Local Residents Speak Out on Point Dume MPA Plans

• Scientific Team Raises Some Important Questions about the Extent of Real Protection

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

Whether the waters off of Point Dume will receive Marine Protected Area status as part of the state-mandated Marine Life Protection Act Initiative, and how large an area should be protected, remain a subject of debate, as stakeholders participating in the MLPA Initiative South Coast Study Region process—which includes the area from Point Conception to the Mexican border— continue to wrestle with the challenge of balancing conservation with socioeconomic impact and scientific guidelines with popular pressure.
The six-member South Coast Region blue ribbon task force met in Santa Monica last week to set the guidelines for round three of the stakeholder negotiation process. Marine Protected Area supporters, including many Malibu residents, packed the conference room during public comment. Many wore blue T-shirts, pins or stickers stating “MPAs Work,” in contrast to earlier meetings, where the black shirts of fishing interest groups predominated. However, at least one member of the official stakeholder’s group asked that stereotypes be discarded. “It’s not conservationists versus fishers,” she said. “A lot of us are both. That kind of polarization isn’t helpful.”
“It’s safe to say we’re at the halfway mark,” panel chair Don Benninghoven stated at the start of the session. “The second half is probably going to be more difficult than the first half,” he cautioned. “There has been good work,” Benninghoven said. “A lot of good energy, but still lots of problems, as you’ll see. There’s still a lot of work. A long way to go to meet the intended guidelines.”
The six sub-group plans, called arrays, developed by the regional stakeholders group during the first two rounds of the process have been evaluated by the science advisory team. Only the three plans that come closest to meeting the science guidelines will move forward to round three.
Two of those plans incorporate a combination of State Marine Reserves—the highest level of protection—and State Marine Conservation Areas for the coast between Paradise Cove and Westward and Zuma beaches. The third plan moves the MPAs away from Point Dume, up to Point Mugu, Big Sycamore Canyon and Deer Creek and establishes an SMR east of Surfrider beach.
However, all three of the plans that will be carried into round three have come under fire from the Science Advisory Team for failing to meet the initiative’s science guidelines. The SAT expressed concern that many of the proposed MPAs in the south coast region do not meet size standards or offer adequate protection for key species. According to the SAT, some have overly complex boundaries that could potentially create enforcement difficulties, complex or “highly permissive” take allowances that would provide “little ecological protection due to the allowed take,” or provide inadequate improvements to existing MPAs.
During a presentation on feasibility analysis, Department of Fish and Game representative Darci Connor admonished the stakeholders that they are charged with “providing real protection, not the appearance of protection.”
In the Malibu region, the discussion centered on the need to balance protection for kelp forests, rocky habitats and a deep undersea canyon area off of Point Dume with access to popular fishing areas like the BKR (Big Kelp Reef). Proponents of protecting Point Dume’s waters state that the rare combination of extensive kelp forests and both deep and shallow water rock reef habitats—elements that are not found in the sparser habitat at Point Mugu, and are rare throughout the South Coast Region—deserve the highest level of protection.
However, the qualities that make the area desirable as an MPA are also the elements that draw fishing interest to the area. Kayak anglers and spear fishers expressed concern at the meeting that MPA status at Point Dume would shut them out of favorite fishing locations.
Malibu City Council member Pamela Conley Ulich, wearing an “MPAs Work” shirt, opened public comment by thanking the panel and stakeholders group. “We’re all here because we care about the ocean,” she said. “We’re all united, all respect each other even if we may not agree.” She described how her children enjoy fishing but said that she personally endorses the two proposals that offer the most extensive protection for Point Dume. In her official capacity, she presented the panel with a resolution from City of Malibu supporting the MLPA.
State Senator Fran Pavley and Malibu-area Assemblymember Julia Brownley also sent a representative to the conference. Their joint message was one of concern that the current proposals “fall short of the science guidelines.”
“Focus on the science,” was also the message from the majority of the public speakers.
Many speakers indicated a willingness to give up their aquatic recreation activities if it meant higher protection for coastal resources, although MLPA project manager Melissa Miller-Henson made a point of addressing the persistent rumor that MRAs will impact non-consumptive activities like surfing and swimming. “We clearly can’t guarantee what happens in the future, but clearly, there has not been any strong movement towards restricting human access or restricting non-extractive activities,” Miller-Henson said.
“Sometimes personal sacrifice is necessary,” stated Point Dume MPA supporter and Malibu resident Geri Churchill. She told the task force that her family, which includes four children, would be willing to give up fishing if it meant “preserving fish and the ocean.”
Longtime Malibuite Dusty Peak told the panel that he has spent a lifetime surfing and fishing in local waters. “I’ve been fortunate to call Point Dume my home base since 1959,” he said, describing how he has observed fish populations decline over the decades. he also stated that he is willing to give up fishing in the same way that he gave up hunting on land when the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area was established as a protected area.
Another Malibu resident, Kelly Meyer, who described herself as a member of the “blue shirt task force,” had praise for the MLPA process. “We really do care,” she said. “We support you. The more our community understands, the more they let go of fears. We live in Malibu for a reason, and we’re trying to protect that but we have to walk together to the future. We can’t go back to the ’50s.”
Not everyone was willing to embrace a philosophy of renunciation. Chris Desantis, a kayak angler who said he frequents Point Dume, expressed concern that kayak access is already limited in the area. “At Point Dume we have access to bluffs that provide protection,” he said.
“Access and safety are at the forefront of the proposed closure at Point Dume, incredibly important,” kayak fisher Jason Martin told the panel. “My backyard and playground is the BKR. If you direct us north, you will be putting more people in perilous water.”
One man compared the proposed closures to being robbed. “I didn’t come here to address the board but the fishermen,” he said. “If someone demands half of your money instead of all of your money, you’re still being robbed. Point Dume is the safest. They’re not just taking away any fisheries but the healthiest fisheries. The more you compromise, the more they’re going to take.”
“You can’t be robbed of something that was never yours,” was the response from a subsequent speaker. “Judging by fishery collapse numbers, we’re the ones who have been doing the robbing.”
“Collapse is a given,” Malibu resident Remy O’Neill told the task force. “We can no longer make decisions based on economics. Please give optimum protection.”
“The bull’s eyes are drawn,” stakeholder group member Merit McCrea said at the end of the second day. “We have very limited choices. We have a choice to make at Point Dume. All the rest has been chosen for us.”
Information on the MLPA Initiative South Coast Study Region process, including a video archive of meetings and maps of the proposed MPA areas is available at the Department of Fish and Game website at www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa.