Editor,
How sad to see all the self-serving silly comments in the Independent article (“Marine Reserve Unsettles the Waters,” Dec. 24) regarding the closing of the Laguna Beach coast to fishing.
Closing off this 21 square miles of prime fishing grounds really does nothing but put a lot of people out of work, damage our tourist industry, and ruin a great sport and cut off the source of healthy food for a lot of people.
Comments from those supporting the ocean closures like, “I want to see kelp beds” is ridiculous. Fishing does not damage kelp beds. Kelp comes and goes with water temperature, sunlight, red tides, etc. Other comments like, “I want to see big giant fish,” are equally silly. Guess what? Big fish eat little fish. We already have big predator fish out there including giant black sea bass (fully protected), white sea bass (must be very large and limited to one fish), sharks, and occasionally transient barracuda and yellowtail. Yes, man is a transient predator too, but hook and line fisherman, following Fish & Game regulations, only have a minor impact.
Of course the worst predators of all are the voracious sea lions, who require huge amounts of fish everyday to stay full and warm. The ocean plants and animals, like all nature, balances itself out in various ways and is cyclic in nature. Closing off the ocean to sport fishing makes no sense at all. It won’t help the fish but it will hurt and adversely impact a lot of humans.
Dave Connell, Laguna Beach
Agreed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Agreed as well