Free Republic

SAN FRANCISCO — State wildlife officials announced plans recently to revive a program to create marine reserves along California's 1,100-mile coast. The program would set up restricted fishing zones expected to serve as models for protecting ocean habitat. Plans for the state-mandated network were shelved eight months ago because of budget woes. State agencies have now secured $2 million from private donors and $500,000 in state funding. "This governor is committed to protecting and restoring these oceans, particularly in California," state Resources Secretary Mike Chrisman said. The program represents a new approach to marine conservation. Rather than protecting individual fish...

Monterey Sanctuary May Grow 14% When the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary was set up 14 years ago, banning oil drilling along 276 miles of the California coast from the Golden Gate to Hearst Castle, environmentalists were thrilled. But other worries have risen to take oil's place -- from polluted runoff, cruise ship sewage and personal watercraft, or jet skis, to a sea otter population struggling with disease. Now, for the first time since Congress and President George H.W. Bush established the sanctuary in 1992, federal officials are rewriting its management plan -- crafting a new rule book for Northern...

MONTEREY, Calif. - Flying over California's rugged Central Coast, Mike Sutton pointed to kelp forests and rocky reefs just below the water's surface that will soon be off-limits to fishing under one of the nation's most ambitious plans to protect marine life. "We're trying to make sure our oceans are protected as our land," said Sutton, a marine expert at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Despite intense opposition from many fishermen, California wildlife regulators are creating the nation's most extensive network of "marine protected areas" — stretches of ocean where fishing will be banned or severely restricted. The first chain of...

With armed Fish and Game wardens lining the Beach Resort Monterey conference room and allegations of physical threats casting a pall over the proceedings, the Fish and Game Commission slowly drew a patchwork net of preferred packages to create a comprehensive network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for the state’s Central Coast Region on Tuesday night. The commissioners argued and compromised into the night, creating a divisive but historic blueprint for coastal resource management. After public comment from about 140 individuals, the commission created a proposal that includes 29 MPAs covering 204 square miles. The selected proposal is a patchwork...

A network of reserves to protect California's rich array of marine wildlife moved closer to becoming a reality on Tuesday after a state panel selected a plan to put large swaths of coastal waters off-limits to fishing. The Fish and Game Commission voted at a packed meeting in Monterey to ban both commercial and recreational fishing across more than 200 square miles between Santa Barbara and Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco. The plan still must undergo a final environmental review before it goes into effect. The new protected areas likely would not become official until at least...

After six years of political debate and scientific study, California is poised Tuesday to become the first state in the nation to create a broad network of "no fishing" zones off its coast... The idea is simple, and based on one of the leading new trends in marine biology. Provide fish a rest from hooks and nets, scientists say, in certain key spots known as "marine protected areas" and they will grow bigger and more numerous. The hope is that they'll eventually restock kelp forests, rocky underwater canyons and the rest of the ocean along the state's coastline. The California...