Reviving Coastal Treasures

California’s four national marine sanctuaries, jewels among 12 small oases of fish and underwater plant life developed around the country, are more than just open-air aquariums. They are a vision of what the nation’s beleaguered ocean resources could be with bipartisan consensus and better planning.

As Times staff writer John Balzar detailed last week, the marine sanctuaries at Channel Islands, Monterey Bay, the Farallon Islands and Cordell Bank are, in essence, underwater national parks, home to kelp beds, whales, dolphins and birds but off-limits to activities that could degrade these wonders, especially oil drilling, dumping and overfishing. The 12 ocean sanctuaries represent less than 1% of the ocean areas under federal jurisdiction. Much of the other 99% needs serious attention--and quickly.

A report on the health of America’s ocean waters released earlier this summer by the Center for Marine Conservation paints a dispiriting picture of contaminated beaches, widespread overfishing and coral and marine plant life degraded by dumping and debris. The center’s findings echo a recent survey by the National Marine Fisheries Service that says half of economically important saltwater fish species are dwindling due to overfishing, which has increased by one-third in recent years. The problem is consumers’ growing appetite for fish and technological advances that have made fishermen ever more efficient ocean harvesters.

The solution requires a stronger commitment to sustainable fishery practices at both the state and federal levels. The federal Magnuson-Stevens Act has governed fishery resources in U.S. waters, generally from 3 to 200 miles offshore, for the past 25 years. That act, last reauthorized in 1996, has again expired, and Congress will probably take up competing reauthorization measures next year. In the past, the Magnuson Act focused on expanding fisheries. Now, with resources dwindling, conservation needs more attention. Toward that end, strong measures to protect fragile marine habitats and minimize “bycatch”--fish caught inadvertently--should be high priorities.

The bountiful sea and plant life in California’s coastal waters--from the shoreline out 3 miles--will benefit from protections written into two recent state laws. These measures require coastal cities and towns to cooperate with state officials on regional development plans. Inadequate funding for data collection on fish populations and local planning efforts remains a big obstacle to better management at the state level.

The summer is drawing to a close and the crowds are leaving the beaches, but cleaner, healthier oceans will take close attention by lawmakers year-round.