. Limited fishing is allowed in the northern half of the MPA, from Point Dume to El Matador.
An October document containing regulations for the proposed MPAs on the Fish and Game web site listed species that are allowed to be fished in the proposed Point Dume MPA. According to that report, the taking of pelagic finfish (i.e., rockfish) would be allowed, as well as White Sea Bass and Pacific bonito by spear fishing. Limited commercial fishing of coastal pelagic species, including squid, mackerel and anchovies, will also be permitted by round-haul net in the northern half. Round-haul fishing is a smaller operation than the purse-seine boats that have been fishing off Malibu’s coast the last few months.
No fishing would be allowed from the westernmost tip of Point Dume to Paradise Cove, although access to the entire Point Dume MPA will remain open to scuba diving, boating and other recreational activities.
Mark Gold, president of local environmental group Heal the Bay, hailed the news last Thursday on his blog.
“We should celebrate this historic move to help safeguard SoCal’s ocean economy and environment for the future,” Gold wrote.
Gold wrote that activists who fought for the MPAs needed to turn now to educating the public by dispelling inaccurate perceptions of the new regulations. For instance, Gold wrote that nonconsumptive uses like surfing, diving and kayaking would not be limited within the MPAs.
Gold has already experienced some blowback from skeptics of the MPAs. Earlier this year, Heal the Bay began a monitoring program, entitled “MPA Watch,” after the MPAs were originally approved in December. The program enlisted volunteers to record the number and location of beachgoers at Paradise Cove and Point Dume, and whether they are swimming, surfing or simply walking along the beach. That data will be used in the future to measure the relative health of marine life after the implementation of the MPAs.
Some local fishermen and residents complained in April the program was intrusive to beachgoers. Local fisherman Chris Goldblatt, who said he was opposed to MPAs in general, claimed the monitoring program would be used as a “de facto police force” by Department of Fish and Game officials to catch poachers in the new Point Dume MPA.
Gold dismissed that suggestion in an e-mail to The Malibu Times.
“There is no Orwellian plot,” Gold said. “We’re just gathering data that will prove useful in determining how the MPA area is used, before and after the regulations kick in.”
The Point Dume MPA is one of 36 new MPAs approved by the commission last December. Passage of the new MPAs came after considerable controversy between representatives of commercial fishermen and environmental activists. The Southern California coastline is the most heavily used stretch of California coastline for both fishermen and recreational pursuits. Much of the state’s commercial fishing catch comes from along the southern coast, while the outdoor activities cherished by environmentalists and nature lovers are extremely popular here.
Fish and Game Commissioner Richard B. Rogers called the Dec. 15 decision to enact 36 of 49 proposed MPAs an “elegant compromise” between commercial and recreational fishing interests and environmentalists.
Malibu resident Craig Maddox, a retired lifeguard and licensed commercial urchin diver, expressed frustration with the vote at that time.
“We don’t need any more closures, the area [spanning the Point Dume MPA] is already healthy,” Maddox said.
In January, a number of fishing advocates related to the Partnership for Sustainable Oceans filed a lawsuit challenging the new MPAs. That lawsuit is still working its way through the courts.