Merchants Cast Pier’s Anglers in Bad Light : Recreation: Fishing enthusiasts on Newport promenade say they can police themselves and keep area clean, but local groups are seeking ban so stores, restaurants can move in.

She calls the Newport Pier her home away from home. That’s why Anna Marie Brassil, a Santa Ana resident who has fished off the pier for 20 years, wants to make sure she’s not evicted.

She and other anglers are in the middle of a debate over just what the pier should be: a recreation area where fishers can reel in their catches and clean them or a commercial promenade like Huntington Beach Pier.

“What’s a pier without fishermen?” asked Brassil, who is known to anglers as Sue.

To counter the argument that fishing is dirty and smelly and gives the area a bad image, Brassil has been on a crusade since January as a member of the Volunteer Newport Pier Patrol to monitor the pier and remind people not to leave bait and fish entrails behind.

But that is not enough for Rush Hill, vice president of the Newport Pier Assn., who wants fishing banned, at least temporarily, so that stores and restaurants can move in.

“We need to take our primary asset and change it,” he said, “because right now, it’s the city’s primary liability.”

Hill envisions a two-level pier with a commercial strip on top and a fishing area at the bottom.

Last January, at the request of his group and the Central Newport Beach Community Assn., the City Council gave City Manager Kevin J. Murphy the authority to close off all or part of the pier to fishing at his discretion. State Department of Fish and Game officials say that’s not legal, but city officials disagree. Murphy so far has not used his authority. His powers also apply to Balboa Pier, but fishermen there are too few to present much of a problem.

For a while, the threat of closure worked at Newport Pier, said Tony Melum, director of the Newport Beach Marine and Safety Department, which is headquartered at the base of the pier. But, he said, “toward the end of the summer, things began to deteriorate again.”

Last month, responding to demands from residents, the city began a 30-day evaluation period, during which a city official visited the pier three times a day.

On Tuesday, based on that official’s evaluation, Murphy and officials of the Public Works and Police departments will decide what to recommend to the City Council.

The problem, the merchants and residents say, is not only the fish entrails and blood left behind on the pier but the danger from of flying fish hooks, which have snagged some humans.

For anglers, “it is one of the most productive piers in the state,” said Tom Hyans, president of the community association. “But the general population has abandoned the pier because it is too hazardous.”

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Although he praises the work of Brassil and other volunteer patrollers, the self-policing is not enough, he said.

Brassil works hard “to do the right thing. But other fishermen are not sympathetic with what she’s trying to do,” he said.

Consequently, his group proposes that no fishing be allowed after 9 p.m. and that the pier be closed at midnight to reduce both vandalism and the amount of fish remains that must be washed off in the morning. The association also proposes banning fishing within 50 feet of Newport Pier Seafood and Bar.

Managers of the restaurant say that on a busy fishing day it’s not uncommon for live fish to be pulled from the water and thrown clear onto the restaurant’s patio.

Restaurant owner Choon Park, who also owns a bait and tackle store in Los Angeles, said, “I love fishermen, but still, I have to think about other people that don’t fish here. There are tourists, children and elderly. We have to consider their safety also.”

But Joe Imbriano, a Newport Beach resident and a weekend fisherman here since the late 1970s, said he is angry that homeowners are trying to close the pier to anglers.

“It’s one of the few places in society where people of all different races are smiling and having a good time,” he said. “It’s a rich city that wants to get rid of people that are having a good time down there. They don’t want to be reminded about how other people live. But that’s not the American way.”

Still, some fishing enthusiasts agree that putting tighter regulations on anglers would lead to cleaner pier decks and a more welcome environment for those who don’t fish.

“If they had a little respect for the property they are fishing on, it would be more enjoyable for everyone,” said Bob Churchfield of San Clemente, who was fishing off the Newport Pier on Wednesday. “We have the same problems at the San Clemente [Municipal] Pier. People use the benches to cut bait or clean fish.”

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Craig Manson, general counsel for the Department of Fish and Game, said cities do not have the right to prohibit fishing from public piers unless they ban all access. City Atty. Robert Burnham says he will not comment on whether the city has the authority to restrict pier use to one group or another until he meets with the city manager.

About two years ago, the city imposed measures to keep the pier clean, including removing several wooden benches from the end of the pier. In addition, city officials decided to prohibit anglers from cleaning fish or putting entrails on the pier or over the railings. The same ordinance prohibits sleeping bags or cots on the pier from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Other Orange County coastal cities have dealt with the situation in various ways.

Huntington Beach, for instance, enacted several laws to control fishing after the city pier was rebuilt.

Mark Carlson, the county’s park ranger in charge of Aliso Pier in South Laguna, said his department washes down the pier every day, and fish remains are not an issue.