fish sanctuaries

It?s going to be real hard not to be political here but ?they? are going to turn my beloved fishing grounds into a fish sanctuary. I live in one of the least populated and least fished areas on the west coast but, rather than closing Point St. George, South Reef, and all waters over 120? deep here, why not the Fallerons? Why not Catalina? Why not the Coronados? Well I?ll tell you why. The same people that have splinters embedded in there forearms from hugging trees, now want to embed scales there also but, they don?t want the sanctuaries in there back yards!

Re: fish sanctuaries

Re: fish sanctuaries

So what does this mean? No fishing, or just catch & release?

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thurps said:

It’s going to be real hard not to be political here but “they” are going to turn my beloved fishing grounds into a fish sanctuary. I live in one of the least populated and least fished areas on the west coast but, rather than closing Point St. George, South Reef, and all waters over 120’ deep here, why not the Fallerons? Why not Catalina? Why not the Coronados? Well I’ll tell you why. The same people that have splinters embedded in there forearms from hugging trees, now want to embed scales there also but, they don’t want the sanctuaries in there back yards!

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I think you can try harder than that not to be political.

Tree huggers? Try wildlife biologists. Can you point us to an article that describes the decision? I've heard nothing about it, but I've found that there's usually a good reason for choosing a particular area. It stinks that it cuts into your fishing, but blaming it on people who are environmentally conscious and making fun of them is a bad move.

We had a similar thing here in Washington. People were making fun of the wildlife biologists for catching and killing hundreds of mature salmon which were going over the fish ladders. They thought the biologists had gone crazy. It turns out that the fish they were killing were hatchery stock. Their fry were eating all the food normally eaten by the native fry, but they were too stupid to make it to maturity. The actions seem strange, but the outcome is noble.

The way things are right now, somebody's got to let up on the fishing. Still, it's a bummer that you're the one who has to cut back.

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Whats the penalty if you're caught fishing there?

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They have done a great job here on the east coast with sanctuaries and closed areas that it is hard to make a living fishing and they have hit the recreational fishery as well.

It's your turn now.

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"They" are only reacting to the overly greedy commercial fishing fleets that over the past 50 years have been depleting the fish stocks at an unsustainable rate.
"They" may not do it in the best way possible,but that would be because "they" have to deal with many special interest groups and with everybody pointing fingers at everybody else."They" do make right and wrong decisions depending on political pressure and all sorts of commercial interests, just plain lack of knowledge and often bureaucratic unwillingness to listen to anybody but themselves.
But at least "they" are trying to save what is left of our fish stocks.
Now if "we" could try to give a hand, things might change for the better.
Remember,we did not inherit the earth.We are only borrowing it from our children.

Re: fish sanctuaries

thurps said:

It?s going to be real hard not to be political here but ?they? are going to turn my beloved fishing grounds into a fish sanctuary. I live in one of the least populated and least fished areas on the west coast but, rather than closing Point St. George, South Reef, and all waters over 120? deep here, why not the Fallerons? Why not Catalina? Why not the Coronados? Well I?ll tell you why. The same people that have splinters embedded in there forearms from hugging trees, now want to embed scales there also but, they don?t want the sanctuaries in there back yards!

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I am not familiar with Pt St George, but as a past, marine biologist out of SFSU, I am quite familiar with Humboldt State University. I do not think you have to go to the tree huggers to find out about the oceanography department at HSU. HSU and friends preservation of Humboldt bay is legendary. I would assume with the proximity of Crescent City to Arcadia you are feeling the some of the affects of HSU oceanography research. What do you think?

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ebry710 ;
What do I think well, I think I can rember when F&G let commercials purse sane Humboldt Bay in the 70's and the sports fishermen were screaming. I think they could turn all of the Lost Coast into a sancuary without affecting much of the sportfishing. I think they would like to turn all of this area into part of Jeddadia Smith State Park. I think the commercials will get substance checks but not the sportsmen that fish for food. Speaking of substance fishing........No, have to stop.

Re: fish sanctuaries

rolmops said:

"They" are only reacting to the overly greedy commercial fishing fleets that over the past 50 years have been depleting the fish stocks at an unsustainable rate.
"They" may not do it in the best way possible,but that would be because "they" have to deal with many special interest groups and with everybody pointing fingers at everybody else."They" do make right and wrong decisions depending on political pressure and all sorts of commercial interests, just plain lack of knowledge and often bureaucratic unwillingness to listen to anybody but themselves.
But at least "they" are trying to save what is left of our fish stocks.
Now if "we" could try to give a hand, things might change for the better.
Remember,we did not inherit the earth.We are only borrowing it from our children.

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Well said rolmops, well said! If 'we' are concerned about what 'they' are doing, it's time to get involved! Be proactive instead of reactive!

Re: fish sanctuaries

Mike Robinson said:

Well said rolmops, well said! If 'we' are concerned about what 'they' are doing, it's time to get involved! Be proactive instead of reactive!

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The biggest problem is that most Americans work 40+ hours a week and have to raise a family and I looking way of surviving and still have the time to go boating. College students, F&G and environmentalist have all the time in the world and are funded by the government, parents and special interests.

Re: fish sanctuaries

ebry710 said:

The biggest problem is that most Americans work 40+ hours a week and have to raise a family and I looking way of surviving and still have the time to go boating. College students, F&G and environmentalist have all the time in the world and are funded by the government, parents and special interests.

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Not even close. The biggest problem is that everyone realizes that there's a problem, but no one wants to make any sacrifice to try to fix it. Getting mad at people who are different from you won't bring the fish back. Blaming people you dislike won't bring them back either.

FWIW, when I was an environmentalist/college student, I was working 40+ hours a week and going to school at the same time, and I didn't even have a car, let alone a boat. No government funding, no parents, no special interests.

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I'd at least do a little research before I'd start blaming people or groups.

I recall years ago everyone in the northwest getting up in arms about the Boldt decision in Federal Court that allocated half the harvestable salmon to native tribes.

At least someone then had to determine: 1. What level of escapement was necessary to perpetuate the run. and 2. What the actual harvest is so they knew what "half" meant exactly. Before the judge's ruling, none of that needed to be even known, let alone managed.

Most of the folks that work in these fields in my experience try to do the best they can in difficult circumstances. That's not to say they are always right, but it might be helpful to at least give them the benefit of the doubt until all the the parameters they have to work within are known.

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One of the problems with being a biologist is that you have to focus on only a small part of a project to be thorough. Once you have gain that data, people use it for whatever purpose they want to. Your research is pure, but the interpretation may not be. It is called bias.

If you do research to prove point then you might be influenced by bias. If you are funded by an institution, special interest or organization you also might be influence by bias.

As an environmental biologist by a large company, I always felt the pressure. I was fortunate, I was stubborn and my bosses appreciated me keeping the company out of hot water. A lot of biologist and environmentalist are not so lucky. Large companies and special interest alike put a lot of pressure on researchers to prove their point of view.