4. SANCTUARY BOUNDARY EXPANSION. The Alliance specifically endorses the recommendation of the San Mateo County Harbor District and the County of San Mateo regarding the northern boundary of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The Alliance further recommends against any southern expansion of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, at least at this time. We feel there are too many other issues with the Sanctuary Program and how it is managed to entertain the idea of increasing the size of a site.

5. SANCTUARY ADVISORY COUNCIL FUNCTIONING. It is in the interest of the fishing community to have a SAC that functions in its advisory role with all the freedoms and safeguards that individual citizens have in relating to the federal government. Specifically, the SAC should have freedom to set its own agendas, advocate its interests to the Program, to Congress, to any other agency, and to the media, as it feels is necessary and to have an appointment process that democratically chooses the representations of the communities. Specifically for our fishing seat, there exists a fishermen's Association, one for each of the four Sanctuary-area harbors. Additionally, the PCFFA, and our organization, the ACSF, represent fishing interests in Central California. A process should be formalized that enables these six organizations to collectively name their SAC representative. The approval of the Sanctuary Superintendent should not be required.
If the Sanctuary Program cannot provide this under federal law, then the functioning of the SAC should be removed from the federal program and created anew through some kind of local multi-agency agreement. Members of the SAC should also be required to complete a conflict of interest statement so that the general public is well aware of any such conflicts as voting issues arise. We feel that the general makeup of the SAC needs to be re-evaluated, particularly the number of public agency seats relative to communities of interest seats seems disproportionate. It could well be that some agency seats should become ex-officio. Lastly, we strongly recommend that an additional SAC seat be created to reflect that recreational fishing, which is so very different from commercial fishing, be represented on the SAC.

6. HARBORS AND DREDGING. It should be no surprise that fishers who probably have the highest degree of usage of sanctuary waters of any particular user group feel strongly that our harbors need to be supported in their operational and maintenance needs.

7. RESEARCH. We encourage the Sanctuary Program to utilize the working knowledge that the fishing industry has regarding Sanctuary Resources and other ocean phenomena.
A petition, which articulates some of our recommendations, signed by nearly 1,000 primary stakeholders, will soon be forwarded to you. Please note that this petition is meant to capture the concerns of people who have a direct, fundamental stake in the welfare of our ocean.
Thank you for considering the recommendations of the Alliance of Communities for Sustainable Fisheries.

Sincerely,

Mike Ricketts, Co-Chair, ACSF, Kathy Fosmark, Co-Chair, ACSF

Supporting Associations & Organizations
Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association
Port San Luis Commercial Fishermen’s Association
Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Association
Monterey Commercial Fishermen’s Association
Fishermen’s Association of Moss Landing
Santa Cruz Commercial Fishermen’s Association
Pillar Point Commercial Fishermen’s Association
Fishermen’s Alliance
Western Fish Boat Owners Association
Ventura County Commercial Fishermen’s Association
Federation of Independent Seafood Harvesters
Port San Luis
Morro Bay Harbor
Monterey Harbor
Moss Landing Harbor
Santa Cruz Harbor
Pillar Pt. Harbor
C: The Honorable Sam Farr
The Honorable Lois Capps
The Honorable Anna Eshoo
Dan Basta, Director, National Marine Sanctuary Program
Donald L. Evans, Secretary of Commerce