Many Thanks to Paul, Robert Fletcher, and all other MLPA angling activists

[PAL]

The email from PSO asked for donations to an organization that I had not heard of. Here is the web site. www.oceanaccessprotectionfund.org

Bob, that's the right link. The Ocean Access Protection Fund was set up by United Anglers of Southern California for the PSO's legal challenges against the MLPA. They say they won't use the money for anything other than access fights.

The PSO's attorneys weren't kidding. They have documents that prove the BRTF met in secret. If you want to push that effort forward, that's the place to send your cash. Everything helps.

Couldn't make this last meeting? This is just as good.

[Gino]

Originally Posted by PAL

Bob, that's the right link. The Ocean Access Protection Fund was set up by United Anglers of Southern California for the PSO's legal challenges against the MLPA. They say they won't use the money for anything other than access fights.

The PSO's attorneys weren't kidding. They have documents that prove the BRTF met in secret. If you want to push that effort forward, that's the place to send your cash. Everything helps.

Couldn't make this last meeting? This is just as good.

I wish i had my video camera with me so i could have recorded the Attorneys statements/PSO reps presentation. They did an excellent job and i liked what they said. Not only did they mention behind close doors meetings (in person private meetigns at a BRTF home). they exposed the flaws in the process and implimentation timeline, saying they had to finish mapping the whole state before they could impliment the closures.

tomorrow is payday! im sending them some money...

Who will join me? They need all the help they can get. This is our chance to crush this and The PSO need all the financial help they can get.

[PAL]

^There's a video archive of the meeting on the Calspan website and / or AGP Video. I'll see about grabbing it for the attorney's statements tomorrow unless someone else beats me to it.

I'd look around the noon mark, but since I didn't check my watch to see when the meeting started, I'm not sure how far in they'll be.

[JJ]

The attorneys said enough to raise an eyebrow.
But there's more ... much more.
We lost the battle, but the war's not over!

I've said it before ... Paul
Thank you for EVERYTHING!!!

Cheers. -JJ-

[mwm]

Paul, thanks to you and Chris for leading the charge to fight this process. Frankly, now that it's done and part of LJ is saved the kayak fishing community here in San Diego has alot to be thankful for.

Last month a small group of relatives walked down the steps of my uncle's house in Laguna and committed his ashes to the deep (he was affectionately known as The Captain). His place was known as the Halibut House because as kids we would fish off his boat and dive off the beach for them. It turned his stomach to know that his grandkids and my young kids will never get to know this joy or have the great memories that I have. Luckily, we got to put him to rest while his ocean was still free. The same fate could have happened in LJ and PV as did in Laguna and Malibu were it not for the fight put up. Thanks to all that sent letters or attended hearings.

If there's proof the BRTF met in secret in defiance of the law, then that is pretty important info that needs to get out to the public NOW while this issue is still fresh. the UT has run two front page articles on the MLPA process. Get that info to Ed Zieralski with a flow chart of the link from the Packard Foundation to the the people involved. I saw what I consider to be Meg Caldwell's arrogance and disregard for the people of this State first hand at the BRTF decision meeting when she adamantly refused to implement other options than #3. If she and the BRTF met in secret in defiance of the law I can only assume it was to influence the agenda, then the State Bar and Stanford need to hold her accountable. This will only happen if the public knows the facts. If there is factual evidence, I for one am willing to spend some $$ to make that known.

[PAL]

I'm working on clipping the video now. I hope to have it up on YouTube within a few hours.

[roadx]

Closing Waters to Sportfishing in Southern California Denies Public's Right to Access Public Waters‏

California Fish and Game Commission ignores numerous legal concerns by approving MPA regulations

Sacramento, CA – December 15, 2010 – Despite ongoing legal concerns, the California Fish and Game Commission (FGC) voted 3-2 to approve a wide-ranging array of marine protected areas (MPAs), essentially no-fishing zones, along the southern California coast. In its latest effort to implement the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), the commission’s vote indefinitely closes approximately 12 percent of southern California’s ocean to recreational fishing – including many of the state’s best recreational fishing areas.

“It’s beyond comprehension that the commission would go through with approving these regulations given the serious flaws in the process,” said Bob Fletcher of the Sportfishing Association of California and former Chief Deputy Director of the California Department of Fish and Game. “The commission obviously had no desire to assure that a fair, open, objective and legally conducted process was in place before such a vote occurred. This vote leaves little doubt that the MLPA has is based on political agendas instead of the needs of California’s citizens and natural resources.”

The Partnership for Sustainable Oceans (PSO), which represents recreational fishing and boating interests in California, has been actively engaged in the MLPA process since the North Central Coast phase. The PSO has voiced its concerns regarding the numerous flaws and a lack of transparency in the process. One of the PSO’s members, United Anglers of Southern California (UASC), has retained legal representation to investigate the legality of the MLPA process.

During the December 15, commission meeting, the PSO’s attorneys presented to the commission the numerous examples of defects in the rulemaking process, including many flaws that were discovered after reviewing MLPA planning documents that have only recently become public.

On October 1, 2010, a California Superior Court ruled that two MLPA planning groups – the Blue Ribbon Task Force (BRTF) and Master Plan Team , also known as the Science Advisory Team, are state agencies and therefore compelled by California’s Public Records Act to share information that they were withholding from public view. These groups would not respond to a Public Records Act request, incorrectly claiming they were not state agencies. In light of a PSO review of the documents provided to date, the commission was presented several notable findings prior to their vote, including evidence that the BRTF held numerous scheduled, agendized meetings which were closed to the public.

Other notable flaws and concerns with the MLPA process that were not taken into consideration by the commission include:

• Lack of funding for the necessary monitoring and enforcement of MPA regulations – a $40 million annual price tag.
• Negative economic impact of closures to saltwater recreational fishing, which contributes $2.3 billion to California’s economy annually and supports nearly 20,000 jobs.
  
• Major flaws in the environmental analysis of the impacts of the proposed South Coast regulations.
  
• Inconsistent and shifting guidelines throughout the process.
  

“The MLPA attempts to resolve a fisheries ‘crisis’ that simply does not exist. As a result of decades of successful traditional fisheries management, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service, there is not one marine fish stock currently experiencing overfishing in California’s waters,” said Gordon Robertson, Vice President of the American Sportfishing Association, a PSO member. “Simply put: fisheries management in California is working and the MPAs are not necessary.”

“While we are deeply disturbed that the commission would go forward with approving these regulations, the process is not over yet,” noted John Riordan, Board Member of UASC. “The PSO legal effort is working to protect the interests of recreational anglers and is making significant progress. I urge all anglers and anyone concerned with the MLPA to visit www.oceanaccessprotectionfund.org and make a donation to help the fight against this flawed process in the courts.”

[PAL]

Up now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua8T3qlbuvg