Aliance of Communities for Sustainable Fisheries
P O Box 1309, Carmel Valley, CA 93924 (831) 659-2838

Application to
Central California Joint Cable/Fisheries Liaison Committee
Commercial Fishing Industry Improvement Fund
ATTN: Grant committee
P.O. Box 2033
Morro Bay CA 93443

Project Title
Amend the National Marine Sanctuary Act

Amount Requested
$21,000

Matching Funds and/or In-Kind Service
The Alliance of Communities for Sustainable Fisheries (ACSF) will also organize a Central California-based effort to advocate to Members of Congress for changes to the National Marine Sanctuary Act. This will be a substantial work effort. All but $3,000 of the grant funds will go directly to the Washington D.C. firm of E. Del Smith & Co.

Statement of Indirect Cost
None

Project Supervisors

Kathy Fosmark, 3059 Sherman Rd., Pebble Beach, CA 93953, (831) 373-5238

Mike Ricketts, P O Box 1309, Carmel Valley, CA 93924, (831) 659-2838

Staff
None

Associations Involved
The lead organization will be the Alliance of Communities for Sustainable Fisheries. Other agencies and organizations supporting this effort include Moss Landing, Monterey Harbor, and Pillar Point Commercial Fishermen’s Associations. This list is growing, and may include Port Associations.

Project Description
The National Marine Sanctuary Act, which provides legislative authority for all of the United States’ National Marine Sanctuaries, will soon be up for reauthorization by Congress. This law, as currently written, is overly broad, vague and problematic for the fishing and harbor communities, other ocean users, and the general public, who currently have little voice in Sanctuary decision making. Of particular concern to the fishing community are clarifications that should be made which would make it explicit that the Sanctuary Program will not have authority over fishing operations. We will propose that if the Sanctuary Program has concerns about fishing operations, they would be welcome to consult with industry, and work toward gaining consensus. If consensus is not reached, however, the Sanctuary Program would have no authority to take any further actions. If consensus is reached, the Sanctuary would be able to comment to the fishery agencies.

Currently, the Sanctuary Program empowers itself by language in the Act that speaks to its mandate for “protecting biodiversity” in habitats and to create a “balance within the ecosystem.” Further, its overarching mandate is to “protect” the resources of the Sanctuary. However, “protection” is never defined and in fact has been used in nearly limitless ways. There is no telling how the concept of protection will play out for fishermen and other ocean users in the future.

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