MPLA update

Court decision requires MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force to repay angling groups all legal fees in Public Records case
Tuesday, 29 March 2011

A March 10, 2011 California Superior Court ruling has ordered the Marine Life Protection Act Blue Ribbon Task Force (BRTF) and Master Plan Team (MPT) to pay 100-percent of the legal fees incurred by recreational angling groups in a 2010 lawsuit to enforce BRTF's and MPT's obligations under California’s Public Records Act to produce important information about their actions in adopting marine protected areas in the ocean waters off the California coast.
In that case, the court found in favor of Robert C. Fletcher, former president of the Sportfishing Association of California, a member of the Partnership for Sustainable Oceans, ordering the provision of information regarding the activities and decisions of the BRTF and the Marine Life Protection Act Master Plan Team. That ruling confirmed that these were public agencies and therefore required to carry on their business in an open and transparent way.

“This is a significant monetary award on our behalf, but it represents only a small portion of what we’ve invested in battling the unlawful MLPA process so far,” said David Elm, Chairman of United Anglers of Southern California and director of the Ocean Access Protection Fund. “Even more important than the financial ramifications of this decision is the signal that it sends. The court has now decided in our favor twice, based on the merits of our original case against the BRTF and MPT,” added Elm.
Elm was quick to remind anglers that this in no way should slow the pace of contributions to the Ocean Access Protection Fund, the non-profit organization established to finance legal action, on behalf of recreational fishermen, challenging the Fish and Game Commission's decisions under the MLPA. In fact, he suggested, it should do the opposite.
“This latest court decision has given both encouragement and additional resources to our efforts,” said Elm. “But we have a long way to go, and continued success will only be possible with ongoing support from anglers across California. We will continue our aggressive awareness and fundraising campaigns, allowing us to keep up our ‘full court press’ on the flawed MLPA process.”

Following the successful Public Records Act suit, on January 27, 2011, United Anglers of Southern California, Coastside Fishing Club and Robert Fletcher filed a lawsuit in the San Diego County Superior Court seeking to set aside the MLPA regulations for the North Central and South Coast study regions. This currently pending lawsuit cites a lack of statutory authority for the Fish and Game Commission to adopt the regulations, and, in the case of the South Coast regulations, numerous violations of the California Environmental Quality Act in the commission's environmental review of the regulations.
http://humboldttuna.com/smf/index.php?topic=4758.0:yaydance:

Thanks Dan. :thumbsup2:

Cheers, Don

Expanded marine protected areas in Southern California won’t take effect on Oct. 1 as planned, the Department of Fish and Game said Thursday. The ecosystem safeguards have generated lots of controversy over the past few years, including an unresolved lawsuit by fishermen alleging they were created illegally.

The Department of Fish and Game, which is responsible for managing the reserve system, said the delay was created because the Office of Administrative Law can’t finish processing the complicated package of regulations in time for the planned start date.

The law office “has additional questions and requests for more information,” according to a news release by the fish and game agency. It did not characterize the substance of those queries.

California’s Fish and Game Commission is expected to choose a new start date for the protected zones at its regular meeting in Redding on Sept. 15. It’s not clear whether commissioners will consider moving the start date back weeks or months, but a spokeswoman for the Fish and Game Department said it didn’t appear to be on the order of years.

On Dec. 15 the commission adopted regulations to revamp protected areas in the South Coast region, which spans state waters from Point Conception in Santa Barbara County to the U.S.-Mexico border. The planned no-take or limited-take areas cover approximately 354 square miles of state waters and represent approximately 15 percent of the region.

The strategy is less aggressive than what many conservationists wanted, but they praised have it as a good start toward recovering numerous species, from lobster to sheephead.

Fishermen said they will be squeezed into less-fertile waters, creating economic losses and potentially dangerous crowds.

Mike Lee: mike.lee@uniontrib.com;

Graize Papaa.

Don

Thursday, February 02, 2012
COURT OF APPEAL REFUSES TO HALT LAWSUIT TARGETING MLPA
Coastside Fishing Club's appeal to go forward; hearing that could roll back saltwater fishing closures expected in late in 2012

By Paul Lebowitz
WON Staff Writer

In October, angling advocates United Anglers of Southern California, Coastside Fishing Club and Robert C. Fletcher suffered the first setback in their legal campaign targeting privately funded Marine Life Protection Act ocean fishing closures. San Diego Superior Court judge Ronald S. Prager rejected arguments that the Fish and Game Commission exceeded its authority when it approved new marine protected areas in North-Central California.

In December, Coastside attorneys struck back, appealing the ruling. On Jan. 9, the Commission filed a motion to dismiss the appeal. The Court of Appeal denied the motion, meaning the appeal will go forward. It is expected to be heard in late 2012. If it is successful, not only could it roll back saltwater fishing closures in North-Central California, it could pull recently approved Southern California closures off the map.

Coastside's statement:
As you are probably aware, on December 15, 2011 we filed a Notice of Appeal on behalf of Coastside Fishing Club, appealing the trial court’s denial of Coastside’s claims that the Fish and Game Commission lacked statutory authority and failed to follow required procedures in adopting the North Central Coast MPAs and MPA regulations. All of the remaining claims brought by United Anglers and Robert Fletcher (the South Coast regulatory authority and CEQA claims, as well as the Coastal Act claim) are still pending in the trial court; a trial date has not yet been set.

On January 9, 2012, the Fish and Game Commission filed a motion in the court of appeal to dismiss Coastside’s appeal, arguing that Coastside must wait to appeal until all of the remaining claims still pending in the trial court have been resolved.

We just received good news from the court of appeal — it denied the Commission’s motion. Coastside’s appeal may therefore go forward and be heard on the merits.

I may go back to church.;)

Cheers, Don

Quote from Marco

Hi Don,

I don't want to go though all the reading and English is not my mother language.

What does it means? I know that they closed your backyard for fishing recently. Is it open again?

Just a couple of lines with your own words please.

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I'll simplify it..

Judges are just lawyers with dress's.
Hundred's of thousands of fisherman and spero's dollars will be spent, and we are for lack of a better term...

GOATFU-Ked.:.... FUBAR...( the appeal will be heard, but we lose our spots during the legal process.:(
Fortunately the battle is not over yet, as the legal challenge continues to move forward in the Court of Appeals.

Cheers, Don

Thank you Ramon.

Cheers, Don