A petition has been submitted to state wildlife officials to expand the protected areas off Laguna Beach that prohibit the “taking” of sea life, including commercial and recreational fishing, to include all of the city’s shoreline.
But those who make a living from the sea are against an expansion and say enough of the coastline is already off-limits.
California has dozens of Marine Protected Areas along its coast, which were created a decade ago to help limit the impact of humans and their activities and allow the underwater world the chance to recover. Recent studies of how the coastal reserves have done in the last decade – some strictly prohibit the taking of sea life, some allow it – indicate significant rebounding and progress, state wildlife officials have said.
Laguna Beach is the only city in the state with all of its coastline designated Marine Protect Areas, or MPAs, but the waters off South Laguna allow for fishing. Now given the success seen with the MPA program, a group of environmentalists and South Laguna residents are hoping the California Fish and Game Commission will consider making all of Laguna Beach a “no-take” zone.
A decade of restrictions
Donna Kalez said she looks nearly everyday at a map hanging on the back of her office door that shows the coastline between Dana Point and Los Angeles and all the areas closed to fishing, including Laguna Beach’s coastline from Table Rock Beach to the northern city limits.
“I look at it every day to remind myself of where the closures are, and if anybody asks me questions, I point to the map,” said Kalez, who operates Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching, the Dana Point Harbor’s oldest business, founded by her late father, Don Hansen, in 1971.
“It also reminds me of what we’ve lost and what we’ve adapted to,” she said. “When you keep adding up all the regulations, it’s getting harder and harder for us fishermen.”
The less than one mile of Laguna Beach…
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