Ah shucks, MLPA's delayed .... - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

swinginFish · 08-25-2011, 10:21 PM

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2...delayed-socal/

Expanded marine protected areas in Southern California won’t take effect on Oct. 1 as planned, the Department of Fish and Game said Thursday. The ecosystem safeguards have generated lots of controversy over the past few years, including an unresolved lawsuit by fishermen alleging they were created illegally.
The Department of Fish and Game, which is responsible for managing the reserve system, said the delay was created because the Office of Administrative Law can’t finish processing the complicated package of regulations in time for the planned start date.
The law office “has additional questions and requests for more information,” according to a news release by the fish and game agency. It did not characterize the substance of those queries.
California’s Fish and Game Commission is expected to choose a new start date for the protected zones at its regular meeting in Redding on Sept. 15. It’s not clear whether commissioners will consider moving the start date back weeks or months, but a spokeswoman for the Fish and Game Department said it didn’t appear to be on the order of years.
On Dec. 15 the commission adopted regulations to revamp protected areas in the South Coast region, which spans state waters from Point Conception in Santa Barbara County to the U.S.-Mexico border. The planned no-take or limited-take areas cover approximately 354 square miles of state waters and represent approximately 15 percent of the region.
The strategy is less aggressive than what many conservationists wanted, but they praised have it as a good start toward recovering numerous species, from lobster to sheephead.
Fishermen said they will be squeezed into less-fertile waters, creating economic losses and potentially dangerous crowds.
Mike Lee: mike.lee@uniontrib.com

08-25-2011, 10:21 PM	#1
swinginFish Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 173	Ah shucks, MLPA's delayed .... http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2...delayed-socal/ Expanded marine protected areas in Southern California won’t take effect on Oct. 1 as planned, the Department of Fish and Game said Thursday. The ecosystem safeguards have generated lots of controversy over the past few years, including an unresolved lawsuit by fishermen alleging they were created illegally. The Department of Fish and Game, which is responsible for managing the reserve system, said the delay was created because the Office of Administrative Law can’t finish processing the complicated package of regulations in time for the planned start date. The law office “has additional questions and requests for more information,” according to a news release by the fish and game agency. It did not characterize the substance of those queries. California’s Fish and Game Commission is expected to choose a new start date for the protected zones at its regular meeting in Redding on Sept. 15. It’s not clear whether commissioners will consider moving the start date back weeks or months, but a spokeswoman for the Fish and Game Department said it didn’t appear to be on the order of years. On Dec. 15 the commission adopted regulations to revamp protected areas in the South Coast region, which spans state waters from Point Conception in Santa Barbara County to the U.S.-Mexico border. The planned no-take or limited-take areas cover approximately 354 square miles of state waters and represent approximately 15 percent of the region. The strategy is less aggressive than what many conservationists wanted, but they praised have it as a good start toward recovering numerous species, from lobster to sheephead. Fishermen said they will be squeezed into less-fertile waters, creating economic losses and potentially dangerous crowds. Mike Lee: mike.lee@uniontrib.com