An Ocean of Experience

Nearly everyone agrees on the goal: Maintain a healthy, abundant population of ocean fish that can indefinitely sustain itself--and the people whose livelihood depends on fishing.

So it makes more sense for the fishermen and government stewards of sea life to work together than to fight one another. That’s the concept behind a proposal to recruit commercial fishermen to help scientists find ways to rebuild fish stocks off the Ventura County coast.

The numbers of rockfish, abalone and other species in local waters have declined so sharply in recent years that dramatic efforts are underway to keep them from dying out here altogether. The first step could come at Channel Islands National Park, where officials are considering a proposal to dramatically expand no-fishing zones.

That might be good for the fish but bad for the fishermen. But something must be done, and soon. Two-thirds of the Earth’s major fishing areas and stocks are now exhausted or seriously depleted. In the United States, 80% of 191 commercial fish stocks are overexploited and further stressed by pollution, wetlands losses, poaching and invasive species.

The new proposal calls for training commercial fishermen and deploying them during off seasons to gather and share information, including where fish live, how they behave and habitat conditions.

It’s part of a new ocean-protection program announced by Vice President Al Gore, one of a long list of proposed ways to sustain economic benefits of the oceans, strengthen global security, protect marine resources and explore the high seas.

In Ventura County, the plan would tap the knowledge divers and boat crews accumulated over generations of fishing to help researchers explore ways to better protect sea life in waters surrounding Channel Islands National Park. Funding would come from the National Marine Fisheries Service. If it works, the program could be used at the other 11 marine sanctuaries.

As potential solutions go, this proposal is a mere drop in the ocean. Yet we like the government’s gesture of inviting the fishermen to be part of the cure.

Even an amateur angler knows that the more you can think like a fish, the better your chances of landing a whopper for dinner. Ventura County fishermen have earned a wealth of knowledge and experience over the years. By working together, we hope the old salts and the marine biologists can find a way to keep the Pacific Ocean’s fishing grounds fertile for the long haul. Nobody benefits if the ocean’s bounty is harvested beyond its ability to survive.