Tide Pool Bill Sent to Wilson : Environment: Measure approved by Senate protects Dana Point zone and enlarges Laguna refuges. The governor is expected to sign it.

A white bucket of freshly caught fish sitting at his feet, Mario Garza admitted Friday to some confusion about which could be taken legally from the Dana Point Marine Refuge tide pools.

“There is good fishing here,” he said. “I don’t know their names, but I know the ones that are good to eat.”

Soon, Garza and others who fish the tide pools won’t have to worry about which are legal to remove and which are not--none will be.

The state Senate voted 34-0 on Friday to give final approval to a measure by Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) which outlaws removal of any sea life from the pristine stretch of tide pools in Dana Point.

In addition, the bill expands the boundaries of existing marine refuges in Laguna Beach so the entire coastline of the city will be protected.

The measure now goes to Gov. Pete Wilson, who is expected to sign it sometime in the next two weeks.

“We’re extremely excited about this,” said Cindy King, Laguna Beach deputy city manager. “For us, it creates a ribbon of refuge along the coast.”

King said the section of the city not included in the existing refuges has been plagued by people “coming down and completely depleting whole tide pool areas, taking large buckets of mussels and things like that.”

In Laguna Beach, the bill adds to the list of plants and animals that may not be removed. But in Dana Point, the bill goes further, prohibiting visitors from taking or disturbing any plants, fish or other aquatic organisms in the so-called “intertidal zone”--that area between the high-tide line and the low-tide point.

A 1988 study showed that two of every five visitors to the tide pools along the rocky shoreline of the Dana Point refuge leave with some form of marine life, a level of disturbance that is a threat to the fragile ecosystem.

“On a weekly basis, we receive a complaint about someone taking something from the tide pool for food,” said Harry Helling, associate director of the Orange County Marine Institute, who said his organization conducted the study. “I remember not long ago, we found a young couple with two buckets full of turban snails that they were going to eat.

“The problem is more common than some of us would like to admit, and if left unnoticed, there would be very significant long-term impacts on the refuge,” Helling said.

Under the bill, the state Department of Fish and Game would be required to appoint a director to the Dana Point refuge. The refuge director would post and maintain signs warning visitors against taking sea life from the tide pools. In addition, the director would have the power to issue permits that would allow scientists to take sea creatures or marine plant life from the refuge for study.

The state would not provide funds to hire the director. Instead, money would have to come from the city, county, a special district or a local college.

While visitors would not be allowed to harvest the tide pools, they could venture onto the rocky stretch of coastline as long as they were careful to have “a minimum impact” on the intertidal environment. Any organisms that aren’t attached to the rocks could be temporarily lifted for examination and photography, but would have to be immediately replaced in their natural state.

The bill does not prohibit sport fishermen, spear divers or others from catching fish, crustaceans or other sea creatures beyond the low-tide boundary.

Both the marine institute and the city of Laguna Beach have been working for years to develop the refuge protection bill.

Although refuge boundaries will be extended in Laguna Beach, the public will be allowed to fish for such tide pool dwellers as lobsters and sea bass. Not permitted to be taken from the refuge will be mussels, scallops and several other species.

Laguna Beach did not push for a total ban on tide pool harvesting because the easy access to the city’s beaches would make enforcement difficult, King said.

“Our beaches have high use while Dana Point has one main access point,” she said. “That makes it a lot easier to enforce” the new law.

Tony Martin, who was fishing with Garza, said he isn’t looking forward to finding another fishing spot.

“I’ve caught a lot of good fish around here and I even grabbed a few lobster and abalone,” he said. “I don’t think they were going to run out of fish here, but I guess I’ve got no choice.”