South Coast MLPA Initiative Stakeholders Prepare for Final Phase

• Point Dume Marine Protected Area Plan Continues to Generate Debate in Round Three

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

The South Coast Study Region’s Marine Life Protection Act Initiative process moved an-other step forward last week, as the South Coast Regional Stakeholder Group met at a Los Angeles Airport hotel for a two-day work session to finalize Round 3 Marine Protected Area propos-als.
The MLPA, a state law that was passed in 1999, requires California’s marine protected area system to be redesigned to better protect marine life, habitats and ecosystems, using the best available science.
Whether the waters off of Point Dume should become a Marine Protected Area, and how much of that area could potentially receive the highest level of protection, continued to be a hotly debated issue in the third round of SCRSG deliberations.
Only three of the initial seven proposals—Topaz, External A and Lapis 1-have advanced to the final stage. Renamed work groups 1, 2 and 3, the three proposals, or arrays, provided a starting point for the final round of deliberations.
Proposals 1 and 3 both incorporate an MPA in the Point Dume area, Proposal 2 does not.
Proposal 1 recommends that the area from Paradise Cove to the edge of Westward Beach should be a State Marine Reserve, which offers the highest level of protection, prohibiting all extractive, or fishing, activities. Proposal 1 would also designate the waters off of Zuma a State Marine Con-servation Area, which would permit limited commercial fishing for species like urchins or squid, but prohibit other extractive activities.
As part of this plan, an additional SMCA is proposed for the waters off of Deer Creek, with a smaller SMCA at Nicholas Canyon that would be managed in partnership with Chumash representatives and would allow traditional forms of recreational fishing.
Proposal 3 recommends extending the Point Dume SMR to include Zuma and placing an additional SMCA off of Broad Beach, up to Lachusa.
Proposal 2 bypasses Point Dume, opting for SMRs in the vicinity of Malibu Lagoon State Beach and up the coast at Big Sycamore Canyon.
The public was invited to comment at the SCRSG work session meeting, but the actual group discussions were not videotaped or open to public input, in the interest of encouraging open dialog between stakeholder group members.
All of the final proposals must at the minimum meet a complex series of scientific guidelines, although MLPAI officials have stated repeatedly that public comment also carries weight in the process. Malibuites with a range of concerns made the trek to LAX to speak at the event.
A representative from the Wishtoyo Foundation spoke during public comment in support of the proposed Chumash co-managed MPA at Nicholas Beach. “Chumash stewardship would have a tremendous cultural benefit,” Scott Weiner stated.
“I have here just under 200 signatures,” Point Dume resident and SMR supporter Linda Gibbs said, presenting a petition that endorses a compromise between proposals 1 and 3. “Point Dume is a very diverse ecosystem,” she said. “If we’re going to have MPAs, they have to be where they do the most good.”
Paradise Cove resident and kayak angler Teri Scott spoke out against the proposals that would make the cove part of the Point Dume SMR and place it off limits for fishing. She de-scribed Paradise Cove as a community of teachers, firemen and maintenance workers who de-pend on marine resources. “We fish for our food,” Scott said. “Keep Paradise Cove open. There are many, many opponents of work group 1 and 3.”
“We would like to offer a compromise,” another Point Dume resident, Nicole McGinley, said. She endorsed an MPA from Westward Beach to the Paradise Cove Pier, but suggested that it should remain open to non-motorized fishing. She also suggested that the waters between the Paradise Cove Pier and Latigo should be designated a limited take area.
“[We have] watched you struggle with trade-offs,” Heal the Bay staff scientist Charlotte Stevenson told the SCRSG. She requested that the group remain focused on the science guidelines as they hammer out the final proposals. “You’ve had a tough job, taking everything into account. Use the science.”
On Tuesday, Oct. 6, the Science Advisory Team will review the SCRSG's proposals. The meeting will take place at the Radisson Hotel at LAX, 6225 West Century Blvd. in Los Angeles, starting at 9:30 a.m.
On Oct. 20-22, the Blue Ribbon Task Force and the SCRSG will meet to discuss the final proposals at the Long Beach Hilton, 701 West Ocean Blvd., Long Beach. More information about the meetings and the MPLA process is available on the Department of Fish and Game Website at: www.dfg.ca.gov