Agencies prepare to carve up coastal waters

Unprecedented zoning process will be based on ecosystem approach

BY MIKE LEE, REPORTER

State officials decided last week that a hotly contested set of marine protected areas will take effect in the nearshore waters of Southern California on Jan. 1.

That planning process split the region into pro-fishing and no-fishing camps since it started in 2008, but it pales in comparison to the scope of a federal initiative that’s starting to take shape as a priority of the Obama administration.

The coastal and marine spatial planning process, launched by executive order in 2010, seeks to account for the full range of ocean uses, from wave energy and oil extraction to shipping and recreation. It’s supposed to span broad ecosystems instead of relying on the traditional sector-by-sector approach to regulating ocean activities.

The blueprint will extend the debate about marine uses from the three-mile limit of state waters to 200 miles from shore as part of an unprecedented national effort to balance a growing list of competing interests. It’s never been done on the national level in the United States, though a few states and other countries have created similar plans.

Think of them like ocean zoning maps covering nine regions of the country that say what activities are best suited for specific areas. If they work, they could give industries more confidence about investing in certain spots and conservationists clarity about which regions are designated for boosting marine life.

“It’s important to get ahead of the curve as demands for space in the ocean increase, but also to move deliberately to make sure all the relevant information is assembled and everyone is included,” said Karen Garrison, at the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco. “This is about keeping the ocean healthy and making sure it continues producing the benefits we depend on into the future.”

Momentum for ocean-use maps has grown along with concern about the ability of the world’s seas to handle pressures for ocean-based food, energy and other necessities. The California Current Ecosystem, which runs along the West Coast of the continental U.S., is among the most highly productive saltwater areas on Earth. It’s also one of the most difficult to manage because tens of millions of residents live within 50 miles of the shore and use the ocean in countless ways.

Read the rest from the San Diego Union-Tribune.

South Coast ocean closures not approved by state’s law office

Written by Ed Zieralski

In what is a blow to environmental groups who seek fishing closures off the coast of California, the marine protected areas called for by theMarine Life Protection Act’s South Coast Region have been disapproved by the state’s Office of Administrative Law (OAL).

The third set of marine protected areas established by the MLPA process will be delayed by months or more, according to a high-ranking Department of Fish and Game official who requested anonymity. The OAL has ordered the Department of Fish and Game and the MLPA Initiative team to correct what it calls deficiencies in the MLPA’s final documents. The flaws must be fixed before the closures are approved, according to a document released Friday by the OAL.

The OAL listed several reasons it did not approve the closures. Included among them is the MLPA staff’s failure to provide reasons for rejecting alternative proposals for closures. Another reason listed is the MLPA’s Initiative team’s failure to adequately respond to all of the public comments regarding the proposed closures.

The ruling came 17 days before the entire process will be on trial in San Diego Superior Court. Bob Fletcher, a former state Fish and Game assistant director and one-time president of the Sportfishing Association of California, and the Partnership for Sustainable Oceans sued the MLPA Initiative team for what the suit calls a mishandling of the process. The trial is set for Sept. 26.

Read the rest on SignOnSanDiego.com.

Six great Bay Area sardine dishes

Michael Bauer

Barbecued squid salad with snake beans and grapefruit

Serves 4

By Bill Granger

2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp sea salt
4 coriander root, rinsed well and roughly chopped
1 garlic clove
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp caster sugar
3 tbsp lime juice
Large handful picked, fresh mint leaves
Large handful fresh coriander leaves
300g/10oz snake beans or green beans, cut into 5cm lengths
2 pink grapefruit, peeled, cut into segments, pith and membrane removed
800g/1¾lb squid tubes, cleaned, cut into approx 6cm x 3cm pieces and scored on the inside
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Read the full recipe here.

Brown appoints Chuck Bonham as new DFG Director

August 26, 2011

Rare sighting of sperm whale made off Palos Verdes Peninsula

Rare sighting of sperm whale made off Palos Verdes Peninsula

With perhaps hundreds of blue whales scattered throughout Southern California waters, it would seem disappointing to embark on a whale-watching excursion and not see one of the majestic leviathans.

But Natalie Booth-Massey and others aboard the Voyager on Monday were hardly disappointed because they witnessed a far more unusual sight: that of a sperm whale, which came into view shortly after they had seen a minke whale breach 11 times.

Booth-Massey on Monday evening posted photos on herFacebook page, along with the exclamation, “I am still on a whale high. I am barely able to talk I am so giddy!”

Sperm whales, which are toothed whales that prey almost exclusively on squid, are rarely seen off Southern California. However, the whale spotted Monday off the Palos Verdes Peninsula is believed to be the same whale that has been seen multiple times in the same general area since it was first photo-documented aboard the Voyager in 1996.

Presumably, this whale, estimated to measure 45-55 feet, is foraging in the depths of Redondo Canyon, which is said to be teeming with market-sized squid. Many of the whale sightings were in August and September, so it will not be surprising if this whale is encountered again this summer.

Read the rest on Pete Thomas’ blog.

San Diego Union Tribune-Letter: Foraging for responsible bills

San Diego Union-Tribune

Letters to the Editor

July 29, 2011

If you didn’t know, you might think that forage fish like sardines and squid are on the brink of destruction in California. That’s what some activists and the Union-Tribune story on Assembly Bill 1299 imply (“Thinking small for a sea change,” July 18). However, these claims are incorrect.

California’s forage fisheries are among the best protected in the world, with one of the lowest harvest rates. Yet this state would squander millions of tax dollars – and thousands of jobs – to duplicate existing laws. Why?

To initiate new legislation like AB 1299 as if no current regulation exists is fiscally irresponsible and disrespectful of California’s management history.

Moreover, virtually all of these species range far beyond California state waters and wouldn’t be helped by this bill.

The anti-fishing activists pushing this legislation misrepresented the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s research. For example, they cited an incomplete ecosystem assessment to prove their overfishing hype, but failed to say it excluded Southern California waters, where 80 percent of California’s squid harvest occurs. AB 1299 is simply a disingenuous attempt to curtail sustainable fisheries.

 — Diane Pleschner-Steele, California Wetfish Producers Association

FORUM: Anti-fishing proposal would shipwreck balanced marine management

By D.B. Pleschner

North County Times

If you didn’t know better, you might think that forage fish like sardines and squid are on the brink of destruction in California.

That’s what some activists imply. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

California’s coastal pelagic “forage” fisheries are the most protected in the world, with one of the lowest harvest rates.

In addition to strict fishing quotas, the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), has implemented no-take reserves, including many near bird rookeries and haul-out sites to protect forage for marine life.

But activists are pushing even more restrictions in the form of Assembly Bill 1299.

California already provides a science-based process to manage forage species. The federal Pacific Fishery Management Council is also developing a California Current Ecosystem Management Plan, covering the entire West Coast, not just California state waters. Further, the federal Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan that governs these fish adopted an ecosystem-based management policy more than a decade ago.

To initiate new legislation like AB 1299 as if no regulation exists is fiscally irresponsible and disrespectful of California’s management history.

The National Marine Fisheries Service voiced concern about the bill’s redundancy and overlap with federal management, pointing out that it could actually impede ecosystem-based management.

AB 1299 won’t protect forage species because virtually all range far beyond California state waters, which only extend three miles from shore.

But the bill does jeopardize the future of California’s historic wetfish fisheries, the backbone of California’s fishing economy. AB 1299 restricts California fishermen unfairly, because virtually all the forage species listed are actively managed or monitored by the federal government and most species are harvested along the entire West Coast.

In this economic crisis, why would California squander millions of dollars —- and sacrifice thousands of jobs —- on an unfunded mandate that duplicates existing laws?

Apparently this doesn’t matter to activists, whose rhetoric claims that overfishing is occurring in California now and a change is needed.

AB 1299 proponents have made many false claims about forage species. For example, they referenced a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration evaluation of the California Current Ecosystem, predicting a downward trend for some marine life, including squid, but failed to explain that this report was simply a draft. The evaluation excluded southern Californiawaters, where 80 percent of the squid harvest occurs. A record spawning event also occurred in 2010.

And consider sardines. After their decline in the 1940s, fishery managers instituted an ecosystem-based management plan that accounts for forage needs before setting harvest quotas, and reduces quotas in concert with natural declines in the resource. The harvest quota for the West Coast plummeted 74 percent from 2007 to 2011.

But activists embellished a NOAA graph to “prove” their claim that the current sardine population decline was due to overfishing. The marine scientist who developed the graph pointed out their error, stating, “You can rest assured that the U.S. has not exceeded the overfishing limit based on the rules in place today.”

In fact, the majority of California’s fishing community —- municipalities, harbor districts, recreational and commercial fishing groups, seafood companies and knowledgeable fishery scientists —- oppose AB 1299, seeing it as a disingenuous attempt to curtail sustainable fisheries unnecessarily.

D.B. Pleschner is executive director of the California Wetfish Producers Association, a nonprofit designed to promote sustainable wetfish resources.

Cooking Channel: Fresh Local Sardines at San Diego Restaurant, July 26 at 7:30 pm

Sea Rocket Bistro Blasts Off into Cooking Channel Stratosphere

Fresh local sardines will be the subject of an episode of Hook, Line and Dinner, Tuesday, July 26 at 7:30 pm. 

By Brandon Hernández | Posted July 25, 2011

A San Diego eatery is going to be featured on a food-related TV program and, for once, it’s not Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. That non triple-D eatery is North Park’s Sea Rocket Bistro, which has gained a good deal of attention of late after bidding its former chef adieu earlier this year to bring on new exec chef and partner Chad White.

But it’s not a back-of-house shake-up that got the attention of the Cooking Channel. Fresh local sardines will be the subject of an episode of the programHook, Line and Dinner that will air this Tuesday, July 26 at 7:30 pm. Sea Rocket offers three sardine preparations – grilled whole as part of a salad with asparagus, watercress, a pickled ranch egg and Sauce Vierge; served with with mustard aioli and pickled veg; and stuffed into street tacos during happy hour.

Read the rest of the story here.

Sardines: Canned or fresh, it’s all good

The flavor of sardines at Presidio Social Club is a good match for cocktails. John Storey/Special to The San Francisco Chronicle

by Michael Bauer

Earlier this week, I was writing the introduction to this week’s Food&Wine newsletter which focuses on seasonal recipes. The topic was sardines, which drew out some long-buried memories.

Only a few years ago sardines were rare on menus, but now they’re coming into the spotlight as more people become aware of seasonality and sustainable seafood practices. The emergence of this strong-tasting fish on restaurant menus seems to parallel the growing cocktail culture. Sardines make great snacks with a stiff drink, which is why you’ll find them in the snack section on many menus.

Even though I only eat fresh these days, whenever I see the word “sardines” I first think of the canned variety. Growing up, tinned sardines and soda crackers were a lunch-time staple.

At least 20 years ago I dined with two food and wine legends in an East Bay restaurant — Gerald Asher, who was the longtime wine writer for Gourmet; and Elizabeth David, one of the most respected British cookbook authors. During that dinner we got into a discussion of sardines; both of them loved the canned variety. I was surprised to learn that they also both “aged” the tins for a time. From there the discussion turned to how long is ideal.

It’s been decades since I’ve had the canned product, but remembering this conversation I think I’ll go out and try them. Maybe they will be my new lunchtime staple a year or so down the line, once they’ve properly mellowed in their cans.

For now I’ll stick to fresh sardines. The 10 places below show how versatile this fish really is. If you want to try the Spoonbar or Gitane dishes at home, click here for the recipes.

Read the rest of the article here.