[env-trinity] Recreational Anglers Defeat Bill To Gut Trawl Legislaton

[Daniel Bacher]

Recreational Anglers Defeat Bill To Gut Trawl Legislation

by Dan Bacher

Faced with an outpouring of support for anti-trawl legislation passed last 
year, Democrats in the Senate Natural Resources and Wildlife Committee on 
April 12 voted down a bill from Senator Sam Aanestad (R-Grass Valley) that 
would roll back legislation imposing strict limits on ocean bottom trawling.

Senator Aanestad's legislation, SB 507 would have “gutted” SB 1459, a 
landmark ocean conservation bill signed by the Governor last September, 
according to Tom Raftican, president of United Anglers of Southern 
California (UASC). SB 1459, sponsored by State Senator Dede Albert 
(D-Coronado), puts all state bottom trawl fisheries under the management of 
the Fish and Game Commission, establishing a permitting system for bottom 
trawl fisheries and restricting areas where bottom trawling is allowed in 
state waters.

SB 507, supported by the Fishermen’s Marketing Association and Pacific 
Choice Seafood Company, would repeal the prohibition on the use of bottom 
trawl gear for halibut, shrimp and prawns in certain designated zones. 
Current law provides that the prohibition may take effect in 2008.

Instead, it directs the Fish and Game Commission to research the 
“sustainability” of the California halibut fishery and to make a 
determination that could conceivably include zone closures in 2009. The bill 
would also make changes in the minimum mesh size of nets and the maximum 
weight of those nets.

“The attempt to gut SB1459 failed because it was easy to show the fallacy of 
the arguments behind their attempt to turn the clock back on bottom trawling 
restrictions,” said Raftican. “Recreational anglers led the charge to pass 
this legislation last year and to defeat the latest attempt to reinstitute 
destructive bottom trawling.”

SB 507 would have allowed bottom trawling to continue in Northern California 
areas where it is currently allowed and would have limited California 
halibut permit fees to $100. Those fees are $1,000 under SB 1459, according 
to Senator Aanestad.

In addition, SB 507 would have mandated studies by the Department of Fish 
and Game Commission to determine if bottom trawling was adversely affecting 
the ocean ecosystem and environment.
Aanestad portrayed doom and gloom to the North Coast economy resulting from 
the failure of his legislation.

"The effect of SB 1459 is clear," stated Senator Aanestad during the 
hearing. "It will shut down commercial trawling from Eureka to the Oregon 
border. We are putting small, family-owned operations out of business unless 
these modifications to SB 1459 are allowed."

“Bottom trawlers have been fishing the same waters since 1879, with no 
adverse impact," stated Pete Leipzig, Executive Director of the Fisherman's 
Marketing Association. "This is an efficient and sustainable practice that 
has come under attack."

However, Raftican argued that California that bottom trawling is neither 
sustainable nor efficient because of the tremendous bycatch – take of 
non-targeted species – that occurs.

“Our fisheries, such as our groundfish resources, have gone through 
tremendous collapses in recent years – and bottom trawling is the worst and 
most destructive fishing method,” said Raftican. “Even with quantum leaps in 
fishing technology, the catch per unit by trawlers continues to plummet. 
We’re well past the time when we needed to get this destructive gear out of 
the water.”

Opponents of SB 507 besides UASC include Environment California, Natural 
Resources Defense Council, Ocean Conservancy, Oceana, Sierra Club California 
and United Anglers of California.

According to Raftican, protections for critical habitat under SB-1459 will 
go a long way to help California’s beleaguered rockfish. UASC, UAC and other 
fishing groups have long taken the position that widespread damage to 
rockfish breeding and rearing habitat caused by bottom trawling gear was an 
overlooked, key factor in the depletion of California rockfish populations.

Although SB 507 failed, Senator Aanestad vows he will not give up his 
efforts to amend SB 1459. "There is a big difference between the hearing of 
our concerns and actually listening to what we are telling you," Aanestad 
told fellow committee members. "We will be back again next year, and the 
year after that, until this wrong is righted.”

UASC and other groups agreed last year to a “clean up bill,” according to 
Barry Broad, UASC’ lobbyist. The “clean up bill,” AB 1431 (Saldana), deals 
with the same subject as SB 507, but is supported by the Schwarzenegger 
administration and many of the original supporters of the Albert bill.

AB 1431 would delete from the Albert bill some specific gear and equipment 
restrictions that many believe are more properly determined by the 
California Fish and Game Commission, according to the legislative analysis. 
In particular, issues pertaining to the mesh size of nets and the weight of 
the nets would be delegated to the Commission, as would the definitions of 
“approved bycatch reduction device,” as that term is applied to the prawn 
and pink shrimp fishery.