Winged Natives Disregard Fishing Rules

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Editor,

On Tuesday, Feb. 22, a day that will live in infamy, my wife and I watched helplessly as hundreds of violators of the marine preserve plucked hundreds of fish from the ocean a short distance from the beach.

When they were sated they came ashore and rested on the rocks enjoying the early morning sun. Where were the California Fish and Game officers and the City Council to prevent this travesty? The occasional fisherman on shore could not inflict such slaughter in a 1,000 years.

The City Council needs to call an emergency meeting to ensure that the pelicans respect all regulations. As a last resort they could always be neutered.

Henry W. Pribram, Laguna Beach

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3 COMMENTS

  1. I thought the same thing the other morning as I watched these hidous marauders at fisherman’s cove! Seriously though, Shame on you City Council and shame on us, citizens of Laguna Beach for allowing the litany of RIDICULOUS recent restrictions to be imposed upon us. A dark and ugly day has arrived and threatens all of our freedoms.

  2. While I understand the humor intended in Mr. Pibram’s letter, it also illustrates a common misconception regarding the new marine protected areas. It’s not just about the fish! The new marine protected areas along the Laguna coast and all of California are intended to protect the entire marine ecosystem. No-take marine reserves will cover only 12% of the Southern California coast and half of those were established on the Channel Islands in 2003. So really only 6% of the coast will be given this high level of protection while leaving greater than 90% open to fishing.
    Monitoring of the reserves on the Channel Islands has shown great success so far:
    http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/channel_islands/pdfs/fiveyears_summary.pdf
    I’m looking forward to new marine protected areas and the replication of this success along the coast.

  3. This pointless action is the result of one simple fact: The vast majority of people never go fishing. This allows the City Councilors to perform this bit of political theater without any real fear of repercussions at the polls. While I can see a rationale for restricting commercial fishing operations, the total catch of recreational fisherman is trivial, especially when compared to that eaten by aquatic predators. Most people don’t go fishing to catch and eat fish. They do it because it is a relaxing getaway from the stress of everyday life. It is sad that our City Councillors have come up with yet another thing to add the the already long and growing list of things that you can’t do on the beach.

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