Spare the Rod

Earth Day has passed with its anticipated fanfare; citizens have been duly galvanized to ecological action and politicians are falling over themselves to be environmentally correct. What does this mean to the rod-and-reel fisherman? If approached with intelligence and common sense, this increased concern with the planet’s ecology will mean cleaner water and healthier fish. If pursued unwisely, it may significantly disrupt your fishing pleasure.

A major threat lies with the fact that the environmental movement is made up of both level-headed people and extremists.

Should extremists decide to attack the sport of fishing, their approach might be subtle. For instance, no-fishing areas may be created for vague environmental reasons, or no-boating (read no-fishing) zones established to “protect swimmers and divers.” Even legislation as beneficial as the Gill Net Initiative creates openings for anti-sportfishing interests. Section 14 of the initiative mandates the establishment of four new “ecological reserves” where all fishing will be banned. Although there are hundreds of miles of coastline where these reserves could be established, an effort is already under way to place them in California’s most popular fishing areas.

The harmful nature of these ecological reserves in populated areas is significant. They snug up along the coast so their effect is felt most strongly by surf fishermen, near-shore anglers (small boaters, kayakers, etc.), and those with limited financial means.

La Jolla already has an ecological reserve, and it has proven to be overly restrictive and costly; local fishermen are unable to fish in their own neighborhood, and a person wanting to enjoy a once-popular La Jolla grunion hunt has to go elsewhere. Now the environmental activists are calling for even more reserves, some of which are to include portions of the San Diego kelp beds. The closing of popular fishing sites will obviously cause those that remain open to become more crowded. With our expanding population, we need more recreational fishing areas, not fewer.

Considering the hundreds of commercial fishing boats and thousands of harbor seals and sea lions patrolling the coast, the individual rod-and-reel fisherman is not a significant ecological problem; however, he is about to be targeted as such.

CARL B. LIND

San Diego