CHANNEL ISLANDS MARINE RESERVE WORKING GROUP UPDATE

Back in August of 1999 the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) Advisory Council created a special working group to begin to consider the value of recommending one or more no-take marine reserves for the waters of the northern Channel Islands within the Sanctuary boundaries, which extend out 6 miles from the Islands. A 17 member working group, known by its acronym MRWG (Marine Reserves Working Group), has met on a monthly basis since that time. If you are interested in the makeup of the MRWG you can visit the CINMS website at www.cinms.nos.noaa.gov. The MRWG recently held a public forum and posted 4 different alternatives that would dedicate different amounts of area to marine reserves. The option that gives me the most concern would put over 50 % of the water area into no-take zones!

SAC's position is that marine reserves should be used in a coordinated approach that also utilizes all other management tools to control, maintain or recover marine fishery stocks that are important to sport and commercial fisheries. In addition, we need some solid assurances that once put in place, these no-take areas will be sufficiently monitored to determine that there is in fact a benefit to the use of this tool. Also, SAC wants to see the level of enforcement of these marine reserves will be adequate to deter poaching. Taking fishing grounds away from honest fishermen only to allow illegal take is no solution!

The next meeting of the MRWG will take place in the Santa Barbara area on April 18th, and the goal of that meeting will be to agree on one marine reserve option to forward to the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council. The MRWG can only act by consensus, and so the recreational representatives are comfortable that any areas chosen will be fully justified on biological as well as socioeconomic grounds. Ultimately the regulatory action to create marine reserves will fall to the California Fish & Game Commission, and adoption of any regulations will take place only after a period of consideration and public review and comment. Please stay tuned as SAC may very well be in need of public comment when the Fish & Game Commission takes up the topic!