MLPA Updates

The Latest in the Marine Life Protection Act Process on the North Coast

Breaking news: In September, the 33-member stakeholder group for the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) process for the north coast made history by agreeing on a single, unified proposal for a Marine Protected Area (MPA) on the north coast. This group includes fishermen, conservationists, tribe members, divers and others, and this is the first time that a stakeholder group has been able to come to consensus on one proposal. The north coast's proposal was submitted to the Blue Ribbon Task Force for review. The Blue Ribbon Task Force (BRTF), a review panel whose members are selected for their expertise, recommends proposals to the California Department of Fish and Game, which is the government body responsible for implementation of the MLPA. At the end of October, the BRTF unanimously voted to forward this proposal to the DFG. Friends of the Dunes congratulates the stakeholder group on this remarkable achievement.

Download: Latest PDF of the North Coast Regional Stakeholder Group MPA Proposal Map

MLPA Q&A with Jennifer Savage

Jennifer Savage is the North Coast Program Coordinator of the Ocean Conservancy and a member of the regional stakeholder group for the MLPA process. Maggie Stoudnour sat down with Jennifer for an update on July 26, 2010.

Maggie: What is the purpose of the MLPA?

Jennifer: The goal is to provide conservation of coastal and marine environments into the future. It is extending the logic of national and state parks into the ocean. When the idea of national and state parks was first introduced, it was controversial too, but now most of us support the park system and understand that there are places we want to protect and conserve into the future. If we want fishing in the future, we need to make it sustainable. The MLPA means implementing a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) along the entire coast that will protect marine life in California.

Maggie: At the beginning of this process, some were saying that we don’t need MPAs on the North Coast because fisheries here are already so heavily regulated. What is your response to that concern?

Jennifer: Generally, fisheries management is reactive and focused on protecting a single species. The MLPA is about protecting and conserving the overall health of the ocean and the life in it. The whole-ecosystem, networked approach of MPAs has been shown to work. If we went back in time 50 years and implemented the MLPA back then, we would not have needed as much fisheries management over the past few decades.

Maggie: You are a member of the regional stakeholder group for the MLPA process on the North Coast. Can you tell us who that group is made up of, and what its purpose is?

Jennifer: The regional stakeholder group consists of 33 people, including commercial fishermen, recreational fishermen, conservationists, divers, tribe members, educators and bird enthusiasts. The goal of the stakeholder group is to design proposals for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) on the North Coast. These proposals are then submitted to a scientific advisory board which reviews them to ensure that they meet the MLPA science guidelines, and eventually they are submitted to the Blue Ribbon Task Force, which can choose to adopt a single proposal generated by the stakeholder group, or take what they consider to be the best components of all of the proposals and create a new one called the Integrated Preferred Alternative.

Maggie: So, where are we in that process right now?

Jennifer: We are entering the final round of developing proposals. In the beginning of September we will have just completed this and we will be handing it over to the Blue Ribbon Task Force.

Maggie: Where does the science advisory team fit in?

Jennifer: It’s an ongoing process. We submit drafts to them, they point out areas where it does not yet meet the science guidelines, and we make changes and send them back. The proposal that the Blue Ribbon Task Force eventually chooses to recommend to the state must meet the science guidelines.

Maggie: And what are the science guidelines, in a nutshell?

Jennifer: A certain number of habitats must be represented and replicated a certain number of times, and there is a minimum size and spacing for MPAs. Essentially, we have to have certain stuff and enough of it so that the MPA network works. Early in the process, the science advisory board, which includes local scientists, reviewed and adapted the guidelines to make sure they were applicable to this area. The habitats are different here than other parts of the coast, so that is reflected in the content of the guidelines, but the general themes stay the same.

Maggie: What do you think is the biggest misconception the community has about the MLPA?

Jennifer: There are so many! I guess the biggest is that it will shut down all fishing on the North Coast, which just isn’t true. The proposal that protects the most area is only 14% of North Coast waters, and only half of the protection in this proposal is categorized as reserves (the most restrictive type of MPA), so that means half of the protected areas can still be used. Much of the protected areas are also so remote they are not even being used. Special care has been taken to minimize impacts to fishermen, and no one’s favorite fishing area is going away, that’s for sure.

Maggie: I know it has had some rocky moments, but overall the collaboration between stakeholders to come together and design proposals, possibly even one proposal, seems like a success story.

Jennifer: The MLPA has certainly been a source of heated public debate, but in meetings and one-on-one, conversations are good and everyone has respect for one another. We want to see each other succeed. This is a small town, and I don’t want to see the fishermen I run into down at Woodley Island going out of business. Real efforts have been made to find solutions for people on the water.

Maggie: Is there anything we haven’t touched on that you think is important for people to understand?

Jennifer: It is really important for people to contribute their thoughts. The ocean is for all of us. If you are out on the ocean in whatever way, fishing, surfing, kayaking, or even if you aren’t, you should make a public comment or attend a meeting. Efforts have been made to get people to participate, but there is still not enough public input.

For more information about the MLPA process on the North Coast, visit:
CA Dept of Fish and Game - MLPA