California IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : 1 Million Petition to Vote on Gill-Net Ban

Proponents of a proposed ban on gill-net fishing submitted 1 million petition signatures that should be more than enough to qualify the measure for the November, 1990, ballot. “This is a great day for the marine resources of California,” said Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Westminster), head of the initiative campaign. “Now the people . . . will have the opportunity to decide the future fate of our marine resources.” Allen pursued the initiative route after the Legislature, under heavy pressure from the commercial industry, rejected several attempts to enact a gill-net restriction in Southern California. Initiative proponents said 72% of all marine species caught in such nets--including whales, dolphins and sea lions--have no economic value to commercial fishermen. The initiative would outlaw the use of gill and trammel nets in a zone extending three miles off the coast from Point Arguello to the Mexican border.