Coast safeguard plans argued

GUALALA -- Some of the most iconic places along the Northern California coast, including Point Reyes, The Sea Ranch and the Farallon Islands, are under intense scrutiny as potential places to limit ocean fishing by creating new state marine protection areas.

Those locations and others were identified repeatedly Tuesday by a state advisory group that is trying to devise recommendations for protecting critical marine habitat along the coast from San Mateo to southern Mendocino counties.

At a meeting in Gualala, the group's three dozen members and alternates, made up of fishermen, scientists and environmentalists and known as the North Central Coast Regional Stakeholder Group, considered seven different proposals for protected areas, some with more than one option for certain locations.

Repeatedly, the authors of the various options talked about creating protected areas off Point Arena, The Sea Ranch, Salt Point State Park, Jenner, Bodega Head, Point Reyes, Bolinas and Half Moon Bay. The size of the protected areas varied widely.

Often, the options included bans on all fishing near shore while limiting the catch in deeper waters to salmon and crab.

The dizzying array of variations, seen by many as a strength of the decision-making process, nonetheless prompted concern among fishermen who fear the state might close too much of the region's ocean and coastline.

For recreational fishermen such as Ben Sleeter of Half Moon Bay, a proposal made Tuesday by environmental groups to close the Farallon Islands to fishing would be "economically devastating."

The fishing grounds around the islands have "become the backbone of the charter boat industry," said Sleeter, an advisory group member and a director for the 13,000-member Coastside Fishing Club.

Karen Garrison, an advisory group member and a co-director of the National Resources Defense Council's Ocean Initiative, defended the work of the advisory group, noting the effort will result in the restoration of fisheries and ecosystems that will benefit coastal communities and help "sustain thriving ports."

Abalone divers like Jack Likins of Gualala are concerned about limiting coastal access. He said proposals to close portions of The Sea Ranch to all fishing would take away some of the safer access points along the coast.

"To see that closed to me would be a catastrophe," Likins said.

No decision was made Tuesday. Instead, the advisory group's members will refine the options and present them for review to a team of scientists. The group is expected to go through at least two more attempts to refine their options before making final recommendations in March.

Eventually, the state Fish and Game Commission will approve a regional plan spelling out the protected areas and what will be allowed within them.

The group will continue its work today at the Gualala Arts Center. The proceedings are being webcast and can by viewed at www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/meetings.asp.

The process is tied to the state's Marine Life Protection Act. The law was passed in 1999 but two earlier attempts to developed protection plans failed, in part due to intense opposition.

On this third round of work the state already has designated a network of protected marine areas along the south central coast of California.

On Tuesday, amid steady rain and a gray ocean, the group's members faced each other in a large hall around a rectangle of tables. Remote cameras swiveled to capture the speakers' comments for webcast. More than 80 members of the public filled the meeting room in the morning, though their numbers had diminished some by the time the meeting broke for the night about 6:30 p.m.

Most members of the public introduced themselves as fishermen or abalone divers.

You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or robert.digitale@pressdemocrat.

com.