MLPA - where are you?

[tylerdurden]

Another really frustrating thing, the comment session last night was video taped for the MLPA archives. The public comment session in Santa Ana that got the best angler turnout was not taped for the record.

At some point the other side was going to show up like we did at Santa Ana. The question is are we going to do anything about it?

[dgax65]

I think we had a little bit better representation at today's meeting; however, we still need to get more people involved. We are the only ones who stand to lose anything in this process. If the result of this process is no new MLPA, we would just have the status quo - the environmentalists would lose nothing. ANY new MLPA will impact fishermen. We are the ones who will lose our access to fishing grounds. Think about that for a minute. For them this is just another cause to get involved in. They have no tangible stake in the outcome. It might as well be just another classroom debate for all the impact that they will feel. WE started this process with the guarantee that we are going to lose access to some fishing grounds. The only thing that we can do to mitigate the loss is to try to make those involved in the process aware of just how important fishing is to us and the economy. We can't do that if we are outnumbered by the other side at every public comment session. Come out and let your voice be heard.