CALIFORNIA'S MARINE LIFE is both rich and diverse. Thousands of species of marine plants, crustaceans, mollusks, other invertebrates, fish, seabirds, and marine mammals use an astonishing diversity of habitats. Some species, such as squid, may swarm by the millions in relatively small areas near the coast. Other species, such as blue whales, come in small numbers from distant waters to feed on blooms of krill. Marine mammals, seabirds, and fish migrate from one part of the California coast to another or across the boundaries between Mexico and California. Some fish and shellfish spend their entire lives in a particular area, though they may have begun life as a tiny egg that currents carried a great distance from where it was spawned. The Marine Life Management Act or MLMA seeks to assure that the way we use this richness and diversity of life is sustainable. The MLMA recognizes that the way we fish for one species, for instance, may affect other species or their habitats in ways that harm marine ecosystems. The MLMA also recognizes that research and an understanding of marine life are essential to making good decisions about our stewardship of marine living resources. As a result, the MLMA promotes the use of scientific information about the lives and needs of marine plants and animals. As Dr. Ken Norris of the University of California at Santa Cruz wrote more than two decades ago, wildlife management is not so much the management of wildlife as the management of people. The MLMA embraces the importance of including people in the conservation equation. This importance arises partly from the knowledge different people possess, including commercial and recreational fishermen, scientists, wildlife photographers, fish processors, conservationists, and consumers. It arises also from the fact that conservation is concerned mostly with the effects of human activities, ranging from the use of different types of fishing gear to the conversion of coastal wetlands from coast and ocean tourism to changes in markets, prices, and consumption patterns in California, the United States, and abroad. Although some of these factors are beyond the reach of the MLMA, they influence marine life to such an extent that they must be taken into account in encouraging sustainable activities. There are other aspects of the human side of the conservation equation. For instance, the MLMA recognizes that when people become involved in management decisions, their stake in the stewardship of marine life grows. Fisheries managers also need to understand the effects of management measures both on the fish themselves and on the users. Failure to examine how fishermen will respond to specific management measures often has undermined effective management. Finally, the effectiveness of management measures depends greatly upon public confidence in the way in which decisions are made and put into practice. Critical to building and maintaining this confidence is an openness in decision making that goes beyond traditional, formal processes. A variety of factors drives the fluctuations in populations of fish and other marine wildlife. We cannot manage some of these factors, such as changes in climate or in ocean currents. As a result, it is even more important to ensure that we do manage those factors that we can control, such as fishing and habitat alteration, so that we do not increase the stress on wild populations beyond the breaking point. In many cases, restraining exploitation may be key to rebuilding wild populations that have declined, even if the decline was caused by factors other than human activities. The MLMA provides a structure for doing so. Management Jurisdictions The management of marine living resources off California is a complex mosaic of federal, state, and international authorities, statutes, treaties, and agencies. The following description is not exhaustive, but includes the information most relevant to the MLMA. Generally, waters from the shoreline to three miles are state waters, and from three miles to 200 miles is the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) or federal waters. In the EEZ, the federal government retains authority for management of living marine resources, including fisheries, marine mammals, seabirds, and species listed under the Endangered Species Act. Beyond 200 miles from shore lie the high seas, where management of activities affecting marine wildlife is left to treaties among countries. Although there are few treaties concerning fish populations on the high seas off the California coast, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission does make recommendations for the management of fishing on tuna and tuna-like species on the high seas as far north as Cape Mendocino. Marine wildlife pays no attention to these artificial boundaries. Some populations remain on the high seas or within state waters, but more frequently, populations of marine wildlife straddle or move across boundaries. For instance, bluefin tuna caught in state and federal waters migrate thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean at certain stages in their lives. Federal Marine Life and Fisheries Management The federal agency with primary responsibility for the conservation and management of marine fisheries is the National Marine Fisheries Service, an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the U.S. Department of Commerce. The principal federal fisheries management law is the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which was last amended by the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996. Like the MLMA in many ways, the Magnuson-Stevens Act calls for fishery management plans that meet certain standards, such as avoiding overfishing. In most cases, the federal fishery management process begins with the Pacific Fishery Management Council, or PFMC. The PFMC is composed of state and federal agency representatives as well as commercial and recreational fishermen from California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and a representative of the Indian treaty tribes. Fisheries within the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) may be managed under fishery management plans developed by the PFMC and approved by the Secretary of Commerce. In the absence of a federal fishery management plan, however, the state can manage fishing by vessels registered in California to the limit of the EEZ. The Secretary of Commerce has approved fishery management plans for Pacific coast groundfish, salmon, and coastal pelagics. The groundfish plan includes management measures for whiting, soles, thornyheads, lingcod, rockfish, sablefish, and several other species. Lingcod and a number of species of rockfish inhabit state waters and are sought by both commercial and recreational fishermen. As a result, the State of California must ensure that its management of recreational and commercial fisheries in its waters does not conflict with federal management. This is also true for state management of coastal pelagics and salmon. The salmon management plan, which was first implemented in 1984, coordinates the management of fisheries principally for chinook and coho salmon. The coastal pelagics fishery management plan concerns schooling species such as, squid, anchovy, sardine, and pacific and jack mackerel. The PFMC is developing a fishery management plan for tunas, swordfish, marlins, sailfish, oceanic sharks, and other highly migratory species. Together with Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, California is also a member of the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. The Commission, which was established by Congress in 1947, has no regulatory powers, but aims at promoting coordinated management of fisheries in state waters. Several other federal laws concern the management of marine life off California. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) splits responsibility with the Interior Department's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for species under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. While the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service holds responsibility for the conservation of southern sea otters and birds, NMFS oversees the conservation of protected fish and shellfish, seals, sea lions, dolphins, and whales off California. Several species of marine life have been listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The Endangered Species Act prohibits "taking" an endangered species; taking means "to pursue, hunt, shoot, capture, collect, kill or attempt" to do so. Limited taking of an endangered species incidental to activities such as fishing may be permitted. These and other protections for endangered species do not apply to threatened species unless separate regulations are adopted. Under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, federal agencies must consult with NMFS or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to insure that their actions do not jeopardize the continued existence of listed species. The following species found along California's coast have been listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act: humpback, blue, fin, sei, and sperm whales; leatherback, olive ridley, green, and hawksbill sea turtles; Sacramento winter-run chinook salmon; southern California steelhead; California brown pelican; and California least tern. Threatened species include Central Valley spring-run chinook, California coastal chinook, and Central and Northern California coho salmon; steelhead of the Central Valley and the south-central and northern California coasts; Guadalupe fur seals; loggerhead sea turtles; marbled murrelets; and snowy plovers. The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) of 1972 imposed a moratorium on "taking" marine mammals, with a few exceptions that include taking marine mammals incidental to commercial fishing. Under the MMPA, taking may include intentional or unintentional capture or harassment. Amendments to the MMPA adopted by Congress in 1994 established a new regime to govern incidental taking in commercial fishing. This program aims to reduce serious injury and mortality of marine mammals to insignificant levels approaching zero. The regime divides fisheries into three categories, based on criteria such as the frequency of marine mammal captures and the degree of threat that the capture poses to marine mammal populations. Vessels in Categories I or II must register with NMFS and may be required to carry an observer to collect information. A Take Reduction Team, composed of fishermen, scientists, and conservationists, was convened to suggest means of reducing the incidental catch of marine mammals in the swordfish drift gillnet fishery off California. In 1997, NMFS adopted regulations requiring that fishermen use pingers on their nets and hang their nets well below the surface in order to reduce the capture of several species of small whales as well as humpback and sperm whales in these nets. One other federal wildlife law deserves mention: the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Under this legislation, which implements several international treaties, migratory birds may not be captured or killed unless permitted by regulations adopted by the Secretary of the Interior. Seabirds, shorebirds, and other non-game birds fall under the protection of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Finally, several federal laws apply to the conservation and use of coastal habitats and the prevention of water pollution, including the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Ocean Dumping Act. These laws are administered by other state and federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. State Marine Life and Fisheries Management The federal Submerged Lands Act of 1953 authorizes the State of California to control and regulate the use of marine resources, including living marine resources, as well, as oil and gas and other minerals, in state waters within three miles of the shoreline. There are several exceptions to this general rule. For instance, under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act, the federal government has pre-empted state authority in the conservation of marine mammals and endangered and threatened species in state waters. California can regulate fishermen licensed in California wherever they fish. It can also regulate fishermen licensed in other states whenever they fish in California waters or land their catch in California ports. If vessels from other states fish beyond three miles offshore and do not call at a California port, the state cannot control their activities. Similarly, the states of Oregon and Washington do not have jurisdiction over California vessels that fish in waters more than three miles off their shores, for pink shrimp and Dungeness crab as examples, and land their catch in California. State regulations must be consistent with federal regulations, however, for species included in a federal fishery management plan. Generally, that means that state regulation may be stricter but not less restrictive than the federal requirements. Within California state government, there are three principal "managers" of marine life and fisheries: the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) and the California Department of Fish and Game (Department), both of which reside within the Resources Agency, and the Legislature. Before 1998, when the Legislature enacted the Marine Life Management Act, the authority of the Commission was restricted to managing sport fisheries, kelp harvesting, and some commercial fisheries; creating ecological reserves; and taking emergency actions. Management of other activities affecting marine life, including fisheries, has been carried out through legislation. Two committees have principal jurisdiction over marine legislation in the Assembly: the Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife, and the Committee on Natural Resources. In the Senate, the Committee on Natural Resources and Wildlife has primary jurisdiction. The Senate and Assembly's Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture plays an important role as well. Most legislated measures concerning marine wildlife are assembled in the Fish and Game Code, while others may be found in other codes such as the Public Resources Code. As described later, the MLMA shifted more authority for the management of commercial marine fisheries to the Commission. The California State Constitution established the Commission to carry out functions delegated to it by law. The Commission's five members are appointed by the Governor to six-year terms. The Commission has adopted regulations for marine life and fisheries where the Legislature has given it authority. When adopting regulations, the Commission must comply with procedural requirements of such laws as the Administrative Procedure Act and the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA. To do so, the Commission holds at least one hearing in order to gather public comment on proposed regulations. Often, more than one hearing is held. Once adopted, regulations are reviewed by the Office of Administrative Law. When approved and filed with the Secretary of State, they become part of Title 14 of the California Administrative Code. The Department manages activities affecting marine wildlife, primarily fisheries, by implementing state and federal laws and state regulations adopted by the Commission or the Department. The Department also provides expert advice to the Commission, carries out research, and enforces fisheries regulations and law. Most of the budget of the Department's Marine Region, which was established in its present form in November 1997 and has lead responsibility for these programs, comes from recreational fishing licenses, commercial fishing licenses, taxes on commercial landings, and permit fees. Since tax rates for most species have not increased since 1972, increased revenues from commercial landings have been modest and more than offset by inflation. Some additional funding has come from the Federal Aid In Sport Fish Restoration Act of 1950 (Dingell-Johnson Act) and the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act of 1986. In the 1999-2000 budget year, the Marine Region budget received a substantial infusion from the state's General Fund for the first time. That funding was specifically designated for implementation of the Marine Life Management Act. In 1998-1999, the Marine Region had 110 biological field and administrative support positions and 33 law enforcement positions dedicated to marine patrol. This represented about a 40 percent decline from staffing levels in 1980-1981. The Fish and Game Code divides California into more than two dozen districts. The waters from the mean high-tide line to three miles offshore comprise several of these districts. (Note that the waters of some bays, sloughs, and rivers are not included in these districts.) District 6: From the Oregon border to the entrance to Humboldt Bay near Eureka. District 7: From the entrance to Humboldt Bay to the southern boundary of Mendocino County District 8: The northern portion of Humboldt Bay. District 9: The southern portion of Humboldt Bay. District 10: From the southern boundary of Mendocino County to Pigeon Point in San Mateo County. The District includes most of Tomales Bay, but excludes Bodega Bay and Bolinas Lagoon. District 11: In general terms, San Francisco Bay west of Alcatraz and Angel islands. District 12: In general terms, San Francisco Bay north of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. District 13: In general terms, San Francisco Bay south of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. District 16: Nearshore waters off Pacific Grove and Monterey. District 17: From Pigeon Point to Yankee Point at the Carmel Highlands south of Carmel, but excluding District 16. District 18: From Yankee Point to Rincon Point at the border between Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. District 118: From the pier at San Simeon to the state park at Cambria. District 118.5: Waters out to two miles from the boundary between Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties south to the boundary between Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. District 19: From the border between Santa Barbara and Ventura counties to the Mexican border, but excluding the following Districts: District 19a: Santa Monica Bay, from Malibu Point (is this Point Dumefi) to Palos Verdes Point. District 19b: The waters within the breakwater off San Pedro and Long Beach to the jetty at Anaheim Bay in Seal Beach. District 20: The waters off the northern, eastern, and southern sides of Catalina Island, from West End to China Point. District 20a: The waters off the western side of Catalina Island between China Point and West End. District 21: San Diego Bay. General Aspects of California Fisheries Law For regulatory purposes, the state's coastline is divided into 19 commercial fishing districts. Regulatory measures such as area closures or gear restrictions may apply in some districts and not in others. Unless mentioned by name in the regulations, any species may be taken without restriction for commercial purposes. If a species is mentioned in regulations, it may be taken only under the conditions described in those regulations. Species groups listed in the code of regulations include abalone, anchovy, bait fish, barracuda, several basses, broadbill swordfish, California halibut, clams, corbina, several crabs, several croakers, goby, grunion, hagfish, herring, Kellet's whelk, killifsh, limpets, lingcod, spiny lobster, marlin, mussels, octopus, oysters, Pacific bonito, plainfin midshipman, prawns, queenfish, rays, rockfish, sablefish, salmon, sardines, sea cucumber, sea urchin, shad, several sharks, shiner perch, shrimp, skates, smelt, squid, sculpin, sturgeon, sunfish, surfperch, several tunas, and yellowtail. The Fish and Game Code prohibits commercial fishing for several dozen other species, including some invertebrates such as scallops and krill, and some fish, such as white sharks, garibaldi, and marlin. Only those types of fishing gear listed in the Fish and Game Code may be used. These gear include gill and trammel nets, round-haul nets, trawl nets, beach nets, dip nets, fishing lines, spears, traps, shovels, among others. Each type of gear is subject to restrictions. For instance, in fishing for California halibut in district 19 (south of the Santa Barbara-Ventura county line), gill nets or trammel nets must have a mesh size greater than 8.5 inches and may not be longer than 9,000 feet. Regulations also require that commercial fishermen, fishing ves- sel operators, crew members, and others obtain various licenses and permits. The Commission has primary responsibility for setting regulations for most recreational fisheries. In odd-numbered years, the Commission devotes its August, October, November, and December meetings to setting sport fishing regulations. State marine sport fishing regulations include restrictions on catching and retaining some species, but not others. For instance, state regulations set bag limits on some species, such as rockfish and California halibut, but not on others, such as albacore and starry flounder. There is a zero limit on giant sea bass, garibaldi, and white shark. Other regulations specify open and closed seasons and permissible fishing gear. Questions, comments or suggestions? Please contact us