San Diegans love their ocean. Just head down to the beach or marina any day of the week and you’ll see the evidence. I see it every year on Coastal Clean-up Day, and it has never been more clear than on October 21, when dozens of divers, surfers, birders, anglers and scientists traveled to Long Beach to comment on southern California’s marine protected area plans.
Kate Hanley is the director of marine conservation for the San Diego Coastkeeper.
That day, the Marine Life Protection Act Blue Ribbon Task Force heard seven hours of testimony from south coast residents. And while they were advocating for different outcomes, they all shared a common desire: to ensure we can all continue to work and play on and in a healthy and productive ocean.
As a diver, and Director of Marine Conservation at San Diego Coastkeeper, that goal is close to my heart. That’s why I got involved in the public process to ensure the Marine Life Protection Act is implemented in southern California in a way that works for our people and wildlife.
As a member of the south coast Regional Stakeholder Group, I worked with commercial fishermen, tribal representatives, scientists and agency staff to find solutions that are good for the economy and the environment.
We studied habitat and fisheries data to map out the best possible marine protected area plan for our region. Science shows that marine protected areas produce more and bigger fish, and more varied, resilient ecosystems. By setting aside a few key places, we can improve the health of all south coast waters.
But it’s all about location-you have to protect high quality habitat to get high quality results.
In San Diego, the very best and most productive habitat is found at south La Jolla and Swamis Reef. These eco hot spots provide food and shelter for a variety of sea life, and their protection is essential to the success of this whole effort.
There is broad support for creating marine protected areas at south La Jolla and Swamis. But fishermen have proposed protecting Del Mar and Point Loma instead-areas with drastically lower conservation value.
While fishermen want to minimize short-term economic impacts-a goal we can all agree on–leaving vital fish nurseries at La Jolla and Swamis vulnerable to further damage will actually hurt their bottom line in the long run.
San Diego County fishing revenue has dropped by a third since 1990.
Scientists tell us the best way to stop that downward trend is to pair existing regulations with a network of marine protected areas, since marine protected areas rebuild fish populations both inside their boundaries and in surrounding waters.
If designed well, marine protected areas are like money in the bank-you make an initial investment, and then live off the interest. And there’s no doubt that Swamis and La Jolla marine protected areas are the best investment for San Diego. They will produce far greater returns in the form of healthier kelp forests, larger and more abundant fish and shellfish and more sustainable fisheries.
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And, an independent evaluation of different options for San Diego suggests that the overall economic impact from marine protected areas at Del Mar and Point Loma is nearly the same as protecting south La Jolla and Swamis. But Del Mar and Loma won’t produce nearly the same benefits.
On November 10, the Blue Ribbon Task Force will meet again to review options for southern California’s marine protected area network. By the end of that meeting, they will have chosen a “preferred alternative” plan that will go before the Fish and Game Commission for final approval next year.
Originally, the Task Force planned to identify their preferred alternative in October. But they decided they needed further scientific evaluation of the different options before making a final decision. I applaud them for taking their charge so seriously, and for recognizing the importance of science.
We’ve come a long way in the past few decades, in both good and bad ways. Technological advances and a booming population mean that human impacts on the ocean are getting greater by the year. But our understanding of marine ecosystems has also grown by leaps and bounds.
We know marine protected areas work, and we know how essential it is to place them in spots with high quality habitat.
I hope the Blue Ribbon Task Force will heed the science on Nov. 10, and choose to protect south La Jolla and Swamis Reef. The Marine Life Protection Act is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to ensure our kids get to enjoy a healthy, abundant ocean. We have to get it right for the sake of all the San Diego residents and visitors who love our sunny coastline, clear blue waters and the myriad creatures that call them home.
Kate Hanley is the director of marine conservation for the San Diego Coastkeeper.
Tags: coastal clean-up day, Del Mar, la jolla and swamis reef, marine conservation san diego, Point Loma, regional stakeholder group, san diego environment, san diego fishermen, san diego fishing, SDNN
Comment by: Jason Everitt Posted: November 9, 2009, 11:11 am
Right on Kate. If taxpayers want to get the most environmental value for their dollar, then La Jolla is the obvious choice. As a resident of North County, I can say that the Swami’s area is also an extremely beautiful stretch of California coastline, complete with an incredible variety of underwater species and habitat. I hope that these two areas will be selected to be a part of with what will surely be the most important marine protection initiative of our lifetimes.
Comment by: Todd Fisher Posted: November 9, 2009, 5:43 pm
Kate, I understand your desire to protect the environment. My desire is similar but I do not share your approach.
Don’t put too much trust in the Biologists. They have been responsible for a number of large scale catastrophes from Salmon collapse in the northwest, to the striped bass declines in San Francisco bay, to mismanagement of the abalone throughout California. They are wrong more often than they are right. If you will say this is an experiment, then I will agree. And I might even agree to try it - on a small scale first. As normal, we don’t head the lessons of the past. San Diego, at one time, had the largest commercial tuna fishing fleet in the world. Now it has none. The people who worked in that industry had to “adjust.” It was not pleasant for them. Regulation destroyed this US industry. And nothing was accomplished to help the environment.
Lets not destroy industry under the guise of science. Science tells you to experiment first, collect the data, analyze, learn and then experiment again. We should follow that. On a small scale first. An if it works, decide to expand it. There is no science to support what is being proposed because it has never been tried or tested. We are again needlessly jumping in over our heads, and hurting a small group of people by misusing science.