City Council Favors MLPA Option with ‘0’ Local Favor

• Action Leaves Most Locals Unhappy

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

After listening to nearly 50 speakers passionately advocating for Marine Life Protection Act Initiative South Coast Study Region’s stakeholder group maps, or proposals, 2 and 3, the City of Malibu’s City Council voted unanimously to endorse map 1, viewed by some as a compromise between environmental and fishing interests, but seen by others as a political cop-out.
After a year of intense discussion and debate, the three official stakeholder groups for the South Coast Study Region, which incorporates the California Coast from Point Conception to the Mexican Border and includes Malibu, are preparing to present the final three proposals to the Blue Ribbon Task Force during a three-day meeting set for Long Beach, on Oct. 20-23. The BRTF will then make its recommendations to the Department of Fish and Game, which is the lead agency and has the final say.
The MLPA was passed ten years ago in an attempt to protect marine resources by creating a network of Marine Protected Areas, or MPAs. In Malibu, an MPA is proposed for the waters off of Point Dume. The debate is now over how to set the MPA’s boundaries and what level of protection should be sought.
Proposal 3 offers the highest level of protection and encompasses the most extensive area, with a State Marine Reserve—an area that prohibits any fishing activity—stretching from just east of the Paradise Cove Pier to Zuma Beach, and a State Marine Conservation Area, which would permit fishing for specific species, from Zuma to El Pescador State Beach.
Proposal 2, favored by local fishing advocates, would provide a SMCA from Westward Beach to El Pescador, eliminating a Point Dume SMR.
Proposal 1, often described as a watered down compromise, offers a smaller SMR that would stretch from the western end of the Paradise Cove Pier to the western end of Westward Beach, with an SMCA also extending to El Pescador.
Passions may have run high, but the public comment went smoothy, with speakers and audience remaining quiet and respectful. Many speakers turned to address the crowd behind them, rather than the council. Supporters of Proposal 3 wore blue shirts that stated “MPAs Work.” Fishing advocates who support Proposal 2, including a large contingent of Paradise Cove residents organized by longtime resident Shari Latta, carried signs with their message.
Several council members, and some of the speakers, seemed confused about exactly what each proposal covered.
“The reason I would support Proposal 1 is that it’s the only one to incorporate everything,” Councilmember John Sibert said. “I think an evaluation needs to be included to assess how effective it is. We don’t know enough about MPAs.”
Stakeholder group members Sarah Sikich and Kevin Ketchem, called to the podium to clarify, disagreed, indicating that both Proposals 1 and 3 included all of the elements required by the Science Advisory Board.
During public comment, Randy Olsen, a Malibu resident, marine biologist and founder of the ocean conservation group Shifting Baselines, contested the statement about MPAs. “We didn’t know in 2005, when MPAs were getting started. We know now that MPAs work,” he said.
Proposal 2 proponent Shari Latta said that the local fishing community also supports MPAs, but wants to ensure that they are not placed in areas that have traditionally been accessible to recreational fishers. “[These areas are] our playground, our classroom,” she said.
Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich was the only advocate on the council for Proposal 3. She read the City’s General Plan, which outlines Malibu’s commitment to preservation and conservation of its environment and natural resources, including the ocean, out loud to the council.
“We live here,” she said. “We have made a commitment to preserve [the ocean].
Councilmember Sharon Barovsky did not agree. “I was on the General Plan Task Force, this is not what we had in mind. If you carry that on you would protect everything and the only people we wouldn’t be protecting is people,” she said.
Councilmember Jefferson Wagner, who disclosed that he is actively involved in the fishing community, described map 1 as “not making anyone happy,” but added that he though it was a choice everyone could live with.
“I’m going to support this,” Conley Ulich conceded. It’s a step in the right direction.” She added that it would still provide the fishing community with the opportunity to harvest the bounty of the earth.
The council agreed to authorize Mayor Andy Stern to send a letter to the task force in support of Proposal 1, adding on Sibert’s recommendation language requesting “evaluation on a timely basis to make sure it’s effective.”
The Blue Ribbon Task Force will meet Oct. 20-22 at the Hilton Long Beach Hotel and Executive Meeting Center, 701 West Ocean Blvd. More information, including maps of the three proposed Point Dume MPAs, is available at: www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/