A Future for Fishing
Jim Webb, SF Chronicle
Wednesday, November 21, 2007

One day last year, I was trout fishing in the Upper Klamath River, near the Oregon border. Arriving at dawn, I was dismayed to find a sign on this picture-perfect river that showed only six areas open for fishing on this stretch of water. The last stretch of the river, before becoming an Oregon river, was closed to angling and called an "in river hatchery." After driving more than half the length of the state to fish, I was outraged.

Dispirited, I pulled up to the first "open area," got out of my truck and took my gear down to the river. My second cast scored a nice rainbow trout. As did the next. I placed my feet carefully, and cast again. The fish leapt in the air and threw the spinner off to the side. Several casts later and I had caught my limit.

I did this for three days in a row. The hatchery up the river had worked as a practical and natural fish reserve that had produced a large number of fish that now populate the fishable stretch of the river. A few days of great fishing changed my view of the closures. Fish reserves now seemed like a pretty good idea.

The network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that the state Fish and Game Commission is designing with public input to run the length of the California Coast will produce similar benefits to the fish in our ocean. The first part of this network, established between Half Moon Bay and Santa Barbara in September, has left plenty of areas open to recreational fishing (more than 80 percent of the region), while preserving important areas to operate as a natural system of "hatcheries." Marine scientists tell us that marine reserves where fishing is not allowed increase the number, diversity, size and fertility of fish found both inside and outside of the protected areas. It's common sense that when fish are given areas to feed, breed and grow, they grow healthier, more fertile and larger. And that makes for better fishing.

I've seen the effects of marine reserves in our ocean with my own eyes. Last month, I joined a group of anglers and scientists who are monitoring fish populations at Point Lobos south of Monterey, where a small marine reserve established in the 1970s just got bigger. The abundance of fish in this area was incredible - we caught fish so quickly that the scientists on board were barely able to keep pace. The abundance, size and variety of fish were unlike anything I have seen in more than 30 years of fishing the California Coast.

No one is more interested in the long-term health of the ocean than fishermen, which is why recreational fishermen demanded marine reserves in the Channel Islands near Santa Barbara. This is also why I participated in designing California's plan for new protected areas along the Central Coast. These new protected areas were developed based on scientific advice but also with input from everyday folks, including fishermen like myself.

The unfortunate oil spill being dealt with in the San Francisco Bay Area points out the importance of having a "network" of marine reserves. Should disaster strike one area, we are not left with all of our eggs in one basket. Further, marine scientists have encouraged replication within the network so that important habitats are represented more than once. Just as one hatchery cannot meet all the freshwater stocking needs of this state; the same can be said for the ocean.

In the end, it's pretty simple. If you spend more than you earn, you will go into debt. As a fisherman, I know that if you take more fish than the ocean can replace, you won't be fishing for long. Unfortunately, that is just what we have been doing in California in recent years. There is a reason that old-timers spin fish tales - the fishing isn't what it used to be.

California's new Marine Protected Areas are an investment in the future. It is fishermen who will benefit most from this investment and should be their strongest supporters. Thirty years from now, the next generation of fishermen will be able to generate some tall fish tales of their own.


Jim Webb is an avid recreational fisherman who lives in Cambria (San Luis Obispo County).

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Te futueo et caballum tuum

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