MLPA - Please read this regarding upcoming Salt Point closures...

First things first - write a letter and an email to the Fish and Game Commission telling asking them to consider MLPA Proposal 2XA from Gualala to the Salt Point area, or go further and ask for abalone exemptions in the Stewart's Point SMR. The other thing that many of us need to do is go to the Fish and Game Commission meetings on December 11 and 12th. There will be public comment on one or both of those days. It's important to remember to be cool and well-spoken, rather than getting angry as that will get us nowhere...

Anyway, here is their info:
http://www.fgc.ca.gov/contact/contact.asp

Here is a letter I wrote this morning just to give you an idea:

Dear FGC,
I am writing to express my support for an exemption which would allow the taking of abalone within the Stewart's Point SMR. Yesterday, my brother and I dove for the first time (and hopefully NOT the last) at Horseshoe Cove which is at the northernmost end of Salt Point State Park. We were amazed by the number of large abalone there. Picking a limit of 8.75" abalone in one dive would not be difficult. The abalone population here is more than healthy to say the least and is in no need of extra regulation.

The Stewart's Point SMR (into which Horseshoe Cove falls) will engulf a stretch of shoreline that is significant for any abalone diver traveling up the coast from the south. To the north of this potential reserve is Sea Ranch, which offers little in the way of public access, and to the south lies Fort Ross State Historic Park, which already sees a HUGE number of abalone taken per year. So, northbound divers may currently dive at either Fort Ross SHP or Salt Point SP. Very few divers ever travel north of Sea Ranch as that adds a few hours of travel time each way to a trip and with limited parking there is no guarantee that there will be any available spaces. Thus, it is safe to assume that if we lose Salt Point (and the rest of the Stewart's Point SMR), most divers will end up diving at Fort Ross instead. My fear is that Fort Ross will become over-picked and upon its next evaluation will be shut down. This will turn into a domino effect and soon we will have nowhere to dive without traveling 5 hours each way. However, by keeping the Stewart's point SMR open to the taking of abalone, the pressure will remain thin and more spread out and this will result in an overall healthier abalone fishery.

Diver safety is an important issue as well. Fisk Mill Cove and Horseshoe Cove both offer safe and protected shore access. If we lose access to these areas, then some divers will venture into less safe areas in search of abalone. Drownings will undoubtedly occur. We have already lost six divers this year, so it goes without saying that safe access is incredibly important. You need to ask yourselves if the Stewart's Point SMR is worth the loss of even one human life. I do not think it is.

Lastly, I would like to point out that abalone populations were historically never as high as they are today due to the absence of the sea otter on the north coast. Lightly-picked areas such as Horseshoe Cove are PAVED with abalone, a phenomenon that never would have occurred naturally. But in the sea otter's absence, abalone have flourished and their populations are more than healthy. Some might say they are unnaturally high. This effort to preserve the abalone populations at their current levels is based on a false premise of what their historic levels were. That said, I don't want to see the abalone disappear, but the fact is that Department of Fish and Game have done a terrific job of protecting and regulating abalone. Their populations are stable and with the current regulations in place, we have a well-managed and sustainable abalone fishery.

Other than the odd poaching ring, the vast majority of abalone divers are respectful, law-abiding citizens, whose tax dollars help pay for the very state parks from which they will be banished by this measure. We are all conservationists who believe in necessary regulation; limiting divers to 3 abalone per day and 24 per season is sufficient to maintain a healthy abalone fishery on the north coast.

Please consider an abalone exemption for the Stewart's Point SMR.
Thank you very much for your time,
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