Summer 1999 National Ocean & Atmospheric Administration Page 7

Inside Sustainable Seas Expeditions pg. 1 SSE Student Summit pg. 1 Beach COMBERS Data & Resource Management pg. 2 Forum: Mariculture in the Sanctuary pg. 3 New Staff, Departing Staff pg. 3 Draft Agriculture Plan pg. 4 Citizen's Watershed Monitoring Network pg. 4 Foundation Surges Forward pg. 5 Regional Education Activities pg. 6 Vessel Management Update pg. 7 CalTIP Program pg. 7 Sanctuary Penalty Schedule pg. 7 SAC and Working Groups pg. 8 Sanctuary Currents Symposium pg. 9 Sanctuary Awards pg. 9 Environmental Heroes pg. 9 Vessel Traffic Management Update Last winter and spring, oil spills and vessel accidents along the West Coast reiterated the need for improved vessel traffic management along this coastline. The New Carissa, a freighter, ran aground and leaked bunker fuel near Coos Bay, Oregon. Another large cargo vessel, the Hollandic Confidence, almost sunk off San Francisco Bay and had begun taking on water before it was safely escorted ashore. NOAA, represented by the Sanctuary, and the U.S. Coast Guard have been working since 1997 with stakeholders to create a proposal for managing large vessel traffic such as cargo ships in the Sanctuary and beyond that can reduce the risk of oil spills, groundings, and collisions. Last year the proposal was unanimously approved by the Navigation Safety Advisory Panel to the Coast Guard, a key step which has allowed execution of the plan to begin. (See Fall 1998 issue for proposal details). To date, implementation has moved forward in two key areas: traffic separation schemes (TSSs) and the distance vessels travel from shore. The plan recommended modifications to two TSSs &endash; the systems that help organize vessels as they approach major ports. Proposals to shift the southern approach of the San Francisco TSS slightly to the west (to reduce risk of groundings along the San Mateo coast) and to extend the Santa Barbara Channel TSS by eighteen miles were included in a "Federal Notice of Proposed Rule-Making," published in June. The notice will obtain final public comments before the modifications are carried out. Recommendations to move vessels further offshore require both federal and international approval because the shipping routes are in international waters. This part of the management package, including moving cargo ships out to 13-20 nautical miles offshore, received the approval of four U.S. departments (NOAA, the Coast Guard, the Department of Defense, and the State Department) earlier in the year. The Coast Guard and NOAA then took it to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a United Nations body, in June. A decision by the IMO is expected later this year. DFG CalTIP Program: You can be an Environmental Watchdog! Here's an important phone number to memorize: 1-888-DFG-CALTIP. That way, if you see someone poaching wildlife or polluting, you can call and report it to the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) immediately. Thousands of Californians have taken advantage of this free, easy way to help protect the state's natural resources since CalTIP's creation in 1981. CalTIP is an acronym for "Californians Turn in Poachers." This DFG anti-poaching, anti-pollution program enables the public to report anonymously any illegal wildlife poaching (killing) or incidents of polluting that they witness. At the heart of the CalTIP program is the toll-free phone number (1-888-DFG-CALTIP), staffed by DFG dispatchers twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. When a citizen calls the CalTIP hotline to make a report, the dispatcher takes down all necessary information and relays it to the game warden in the area where the alleged violation occurred. The warden investigates the report and, depending on circumstances, may either issue a warning, write a citation, or effect an arrest. Sanctuary Penalty Schedule Completed In May the NOAA Office of General Counsel for Enforcement and Litigation completed a long-awaited Penalty Schedule for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The penalty schedule lists recommended ranges for federal fines assessed for violation of Sanctuary regulations. The schedule will aid federal prosecutors in processing violations of Sanctuary law. The penalty schedule also includes provisions for summary settlement of certain first-time minor offenses. In such cases, enforcement personnel can issue an on-scene "ticket" bearing the amount of fine to be paid. Summary settlement authority gives enforcement personnel the ability to address certain violations immediately, for greater impact upon violators. -Scott Kathey, Sanctuary Enforcement Coordinator If the caller's information leads to a citation or an arrest, the caller is eligible for a cash reward. CalTIP rewards are paid quarterly by the CalTIP Citizen's Review Board. All reward money is acquired through private donations; no state funds are used. The CalTIP Citizen's Review Board, not the DFG, receives and administers the reward fund. Since the program's inception in 1981, more than $135,000 has been paid out in rewards. "The large majority of callers are not interested in the reward; they're just trying to help out," explains John Robinson, CalTIP Coordinator for Santa Cruz County. The program was created to give Californians an opportunity to protect the state's resources. Because poaching is a crime of secrecy and stealth, its full extent in California is impossible to identify completely. "With the decline in DFG wardens throughout the state, it is important for the public to assist and participate in CalTIP," Robinson says. Game wardens simply cannot adequately patrol 159,000 square miles of California terrain, including 1,100 miles of coastline, 30,000 miles of rivers, and 4,800 lakes. The program can benefit the Sanctuary, too. "We suffer from the same shortage of staff and funding that DFG does," says Sanctuary Enforcement Coordinator Scott Kathey. "Citizen participation in a program like CalTIP can help limited dollars go farther to protect our marine environment."

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