Sportfishing Owners Plan to Fight Back

Like baseball, sportfishing is a national pastime. It gets in your blood. But if we don’t get people involved it’ll literally become a pastime -- as in past tense.

These are the words of Greg Watson, 25, captain of the Sea Angler, a half-day boat that runs from San Pedro’s 22nd Street Landing, one of the oldest and most popular sportfishing ports on the coast.

Watson rose through the ranks much as baseball players do, and as most skippers do.

He spent his childhood summers and weekends working as a “pinhead,” doing menial chores for no money, simply to be on the water as part of the crew -- and do some fishing if time permitted.

When he was old enough, he became a deckhand, working hands-on with customers -- and getting paid for it.

Ultimately, he obtained his captain’s license. He was in charge of his own vessel and on top of the world.

But now Watson believes that his world is crumbling under the weight of mounting restrictions and unreasonable closures. Government agencies, environmental groups and politicians, citing a fishery in peril and armed with “the best available science” he neither understands nor agrees with, are threatening his livelihood.

Ask any captain in any California port and you’ll get the same general response.

Dan Strunk, 33, owner of the 65-foot vessel Pierpoint out of Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach, has spent the last several months building a new and larger boat designed “to give the fishermen a really nice platform to fish from.”

For the first time, he questions his investment. “When I first started building my boat people said I was out of my mind,” he says. “I just laughed at them, but now I’m beginning to realize that there was something to what they said.”

Watson and Strunk are among dozens of party-boat skippers and perhaps hundreds of private boaters expected to take part in a massive on-the-water protest Sunday against what they consider overly extreme measures designed to protect several species of rockfish and other bottom fishes, notably bocaccio, deemed overfished by state and federal agencies.

For the fishermen, reality checks have been rolling in like waves during the last couple of years. They have come, despite vehement protests, in the form of seasonal closures and restrictions on depth in which they can fish.

And last week came perhaps the biggest reality check to date. The California Fish and Game Commission, at its meeting in Santa Barbara, announced that fishing will be permanently banned in 175 square miles of ocean surrounding the Channel Islands. The news, though not entirely unexpected, tipped the recreational fishing community on its side and spilled out all sorts of raw emotions.

“This is only the tip of the iceberg,” said Norris Tapp, co-owner of Davey’s Locker in Newport Beach, referring to other no-fishing zones and conservation areas being considered by Fish and Game officials. “Something has got to be done to stop the madness.”

The madness, if it can be called that, was not confined to the meeting halls. Fishermen this week might as well have called for the head of Gov. Gray Davis and his appointees on the commission, whom they accuse of catering to environmental interests purely to further their own careers.

Radio chatter between captains -- those who have been maintaining all along that the studies are flawed; that there are more bocaccio now, in Southern California anyway, than there have been in years -- turned from bitter to downright angry.

Having lost faith in state and national groups lobbying on their behalf, they became compelled to do something dramatic to bring attention to their cause -- and do it before next week’s election.

They organized a massive blockade of container ships coming into L.A. and Long Beach harbors -- the same ports affected by the recent labor dispute that brought shipping to a halt. It was a scary proposition, but one supported not only by several captains and crew members, but some of their bosses.

Rick Oefinger, owner of Marina del Rey Sportfishing, was not behind the plan. But neither did he argue against it. In a letter issued to owners of boats running from his port, he said, “The landing expects that any boat with a regularly scheduled run on Blockade Day will be on line for their run. Any boat not on line that day should feel free to participate if they so desire. If one does participate, I’ll caution you to keep in mind the consequences of violating the ‘rules of the road’ and also the possible violation of any oath that you may have taken when you received your license.”

The blockade was to have taken place Thursday. “But fortunately, cooler heads prevailed,” Oefinger said.

Instead, the captains and landing operators scheduled Sunday’s demonstration, from noon to 3 p.m. at Reservation Point near the entrance of L.A. Harbor, aboard party boats from Ventura to San Diego. The public is invited to board the boats, space permitting, at their home ports beforehand or at 22nd Street Landing, which is headquarters for the event.

“All we’re after is to make a statement,” Watson said, “to let the general public know that this is an issue and to think about it for the future, for the future of the young kids of tomorrow, who might have no place to fish, and for the future of our business.”

News and Notes

* Rockfish closure: Saturday marks the beginning of a rockfish and lingcod fishery closure in all waters south of Cape Mendocino. It’s a two-month closure but 2003 regulations, which go into effect Jan. 1, will lengthen it through next June. However, fishermen will be able to target sculpin inside of 20 fathoms in January and February.

Additionally, the sheephead fishery on Saturday will close for the remainder of the year because sportfishing quotas, when tallied, will probably have been met. If the catches fall below the allowable harvest levels, that fishery could be reopened.

* No long-lines allowed: There was some good news for sportfishermen this week. The Pacific Fishery Management Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a management plan for highly migratory species that prohibits the use of the controversial fishing gear inside the 200-mile exclusive economic zone, and prohibits the sale of striped marlin. Commercial fishermen had been seeking permission to use the highly efficient and indiscriminate gear off the West Coast inside the EEZ to target mostly swordfish and tuna. Sportfishermen have been among those fighting to keep the long-liners out. The plan still must be approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

* Ducks in season: Waterfowl hunting in Southern California opens Saturday and prospects -- for opening weekend, anyway -- are better than expected considering that populations are down significantly because of prolonged drought conditions in the breeding areas. “We’ve already got between 4,000 and 5,000 ducks in the area so I’m pretty excited about the opener, although I won’t make any predictions beyond that,” said Jim Chakarun, manager of Imperial Wildlife Area near Niland, Calif. The IWA Wister Unit’s 120 blinds are sold out for opening weekend but hunters can earn spots in a lottery taking place Friday night from 7-10. Details: (760) 359-0577.

Other popular spots for opening weekend are the IWA’s Finney-Ramer Unit; San Diego City Lakes, Salton Sea and San Jacinto Wildlife Area and nearby Lake Perris in Riverside County.

Because of the lower numbers, the season has been shortened and will run through Jan. 26. Additionally, limits have been reduced or cut to zero for some species. Pintails, for example, may only be shot from Nov. 28-Jan. 26 and only one pintail may be included in an overall five-bird daily limit. Hunters can review regulations at www.dfg.ca.gov.

Winding Up

You’ve heard the expression: Fishing was so good they were jumping into the boat.

Well, fishing was that good for Scott and Patsy Spiro, and sons Jonathan and Nicholas. While on a recent trip aboard the Gavoita V off Cabo San Lucas, Patsy Spiro hooked a blue marlin that came in without a fight. However, just as it was being released it leaped into the boat, sending the passengers and crew scurrying for cover, and thrashed so violently that it ripped one of the fighting chairs loose and flipped it overboard.

Unfortunately, the billfish died and was brought to the scale, where it weighed 265 pounds. The anglers, who had stopped at Land’s End during a cruise, caught their ship and continued first to Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, where they caught a sailfish; then to Mazatlan, where they landed several dorado.