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Representatives of North Coast fishing, environmental and tribal interests on Tuesday did what no other group has done: Come up with a single proposal to put certain areas along the coast off limits to fishing and gathering as part of the 1999 Marine Life Protection Act.

The regional stakeholders group hashed out the final details of the proposal that will be sent along to a Blue Ribbon Task Force and on to the Fish and Game Commission for final approval in December.

”Single proposal -- we did it,” said Adam Wagschal, conservation director for the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District.

As the public-private partnership called the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative brought the controversial process to other areas of the state, regional groups developed numerous different proposals for their areas -- and got what most described as profoundly disappointing results. As the initiative approached the North Coast, local interests pushed for a united proposal that would be less vulnerable to change in the Blue Ribbon Task Force and the Fish and Game Commission.

In the end, the North Coast regional stakeholders group found consensus, consensus that will result in about 12 percent of the coast from the Albion River to the Oregon border restricted or closed to fishing and gathering. The Marine Protected Areas -- MPAs -- include two areas to the south of Redding Rock, one allowing fishing and the other a no-take zone.

Another, less restrictive zone along Samoa allows for salmon, Dungeness crab and smelt fishing. Three State Marine Reserves -- the most restrictive zones -- were placed just south of Cape Mendocino, about a mile offshore of the Mattole River and along an area west of Petrolia.

”I'm happy that we came up with a single proposal,” said Tim Klassen, who runs the charter fishing boat Reel Steel out of Humboldt Bay, “and hopefully we'll keep our fate in our own hands.”

While the single proposal presents a united front to Blue Ribbon Task Force members and the Fish and Game Commission, it may not be invulnerable. While the proposal meets most of the MLPA's guidelines, there are some areas that are slightly deficient, which most believe is due to applying the guidelines to the unique North Coast region. The task force could recommend changes to the proposal as it's presented to the Fish and Game Commission, though local interests believe substantial changes are far less likely to occur after such a show of consensus.

”We've got a unified proposal,” said Humboldt Baykeeper Executive Director Pete Nichols. “It's never been done before.”

On Monday and Tuesday, the regional stakeholder group argued over minute changes to the boundaries of the various MPAs, which apply in state waters out to 3 miles. Areas off Point Cabrillo and Ten Mile River were haggled over for more than two hours Tuesday, until the majority of the group urged holdouts to compromise on a few hundred yards of shoreline they were concerned could limit public access and mussel and urchin gathering.

The complex process has spanned months, with the 33 local representatives and the large staff of the MLPA Initiative meeting for hours to craft MPAs.

Greg Dale with Coast Seafood Co., the largest oyster grower on Humboldt Bay, credited the tight-knit group of local people with coming up with a unified proposal. He said that it appears that the group ended up with MPAs it can live with, but said that there were substantial compromises made to get there.

”Like everybody says, the train left the station,” Dale said.

The Blue Ribbon Task Force is scheduled to meet Oct. 25 to Oct. 27 at the Fortuna River Lodge. It will then hold a joint meeting with the California Fish and Game Commission on Dec. 15 in Sacramento, where a final plan is expected to be adopted. 

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