6/8/12

Do rockfish breathe sighs of relief? No? How about shorebirds? Or sea lions? Perhaps razor clams? (How do those things even breathe?) 

Okay, well, whether or not they know it, marine life on the North Coast will now enjoy protection in a new network of underwater parks.Yesterday, in a conference room at the Eureka Red Lion, the Fish and Game Commission voted to adopt a network of marine protected areas that, remarkably, had been agreed upon by a diverse group of local stakeholders, including environmentalists, fishermen, scientists, native tribes and government officials.

These protected areas were created through the state’s 1999 Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), a public/private initiative to limit or restrict fishing and gathering in sensitive areas. The North Coast Study Region, which stretches from Mendocino County’s Alder Creek up to the Oregon border, was the only section of the state in which stakeholders reached a consensus on where these safe zones should be located. In the photo above, Humboldt Baykeeper Director Beth Werner discusses one of these areas, located in South Humboldt Bay. 

Special North Coast places that will be protected include:

• South Cape Mendocino

• Pyramid Point

• Ten Mile

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