MONTEREY BAY NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY ADVISORY COUNCIL Conservation Working Group Meeting Minutes Tuesday, May 13, 1997 Conservation Working Group (CWG) members in attendance were: Rachel Saunders, Chair (Center for Marine Conservation); Melissa Hippard (Save Our Shores); Korie Johnson (Sea Grant Ext. Program); David Iverson (Save Our Shores - San Mateo County); and Joanne Flanders and Jane DeLay (Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary). I. CWG Administration A. There were no comments on the previous meeting minutes. B. Rachel Saunders has a new office address: 801 Lighthouse Ave., Suite 108, Box B-9 Monterey, CA 93940 e-mail: rsaunder%pg@cenmarine.com The phone and fax numbers are the same as before: (831) 375-4509 phone (831) 375-0803 fax The new BAY NET Webpage address is: http://www.mbay.net/~baynet C. The next CWG meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 17, 1997 from 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM at the Moss Landing Harbor District Office. D. General Announcements: · The Third Annual Save Our Shores (SOS) ÒSummer SamplingÓ fundraising event will be on Saturday, June 21, 1997, at Wilder Ranch. All are invited to attend. · The Santa Cruz Sanctuary Birthday Celebration is September 20, 1997, at the Santa Cruz Wharf. The celebration will be in conjunction with the Òannual shark festÓ and Òbeach clean-up.Ó A planning meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 15, 1997. The Sanctuary office has hired a person to help coordinate the 5th Anniversary birthday celebrations. · SOS and the Gulf of the Farallones Association sponsored a successful beach hike in early April. · The monthly meeting of the SOS San Mateo Chapter was held recently. The invited guest speaker was a specialist on whales. The next meeting will be in June and the speaker will focus on sharks. · The SOS Volunteer Coordinator in San Mateo County -- Angela Kalmer -- is leaving. An intern will take her place until a more permanent person can be placed in the position. Angela was commended by the CWG for her hard work and efforts at keeping Sanctuary awareness alive in San Mateo County. · The Half Moon Bay land-use planning task force now has a Save Our Shores person on it. She will work to include information about the MBNMS and suggest language for land-use plans that is protective of the resources. · SOS is producing a MBNMS resource guidebook for Santa Cruz County. The publication will provide an overview of the Sanctuary, rules and regulations, a general history, and a pop-out map of Santa Cruz County. · The Coastal Watershed Council will hold a special event on Saturday, May 24, 1997, from 7:00 PM- 9:00 PM at the Patagonia Store in Santa Cruz. The purpose of the event is to premiere their new video about Santa Cruz County watersheds. The cost of event is from $5-15. II. MBNMS Office Report Joanne Flanders gave the MBNMS office report. Highlights of the report are contained in the attached MBNMS Monthly Activity Report for April 1997. The following items were not included in the written report: · Sanctuary staff met to review final preparations for the first vessel management workgroup meeting on May 28, 1997. A tentative timeline for the process was drafted as follows: three workgroup meetings scheduled for May, June, and July; two public workshops in August -- one in San Francisco and one in Monterey; a workgroup meeting to incorporate the public input in September; and, a final presentation of the workbook to the public in October. The workshop process should be completed by November 1997. · Carol Fairfield, the new Sanctuary Superintendent, is in town this week on a house hunting trip. She is expected to start working at the Sanctuary office in mid-July. · Jane DeLay will be leaving the Sanctuary Program in early June. Lisa Ziobro will take her place. III. Issue Updates and Discussion A. Kelp Harvesting Updates and Discussion Ellen Farout-Daniels (Friends of the Sea Otter), was successful in placing the topic of kelp harvesting on the agenda of the May 6, 1997, California Fish and Game Commission meeting. Ellen attended the meeting and testified. Her letter, read as testimony to the Commissioners, is attached. Unfortunately, the Commissioner decided to not take any action at this time. The CWG requested that the MBNMS pursue its own interests in conducting and gathering data on kelp beds in the Sanctuary to get an idea of how the beds are changing over time. B. Ricketts Marine Park The City Council of Monterey met in May and voted 4-1 to establish the ÒEd Ricketts Underwater Park.Ó The Monterey City Council's final decision prohibits spear fishing and restricts the take of kelp to harvesters from Monterey (the legality of this is in question). The decision allows hook and line fishing from shore and skiffs, squid fishing, and scientific/educational collection with the approval of an oversight committee. The oversight committee would be composed of about eight members -- a diver, a conservation person, a RAP member, a kayaker, a fisherman, a kelp harvester, a Department of Fish and Game Representative, and a few other interest groups. The committee will monitor the park and will report back to the City Council in one year. Who picks this committee is still not clear. The City of Pacific Grove has yet to decide on the issue. CWG members are asked to write to Pacific Grove City Council members and to the Mayor encouraging them to act independently from Monterey and in support of the original concept for the underwater park as a Òno-takeÓ zone. C. Ocean Legislation Weekly updates on the status of coastal legislation can be obtained from the Center for Marine ConservationÕs internet address. A summary of recent activities concerning coastal legislation is attached. D. MBNMS Enforcement Plan Status Report Rachel provided some background information on events surrounding the $650,000 contribution to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop and implement an enforcement plan for the MBNMS. Because the donor wanted to remain anonymous, the Department of Commerce, under which NOAA operates, was unable to accept the funds. Therefore, an agreement between the Department of Commerce and the donor could not be made. On the brink of disaster, CMC made a series of phone calls to the state partners in the SanctuaryÕs enforcement plan and asked if the State could receive the donation. The donor has stipulated that no money should be administered by NOAA, but is still willing to negotiate the terms of a Sanctuary enforcement plan with the State of California. State Parks has since accepted the money and will rewrite the Enforcement Memorandum of Understanding to reflect the change. CWG members queried how the change in the process would affect Sanctuary staff involvement in enforcement issues, in particular, Scott KatheyÕs role. Joanne assured CWG members that the Sanctuary would still be a participant in the plan. E. Pinniped/Fishery Forum at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Vicki Nichols (Save Our Shores) and Steve Webster (Monterey Bay Aquarium) are assisting in the organization of the Pinniped/Fisheries Forum scheduled as a special session during the American Fisheries SocietyÕs conference in August 1997. They are presently creating a problem statement and will ask each of the panelists to define the issue from their perspective and present that view during the session. Panelists are still needed for the session. CWG members with suggestions for panelists are encouraged to contact either Vicki Nichols or Steve Webster. F. Oil Pad Program for Marinas and Harbors SOS, along with the Sanctuary office, has been instrumental in securing funds for a used oil-pad clean-up program in the SanctuaryÕs harbors. Melissa Hippard (SOS) informed CWG members that examples of oil absorbent pads, disposal barrels, and educational literature about the program will be at each of the harbors next week. In addition, SOS will be training a cadre of volunteers to walk around the harbors and marinas to pass out the materials and talk with boaters about responsible oil clean-up practices. Susan Hiestrand, from SOS, is the Oil-pad Clean-up Program Coordinator. CWG members requested that she be invited to a meeting to describe the program in more detail. IV. Future meetings The CWG meeting calendar and suggested agenda topics for the rest of 1997 are as follows: Tuesday, June 17, 1997 · Patrick Cotter, MBNMS Environmental Scientist, to discuss restoration of wetlands at Fort Ord · Update on the Sea Otter census by Ellen Faurot-Daniels · Discussion of topics the CWG would like to bring to the attention of the new Sanctuary Superintendent Tuesday, July 15, 1997 · SOS report on the Oil-pad Program in the SanctuaryÕs Harbors · Introduction of Carol Fairfield as the new Sanctuary Superintendent · Update on the status of the Vessel Management Workshops and possible CWG action There will not be a meeting in August Tuesday, September 16, 1997 · MBNMS Enforcement Plan Tuesday, October 21, 1997 Tuesday, November 18, 1997 There will not be a meeting in December All meetings will be from 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM at the Moss Landing Harbor District Office unless otherwise notified. Other topics suggestions for future meetings: · Discussion of ideas for use of the Sanctuary plane · Discussion of the MBNMS 5-year review · Citizen Monitoring Activities and Stewardship Program The meeting adjourned at 12:00 PM. Respectfully submitted, Jane M. DeLay MBNMS Advisory Council Coordinator enc.: MBNMS Monthly Activity Report for April 1997 Letter and testimony from Ellen Faurot-Daniels CMC report on status of proposed coastal legislation CWG Meeting Minutes - May 13, 1997 FINAL 4