The ocean is for all Californians
by Samantha Murray and Josh Churchman
Published in the Marin Independent Journal
April 23, 2008
Over the past year, a group of your friends and neighbors, of fishermen and environmentalists, of docents and divers, have been working together to try to find common ground in a plan for protecting our ocean through a network of marine protected areas. It hasn’t been easy. In fact, at times it’s been downright painful. We’ve got the bruises and scars to prove it.
Because this north central region of California is so full of marine life, there is virtually no piece of coastline that isn’t somebody’s favorite fishing spot, some birdwatcher’s favorite place to look at common murres, or some stellar sea lion’s favorite place to pick up a date. But what we learned from working together is that all the stakeholders had one thing in common: we all cared deeply about the health of the marine ecosystem and we want this effort to result in a system of ocean protection that will serve as our gift to the future-- one small bright spot amid so many troubling legacies.
Around the world marine protected areas are being put in place to help improve the productivity and resilience of ocean life, from habitat to fish to seabirds to marine mammals, all the way up the food chain. In combination with good fishery management, these protected areas can make fishing become more stable, and help ocean habitats better withstand future threats from development, climate change, and our growing population. But setting aside areas of the ocean to ensure protection in the long-term can have very real impacts on ocean users today. Which is why it has been so important to make sure everyone has a seat at the table in designing California’s marine protected areas.
This week, the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force will consider three options for marine protected areas. Several fishermen have been working to develop their own proposal. Many conservation organizations support a different option. But some fishermen and some conservationists have taken a different approach - working together to create a true middle ground of a marine protected area proposal that provides enough habitat protection to give California’s fish and wildlife a fighting chance for recovery, while also leaving many favorite fishing spots open. That's where we come in; after hundreds of hours spent hashing out lines on a map and meeting with local communities, making guest appearances on crabbing boats and taking trips to tiny hidden campgrounds you never knew existed, this common ground effort – dubbed Proposal 1-3- is supported by several commercial fishermen, charter boat operators, recreational fishermen, conservationists and divers from Mendocino to San Mateo. And we’re proud to say that we had a hand in it.
In the end, nobody got everything they wanted. Yet all sides ended up saying they could live with the compromise. Not a bad outcome when you consider how diverse the group was, how many people had to find common ground and how elusive that common ground can be. In the end it is about doing the best we can to leave something lasting for the future generations to thank us for. And taking a risk to seek that common ground together.
We’ve come a long way in realizing that we all have a stake in the health of our ocean. The Blue Ribbon Task Force should honor the compromises that both sides have made, and recommend an alternative to the California Fish & Game Commission that works for both fishermen and conservationists. This compromise is called 1-3 and it truly is the middle ground. After all, a balanced compromise is not easy to achieve. But bruises and battle scars aside, this balanced proposal is the best avenue all Californians have for a healthy, thriving ocean
Find out more about the three different proposals for marine protected areas at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/nccrsg-proposals.asp
Samantha Murray is a diver and conservationist with Ocean Conservancy in San Francisco. She served on the north central coast regional stakeholder group on marine protected areas.
Josh Churchman is a commercial and recreational fisherman from Bolinas. He also served on the north central coast regional stakeholder group on marine protected areas.
