California’s Marine Protected Area (MPA) focus of today’s Collaborative Meeting
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - A controversial and confusing proposal is circulating throughout Santa Barbara's fishing industry and, environmental circles.
It centers on plans to expand Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in the Santa Barbara Channel and more specifically, three of the islands.
Last year, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) publicly released the first 10 year comprehensive review of the MPA Network, and how to prioritize management of the area. It included 28 adaptive management recommendations and potential changes spanning 2023 to 2033.
As your News Channel previously reported, the proposal could impact commercial and sport fishing off Anacapa Island, Santa Cruz Island and, Santa Rosa Island by expanding current restrictions.
One local marine scientist said making the petition public has complicated the process, sending a "curveball" and in essence, has somewhat pitted the fishing industry against environmentalists, which no one wants to have happen.
"Our fishing industries are already really sustainable and they're managed very carefully," said Kim Selkoe, Executive Director of Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara. "There's ample science observation and stakeholder input to evaluate each fishery independently over time. And, the state is doing a fantastic job of that."
Azsha Hudson, Marine Analyst with the Environmental Defense Center, believes that there is lots of misinformation floating around, no pun intended.
"I agree that this process is very convoluted, evolving as we move forward and so, there is an understanding that there is a lot of misunderstanding going on, on our part as well as the fishers' part."
Anyone with an interest and stake in potential changes to the MPA is encouraged to attend Wednesday's Santa Barbara Channel MPA Collaborative Meeting at the Watershed Resource Center (Hendry's Beach) at 2981 Cliff Drive. The meeting will go 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
