Malibu Seeks to Create Marine Refuge

Malibu’s City Council approved a proposal Tuesday to designate the city’s 27-mile coastline a marine refuge, making it the largest coastal sanctuary in the state and one that would go far beyond the recommendations of a commissioned UCLA study to set aside 4 1/2 square miles of shore.

Under the council’s proposal, commercial fishing would not be allowed anywhere within three miles along the coastline and two small “no-take zones” would be established where all fishing and tide-pooling would be prohibited.

The marine refuge must be approved by the state Legislature and the governor. City officials are arranging meetings with state Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles) and Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) to craft a bill. Hayden has endorsed the concept of a refuge, but has not yet approved the council’s proposal.

“There’s been a feeling for a long time that we wanted to protect the area of Malibu as a marine preserve, to protect the species and stop the depletion of the natural resources in the Malibu area,” Mayor John Harlow said.

The council’s vote drew applause from environmentalists, who had been disappointed that a study headed by Richard Ambrose, an environmental sciences professor at UCLA, only recommended that the city adopt the two “no-take zones,” one along Point Dume and another at the Ventura County line.

“This may turn Malibu into one of the world’s loveliest parks,” said Mary Frampton, executive director of the Malibu-based Save Our Coast.

Ambrose said he doesn’t have a problem with the scope of protection Malibu council members want, but criticized the council for banning commercial fishing without proof that those industries have a greater impact on marine life than sportfishing.

Commercial fishermen were also upset.

“We contend that the resources in this refuge belong to the people of California, not a few people who live on a cliff above Malibu,” said John Duth, president of the California Lobster and Trap Fishermans Assn.