The most ominous provision for recreational anglers is that the entire ocean might be closed if the "optimum yield" for bocaccio is reached at any time during the year. This could happen due to commercial bycatch before sportfishers even get a chance to fish next year.

The Commission left the bag limit at 10 fish, but added sub limits, of 3 cabezon, 2 greenlings, and 2 shallow nearshore rockfish.

If the Commission rubber stamps the current DFG proposals for reserves and protected areas next year, recreational anglers will be looking at long boat rides if they are allowed to fish at all because most of the proposed reserves are located near current access points for recreational anglers, including divers. Next year, you're going to need a depth finder, GPS, a biologist and a lawyer if you want to rockfish.

I remember the request I received from Carrie Wilson from the California Department of Fish & Game nearly two years ago. "Will you help us create a website for the Marine Life Management Act that is interactive and allows the public's voice to be easily heard by the department?"

The 1500 EMAILS sent to the Pacific Fisheries Management Council and the DFG by Fish Sniffer readers after the first emergency rockfish closure in October 2000, had struck a chord. "The legislature really wants this to be an open process," she told me. My company created the website and we even received a Director's Achievement Award from Robert Hight for our efforts.

In March 2001, 150 recreational anglers showed up at the first Marine Life Protection Act hearing in Oakland. The recreational sector outlined the problems including the following:

The West Coast groundfish fishery cannot ever reach sustainable levels, either biologically or economically, if it continues as is," wrote the Pacific Marine Conservation Council in their summer 2000 newsletter.

A 1996 NMFS study showed that most of the live fish sold in their sample of San Francisco fish markets and restaurants were sub legal and/or undocumented. Many party boat operators and individual anglers provided observations about how the methods of the commercial live fishery had dramatically reduced catch and limit weights since the fishery started in the mid 90's, and offered a series of proposals including a ban on commercial stick and trap gear, making waters 60 fathoms or less rod and reel only, require all merchants to document purchases and sales of rockfish so they could be tracked back to the fisherman, beefing up the enforcement staff, and increasing penalties for poaching and unreported catch.

As the MLMA hearing process neared completion late last year, it was evident that the DFG's intent was to make sure commercial fishing continued in the nearshore. This was evidenced by their extension of the commercial cabezon season and shifting of recreational quotas to the commercial sector. After an emergency vote to authorize the quota shift, the Commission admitted they were misled by the department but to this say have not made any attempt to rectify the situation or investigate its causes.

When the DFG released their preferred alternative early this year, it became apparent the concerns of recreational anglers were falling on deaf ears at the DFG. The preferred alternative did little more than kick recreational anglers off the water while totally ignoring the problems of commercial poaching and overfishing even though the California State Constitution gives a "recreational preference" calling for a satisfying sportfishery before commercial fishing quotas are set.

Commissioners Kellog and Flores contacted the Recreational Fishing Alliance and urged them to continue to stay involved in the process, hinting there might be room for movement within the other alternatives presented by DFG.

The Golden Gate Fishermen's Association, United Anglers, and the Recreational Fishing Alliance appeared and testified at all Commission meetings this year where the nearshore was on the agenda. In the meantime agreements were made between the State and the Pacific Fisheries Management Council, which effectively end all recreational fishing in waters deeper than 20 fathoms while commercial fishing continues.

Recreational anglers arrived in Crescent City Friday morning to find out only three Commissioners (Crisman, Schuchat, and Hattoy) were present and the commercial fishermen were gloating about all three attending a dinner hosted by the Pacific Coast Federation Of Fishermen's Associations at the home of Kenyon Hensel, a local commercial fisherman.

Randy Fry, president of the Recreational Fishing Alliance Norcal Chapter walked up to the podium to ask for a free dive and shore fishing exemption and was chastised by Commissioner Crisman. "Unless you have something very important to add at this 11th hour, make it short. You've had two years to make suggestions." With that the Commission voted three to nothing to adopt the DFG preferred alternative without comment.

The action taken by the Commission this week can definitely be filed with the 90% of fishery conservation measures adopted for political reasons rather than the health of the fishery or use of good science. For that reason, I fully expect a catastrophic failure of the fishery in a few years with DFG coming back to the commission asking for total closure.

The new regulations do not address the major factors in the depletion of the fishery and recreational anglers have been told there are enough fish to continue commercial fishing in the nearshore and on the slope but there aren't enough fish to allow us to let you take your kid shore fishing at Timber Cove.

The MLPA process has been a first class example of government run-amuck. Four of the Commissioners have been appointed by Governor Davis as well as the Director of the DFG. In a process which was supposed to be open, the Commission and the Department have ignored what science is available, used data to base their decisions on which they themselves call flawed, ignored the State Constitution, and possibly violated the Brown act (**if it applies to State commissions).

The regulatory decisions made to protect our resources are being made by a group of political hacks. Only one of the Commission members is a sportsman, a duck hunter. The appointment of Commissioner Kellogg was political payback for the millions the pipe fitting unions have contributed to the Davis reelection campaign. Hattoy is connected with the Sierra Club and was appointed to fill a vacancy on the board, which expires in January. It looks like he was appointed to cast two votes, the MLPA and the Channel Island Reserves (which was made earlier in the week). Schuchat is associated with the Ocean Conservancy. One has to ask the question, what looms on the horizon in terms of political tradeoffs made with the environmental groups to get them to vote for the MLPA?

It is obvious the system needs to be revamped. Commissioners should be full time paid state workers with qualifications (other than political) for making these types of decisions. The campaign contribution laws also call for a major rework.

So while the fishery dies, the issue will move on to the courts. The Coastside Fishing Club will be filing suit soon.

I received many letters from anglers over the last year asking, "Why do I need to get involved with politics, I just want to fish?" Now you have your answer. You can support the Recreational Fishing Alliance, by joining, and the election is only a week away. Choose carefully and vote!

*** The Brown Act states:

54952.2. (a) As used in this chapter, "meeting" includes any congregation of a majority of the members of a legislative body at the same time and place to hear, discuss, or deliberate upon any item that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body or the local agency to which it pertains. (b) Except as authorized pursuant to Section 54953, any use of direct communication, personal intermediaries, or technological devices that is employed by a majority of the members of the legislative body to develop a collective concurrence as to action to be taken on an item by the members of the legislative body is prohibited

It is questionable weather or not the Brown Act applies to the Commission. However, the attendance of the Commission at an event hosted by one of the stakeholders certainly smacks of regulatory impropriety.