Politicians Don’t Get Off the Hook

These are uncertain times for fishermen, commercial and sport, who are falling under more severe restrictions almost by the day. Or so it seems.

In California and along the West Coast, there have been closures and talks of more closures. There have been shrinking bag limits and quotas. Like a tsunami, the continuing push to save bocaccio and other bottom fishes from the threat of extinction has overwhelmed those in the business of catching fish.

There have been claims that “the best available science” being used to assess the health of our fisheries is not good enough to warrant such extreme actions, that there are as many bocaccio as ever. The threat of closures has pitted sport fishermen against commercial fishermen.

There have been accusations by both groups that environmentalists have ganged up on them in an attempt to stop all forms of fishing, and that the politicians are listening to the environmentalists. And there have been charges by environmentalists that the fishermen are in denial.

On one weekend radio show last Sunday, the host went so far as to say that Gov. Gray Davis, by taking the environmentalists’ side for political reasons, was no different from “a third-world politician” being unduly influenced by bribery. And that another four years with Davis “will mean the death of sportfishing in California.”

That might be overstating the case, but the topic of fishing these days is that hot.

Now, however, the heat is spreading south of the border. Another fiery controversy has sprung up in Mexico, resulting in charges of corruption as well as predictions of failing fisheries and the death of sportfishing.

An impending regulation allowing substantially more fishing is creeping closer to becoming law. It threatens to have devastating impact on marlin, sailfish, dorado and other game fish populations, as well as on giant Pacific mantas, endangered sea turtles and other non-game species.

Or such are the claims being leveled by just about anyone who isn’t a commercial fisherman, or who doesn’t stand to benefit from an increase in fishing pressure.

“What this regulation authorizes is the automatic destruction of the Sea of Cortez and the whole Mexican coast,” charges Bobby Van Wormer, tourism secretary for the state of Baja California Sur, which includes Cabo San Lucas, a resort city that has flourished over the years as a world-famous sportfishing destination.

“It would allow the big shark-fishing boats, under the camouflage of actually fishing for sharks, to come in and rip the hell out of everything.”

At issue is Norma 029, or the Shark Norma, a regulation that was supposed to go into effect Thursday but was postponed for 60 days by Mexican President Vicente Fox, who said this week that more input and study were needed.

The Shark Norma will open Mexico’s waters to shark fishermen and enable them to operate within a 50-mile buffer zone that has for years been reserved solely for sportfishing.

In reality, though, by allowing the use of long-lines and gill-nets inside the sportfishing-only zone, and as close as half a mile from shore, it will result in the killing of marlin, sailfish, dorado, turtles, whales and anything else that happens to swim into the nets or take bait being offered.

“The people who accept [the Shark Norma] are only the [commercial] fishermen because with this [regulation] they can fish wherever they want,” said Carlos Villavicencio, a college professor and marine biologist in La Paz.

The long-lines can be as long as six miles and can hold as many as 2,000 hooks. The gill-nets can span a mile.

“Can you imagine the ecological disaster?” Villavicencio said.

Apparently, not everybody can. Department of Fisheries chief Jeronimo Ramos and secretary of agriculture Javier Usabiaga have supported the Shark Norma, despite heavy criticism and accusations that they must have ulterior motives “because this makes so little sense,” Van Wormer said.

So far, neither has budged, though, claiming a properly managed fishery to be good

for both fishermen and the economy.

Now, however, foes of the Shark Norma--and their numbers are growing and include various government officials and state senators--have been directing their attentions toward the country’s leader, who in recent weeks has been touting his nation and administration as being environmentally friendly.

When Fox arrived in Cabo San Lucas last Friday to attend ongoing Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings, more than 200 protesters blocked the road from the airport to the hotel. He was also confronted by a television reporter and, when pressed, vowed that sustainable fisheries management practices would not be compromised and that he would postpone the Shark Norma for two months.

It has been suggested that Fox, who has been busy traveling and with other matters to consider, might not have been totally aware of the details of the Shark Norma, or of the mounting controversy it has generated.

He probably is aware now.

News and Notes

* Saltwater fishing: Large and voracious yellowtail are in the spotlight this week and their presence--at Catalina and the outer banks--has diverted some of the attention from the albacore and bluefin grounds. The fish are averaging 20-plus pounds and anglers are losing as many as they’re catching. Also in the news are giant squid, which have returned off Orange County. On the down side, the squid are apparently terrorizing the sand bass by night because the sand bass have mysteriously disappeared since the arrival of the voracious mollusks.

* Hunting: The California Fish and Game Commission last week adopted an emergency regulation banning the importation by out-of-state hunters of deer and elk meat, except for boned meat, quarters or processed cuts, hides and heads that have no part of the spinal column or brain attached. In essence, all nervous tissue must be removed before the meat can be transported into California. The ban is an attempt to reduce the chance of chronic wasting disease spreading to our deer and elk herds. CWD, a fatal neurological disease, has been found in several western and midwestern states.

* Boating: The Lido Yacht Expo is in progress through Sunday at Lido Marina Village in Newport Beach. The show is specifically a big-boat affair featuring upscale models. Admission is $8 for adults, free for children 12 and under. Details: (949) 757-5959 or www.goboatingamerica.com.... The International Sail and Power Boat Show is scheduled Sept. 26-29 at the Long Beach Convention Center and Downtown Marina. Details: www.scma.com.

Winding Up

John Miller of Redondo Beach went marlin fishing Wednesday and ended up in a grueling struggle with an enormous mako shark off the west end of Catalina.

“All the bait I had for marlin died on the way over so I used the dead bait to catch the mako,” Miller said.

He was fishing solo but called a friend who motored out to help. The friend arrived 4 1/2 hours after the hookup and an hour later they had the 10-foot shark at the boat. Once it was subdued, it was towed back to King Harbor and ultimately donated to the Fred Jordan Mission in Los Angeles.

Miller said he killed the mako only because he thought it might be a state record, but it fell well short of the record 986-pound mako caught two years ago.