Response to WDFW MPAs in Island County 2002
Dear Ms. Mills,
First I want to thank you for the outreach and presentation you supplied to the Island County MRC It was most enlightening. At Gary's Wood's suggestion and because of the short timeline, I write this to you separately, as a participating member. I trust that you will forward it on to your commission for its consideration.
At our meeting on Wednesday the Committee approved changes to its prior comments on the proposals and you should by now have received our committee's "official" revised recommendations from Gary Woods. I offer only my personal summary of our meeting and deliberations below. We had testimony from several members of the fishing public as well as a sub-committee report from Dr. Phyllis Kind and Roger Sherman:
* Keystone: We agreed with the Underwater park designation, but were unclear exactly where the Eastern line is in relation to the old dock pilings. The committee agreed that the boundary should be clarified to be just west of and exclude the pilings so the public could continue to tie on to the piles and fish.
* Admiralty Inlet: There was considerable discussion as to the conflicting boundary descriptions. There were feelings that the scientific viability of this "somewhat rocky bottomed" area for bottom fish, especially rock fish, was dubious at best, however, the goal of protecting the kelp beds seemed of value. If kelp beds are the objective, however, it was felt that the area's North boundary ought to be the Southerly boundary for designation purposes. MRC member Dick Toft, as well as some fishermen present offered that the whole area ought to be moved about five miles northward to area just South of Point Partridge for kelp bed purposes. Apparently the area chosen is just the bottom tip of a massive "kelp forest" to the North.
The result of our deliberations was that the Committee recommended an OK for the Admiralty designation (provided the boundaries are properly clarified consistent with the description rather than the map we were presented) BUT that fishing for migrating species such as Salmon and Steelhead should continue to be permitted as should fishing for sea urchins. It was noted by Mike Gallion that allowing the sea urchin populating to grow un- checked would be a significant threat to the kelp beds you're trying to protect.
Testimony indicated that the proposed Admiralty Area is one of the few decent places for beach fishing that is accessible to the public. There are many better and less controversial "somewhat rocky or cobbly bottomed places" around the Island to designate for experimental purposes than this one .
* Skachet Head: The Committee recommended against this area as designated due to the lack of compelling scientific evidence to warrant it. Perhaps we lack all the data, but from what we do have, it was difficult to discern indications of the area "problematic" to bottom fish or other species.
* As a general matter, from the testimony we received, the postulate regarding "by-catch" of bottom fish by those fishing for Salmon seems to lack foundation in practical reality especially regarding rock fish.
Apparently the small number of fishers who engage in bottom bouncing, or whatever its called, don't do so in the rocky or rocky bottomed environments nor in kelp bed areas where they're likely to loose gear in the process. The common practices of casting and trawling rarely, if ever, result in by-catch of bottom or rock fish.
I am personally appreciative of the hard work and effort you have put into involving us here locally. For my part, it would have been better had the local MRCs been consulted earlier in the process. This is of concern because as we proceed in statewide fish recovery efforts the credibility of the process will continue to be of paramount concern.
Respectfully,
Tom Roehl, Vice Chair, Island County MRC