California Legislature has passed laws Marine Life Protection Act, (MLPA) in 1999 to protect pristine fisheries habitat and not jeopardize our local commercial fishing economy. It is the 10-mile safety zone from Crescent City Harbor. Experts guarantee that no serious proposals have been “slipped in at the last moment,” but have been seriously discussed by stakeholders with advice from the Science Advisory Team.
They think that the MLPA end result is something to be afraid of. A case in point is the Wilson Rock Marine Conservation Area, (WRMCA), extending from Wilson Rock, just south of Wilson Creek, to the mouth of the Klamath River. First of all, this area is 10.5 miles south of Crescent City Harbor, just out of the 10-mile safety zone.
According to the information of the state Department of Fish and Game the sales of groundfish jig-fishing in the Crescent City Harbor from the years 2000 to 2008 wold like to see continue in perpetuity. The range of habitat where these fish are caught extends from the mouth of the Klamath River to Point St. George. Of the approximately 72 square-miles of groundfish habitat in Del Norte County, the WRMCA would protect only nine square miles.
The purpose of the Marine Life Protection Act is to protect diverse marine habitat such as intertidal zones, rocky reefs, sandy or soft ocean bottoms, kelp forests, sea grass beds, submarine canyons and seamounts, which will be policed by DFG game wardens. There are many positive economic reasons for doing so. The best science shows that older, more mature groundfish produce higher quantities of young and take years to reach reproductive maturity.
