|
I read the proposed regulation. A few things jumped out at me.
They are proposing changing some boundary lines in order to make the boundaries more unidentifiable. In nearly every case, the closed areas were made larger rather than smaller.
The biggest jolt came when I read how the study determined these regulations would affect fishing activities. One section examined the net economic impact. Oceanside will get hit with an impact of nearly -30%. When it comes to profits, the port of San Diego is the big loser with a potential profit loss of about 25%.
Another section lists the loss of available fishing grounds by location and type of activity, (boat, kayak and diving). San Diego takes it in the shorts big time here with losses ranging up to as much as 41% (for divers targeting White Croaker). Kayak fishers will lose 20% plus of their access for nearly every type of fish.
These numbers blow me away. I am used to our Government doing stupid things but enacting a law that will have a 30% impact on a local economy seems beyond any stupidity that I have witnessed up to now. Similarly, reducing recreational fishing access to public waters by 25% or more is incredibly outrageous.
We can hope that some reasonable folks will step forward and send this thing back to the drawing board but I think there is a very good chance that this will not happen. The bureaucrats want a result and they do not seem to care how much pain it will cause to the general public. The next chapter will likely be played out in the courts.
This whole thing makes me very angry.
Bob
|