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Old 01-20-2012, 09:49 PM   #5
Aaron&Julie
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Spring Valley
Posts: 1,400
I gotta say this doesn't sound right.
#1 If you're talking about the south buoys of the cove near the point that cuts towards the Big Hotel (Condo), that area is NOT off limits once you get out of the old reserve. Only the northern buoys of the cove before Scripps pier is now an MLPA area, but you can still catch bait legally.
#2 Since most of us fishermen believe the MLPA is wrong, I don't think it's in our best interest to get the DFG working on all the legalities of this issue, and monitoring these "crazy" MLPA borders. Yes, that bust up in Laguna was a great one, but not because it was in an MLPA area, but ONLY because they had no licenses, no lobster cards and had 40 or more short lobsters. It truly wasn't about the MLPA but about poaching that would be illegal no matter where they did it.
#3 The DFG will get plenty of support from the enviro "whackos" who brought about the MLPA, I don't think any fishermen who believes the MLPA is WRONG, should be helping them do their "duties". Commercial fishermen were fighting for open waters along with Sport fishermen. If indeed some commercial traps were in an MLPA area, and those guys didn't break any other laws, i.e. short bugs, over-limit of bugs, etc, I'm not going to be the one to rat them out for what I know in my heart is a wrong closure. I doubt these were dudes like the assholes up north, who broke countless laws.
#4 So you want the DFG out there patrolling, making sure no one crosses these MLPA boundries, huh? Great, now that you've alerted them they are on everybody like stink on S&$#!. So, you hook that yellow (+50lbs) of a lifetime, he tows you a 1/4 mile into an MLPA area, and since you've got the DFG on their toes now, they spot you and tell you, that you can't land that fish, because you are in an unauthorized area. It could happen.

Just my 2 cents, but I don't think you're going to get too many people here giving you kudos. But, maybe I'm wrong.

On another note, Julie and I went to our "clamming beach", and we got double limits. Funny thing, it was on a Thursday (yesterday), where no other fishermen were even around, but a DFG guy drove up, checked our licenses, and the 3 clams we had at the time. No worries here, we weren't breaking any laws. But, for an organization that is badly undermanned, we found it odd, that on a weekday, with no fishing going on around us, they had enough personnel to check on a couple of "clammers". Hmmph!?!
Aaron
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