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Schwarzenegger Closes Fishing as He Campaigns for Delta Canal
Fish Sniffer Magazine -
November
15,
2007
By Dan Bacher
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who styles himself as the "green governor," issued an executive order to shut down all fishing on San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay yesterday, the same day that he unveiled his latest plan to destroy the Bay-Delta Estuary by building the peripheral canal and more dams.
The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) today sent out a press release defining San Francisco Bay Area fishing closure zones in response to Schwarzenegger's executive order to suspend all fishing in the area impacted by the Cosco Busan bunker fuel spill. However, what was originally supposed to be crab season delay/closure requested by commercial crab fishermen has turned into a draconian closure to all fishing from Pedro Point to Point Reyes in the ocean and to a complete closure of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay.
The Schwarzenegger administration's closure of San Pablo Bay and south San Francisco Bay is absurd, since these are not areas impacted by the spill. Petty Officer Michael Anderson, Coast Guard spokesman, told me in an interview that the oil hadn't spread to San Pablo Bay or below Hunter's Point on the south bay.
Keith Fraser, founding president of United Anglers of California, a member of the California Outdoor Hall of Fame and the owner of Loch Lomond Bait and Tackle in San Rafael, was puzzled and upset by Schwarzenegger's closure of San Pablo Bay.
"We're lucky that our area of the bay is vibrant and pristine," said Fraser. "There is very, very little oil anywhere in this area. There is the usual amount of birdlife that we see in November and the spoonbills were all over San Pablo Bay yesterday."
At the same time, Fraser noted that the vast majority of anglers in the Bay Area fish San Pablo Bay between the Richmond-San Rafael and Carquinez Bridges this time of year, since the rockfish and salmon fishing seasons are closed on the ocean.
"There is nothing in our area that warrants closing it to fishing," he said. "The Governor is really uninformed to close this area to fishing at this time. Isn't he the same Governor who advocates building the peripheral canal to solve California's water problems? The advent of that canal would be like giving the last rites to much of the recreational benefits of our majestic Bay-Delta Estuary."
I hope that a pile of lawsuits are filed over the abysmal lack of oil spill preparedness and gross negligence by the Coast Guard and other federal and state agencies in response to the Cosco Busan spill. Every aspect of the bunker fuel spill, ranging from the immediate response by the Coast Guard last Wednesday to Schwarzenegger's executive order to close fishing yesterday, has been marked with lack of coordination, terrible communication between agencies and the public and a massive display of stupidity.
Since most anglers don't know about this closure, it will be interesting to see if the DFG tries to cite anybody for "breaking" the executive order. Also, if the Governor and DFG are truly concerned about public health, why is catch and release fishing apparently banned?
Just when you think you've seen everything, this Governor will surprise you once again! Meanwhile, the same day the Governor suspended fishing in areas not impacted by the oil spill, he called for an agreement on a proposal to "address California's critically needed water infrastructure" by building a peripheral canal, code worded as "water conveyance."
In a speech yesterday at the California State Association of Counties annual meeting that was attended by more than 500 local and state officials, the Governor discussed his plan to "fix" the ailing Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, "increase water conservation and add water storage and conveyance to a significantly upgraded statewide system." What the Governor failed to mention was that the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is now undergoing it's biggest crisis ever precisely because of the massive increases in water exports that Schwarzenegger has presided over.
It will be impossible to "fix" the ailing California Delta by increasing water exports as Schwarzenegger plans to do by building a peripheral canal and more dams. The peripheral canal has only one purpose - to deliver MORE water to drainage impaired land on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and southern California. The "fix" will come only by means of increased water conservation and the long-overdue retirement of drainage-impaired land.
Four species of pelagic (open water) fish - delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass and threadfin shad - have declined to their lowest levels ever because of the huge increases of over 1,000,000 acre feet of water exports per year since 2001. Green sturgeon, white sturgeon, steelhead and four runs of chinook salmon are also imperiled by the governor's plans.
Now today we receive a press release closing fishing on sections of the bay NOT impacted by the spill. If I wrote a novel about this oil spill circus, the editor would say that the plot line is too insane, too implausible to be believed by anybody! While the Governor orders fishing closures and grandstands about the oil spill to show how "green" he is, he is busy planning the destruction of the Bay-Delta Estuary by pushing for the building of a peripheral canal and more dams.
NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 07:082 Nov. 14, 2007
Contacts:
Steve Martarano, DFG, Office of Communications, (916) 322-8639
Harry Morse, DFG Office of Communications (916) 322-8962
DFG Defines San Francisco Bay Fishing Closure Zones
Following Gov. Schwarzenegger's Executive Order (S-14-07) yesterday, the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) today defined fishing closure boundaries following last week's oil spill.
The order suspended all fishing, including the start of crab season, in the areas impacted by the oil spill. Closures at these locations will be in effect immediately and will prohibit commercial and recreational fishing and the operation of live wells or holding tanks that draw water from outside the vessel. Commercial bait operations using holding pens or nets in the affected waters are also prohibited.
The closures will affect all San Francisco Bay waters west of the Carquinez Bridge, excluding rivers, streams, creeks and their tributaries. The south end of the boundary closure begins at San Pedro Point in San Mateo County (N37.6, W-122.5) and proceeds due west three nautical miles, extending north to three miles west of the Point Reyes Lighthouse in Marin County (N38.0, W-122.5). A map of the closure area can be found at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/fisheries-closure.pdf.
The suspension is for all fishing in the areas affected by the oil spill until Dec. 1, 2007 or when DFG and state health officials determine the fishing season can be opened.
A special information hotline for the public and commercial interests has been set up at (916) 654-5446.
On Nov. 9, Gov. Schwarzenegger proclaimed a State of Emergency in the city/county of San Francisco, as well as Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo, Solano, and Sonoma counties in response to the disaster to help expedite the cleanup effort.
The Executive Order signed Tuesday by the Governor tasked DFG and its Office of Spill Response (OSPR) with determining “the geographic area impacted by the oil spill that poses a potential risk to human health that may come from the human consumption of marine life as a result of the oil spill.”
Major fisheries impacted by the closure include the Central Dungeness crab season, which opened for sport take on Nov. 3. The commercial central California Dungeness crab fishery is scheduled to open commercially Nov. 15. Some other fisheries in the affected waters include:
Commercial Fish - California halibut, herring, bay shrimp, white croaker, groundfish (except cabezon and greenling), surfperch, Pacific sardines, northern anchovy; Sport Fish - California halibut, surfperch, striped bass, sturgeon, leopard shark, sanddabs, other flatfish (starry flounder, sand sole), monkeyface prickleback, anchovies, jacksmelt and topsmelt, white croaker, rock crab, ghost shrimp, abalone, mussels, and clams.
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