MBNMS SAC Meeting Minutes December 10th, 2009

MONTEREY BAY NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY
ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING

FINAL
December 10th, 2009
Monterey Conference Center
Monterey, CA

The following non-voting members were present as indicated:

• Monterey Bay NMS: Paul Michel
• National Marine Fisheries Service: Churchill Grimes
• US Coast Guard: LTJG Brittany Steward

Alternates present in audience:

• At-large: Robert Frischmuth
• At-large: Kortney Leabourne
• Diving: Randy Herz
• Monterey Bay NMS: Karen Grimmer
• Recreation: Rexford Keyes
• Tourism: Bob Massaro

Mayor Della Sala of Monterey welcomed the advisory council to Monterey and the Monterey Conference Center.

APPROVAL OF 10/22/09 DRAFT MEETING NOTES

The advisory council passed the October 22, 2009 meeting minutes with the following changes:

• add changes that were made to 8/21/09 minutes
• add “there was considerable discussion by the advisory council regarding this topic. This item will be agendized at the next advisory council meeting.” to item V on page 2 and 3.
• mark Conservation seat as absent
• clarify announcement regarding Cambria meeting on page 4, paragraph 7
• remove last sentence on page 4, paragraph 9
• clarify announcement on page 4, paragraph 10
• make small grammatical changes suggested by Paul Reilly

MOTION: (Passed)

Motion introduced by Robert Frischmuth, seconded by Steve Scheiblauer
(Vote: 15 in favor, 0 opposed)

Paul Michel, MBNMS Superintendent, recognized Deborah Streeter, At-large primary, for her years of service as a member and a chair of the advisory council. He presented her with a plaque to commemorate her service.

Paul Michel swore in Churchill Grimes, Director for National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Southwest Fishery Science Center, as the primary for the NMFS seat.

The following members of the public provided comments to the advisory council: Allison Ford (The Otter Project exists for rapid recovery of the Southern Sea Otter); Robert Scholes (landfill issues in Monterey Bay area, including Santa Cruz and San Benito counties); Don Heichel (desalination).

Paul Michel highlighted the following items during his Superintendent’s Report, which highlights several items from the Office Report:

1. The Italian film, Il Mare di Joe, had an attendance of approximately 450 individuals.
2. On October 14th there was an AMBAG meeting where Paul gave an annual state of the sanctuary report. There will be two special AMBAG and MBNMS staff meetings a year and every year he will give a state of the sanctuary report to the AMBAG board.
3. On October 30th Paul held a town hall meeting with the community in Cambria. He thanked PJ Webb for her assistance with this meeting.
4. On October 8th staff from the MBNMS Water Quality Protection Program gave a presentation to the Pesticide Applicators Association in Salinas.
5. On October 15th our staff organized a tremendous effort to monitor the first major rain fall into the sanctuary. We had approximately 114 volunteers for this event.
6. On October 23rd there was a WQPP workshop and that evening had the Agricultural Water Quality Alliance (AWQA) awards and Jane Lubchenco spoke during this event.
7. The Twin Otter letter crafted by the advisory council at the August 2009 meeting is done and ready for Chris’ signature today.
8. The Blue Ocean Film Festival is coming to Monterey next year.

Karen Grimmer, Deputy Superintendent, provided a presentation on the recent Lost Fishing Gear project conducted by the MBNMS and partners. Mrs. Grimmer’s powerpoint presentation may be viewed here.

Paul Michel provided insight on how the MBNMS condition report and management plan summary are shaping future projects the MBNMS will be working on. A copy of the MBNMS Condition Report may be viewed here.

LT Brittany Steward, US Coast Guard, provided an update on the enforcement activities in the MBNMS. The Enforcement Task Force did not meet prior to this advisory council meeting, as they normally would have.

Bryan Largay, Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve Tidal Wetland Project Coordinator, provided a presentation on the Elkhorn Slough Restoration Project. Mr. Largay’s powerpoint presentation may be viewed here.

Steve Lonhart, MBNMS Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network Scientist, provided a presentation on kelp forests along the central coast of California. Dr. Lonhart’s powerpoint presentation may be viewed here.

Paul Michel provided an update on the MBNMS shift from an MPA process to an Ecosystem Based Management Initiative. This new approach considers multiple management objectives with partner agencies. The MBNMS is committed to working with the sanctuary advisory council, NMFS, and the Pacific Fishery Management Council to ensure an effective and timely public process.

Due to technical difficulties, the video was unable to be played. Advisory council members were instructed to go to YouTube to watch the video, if they were interested.

Chris Harrold announced the annual Sanctuary Advisory Council meeting will be in May 2010. He informed the advisory council that sanctuary sites could submit a case study to present to the group. Last year, the MBNMS gave a case study on marine protected areas. Advisory council members provided several topics for a case study to include: wave energy, law enforcement, lost fishing gear, the Currents Symposium, the northern management area, and MERITO.

PJ Webb announced the town hall meeting in Cambria in October was good to have. She hopes cancelling the advisory council meeting in Cambria does not become a trend. She also announced there is a new project with the Santa Rosa Creek. She, along with Carolyn Skinder from MBNMS staff, is part of a group related to this project. The first public meeting of this group will be fish centric. The meeting will be held on January 19th at 6 p.m. in Cambria at RaboBank.

Paul also recognized Mike Eng as he is retiring from federal service. MBNMS will be recruiting for a replacement, but will not be able to begin the recruitment until later in the year. On January 11th all the site superintendents will be holding a first of a kind meeting where they will get together and meet without any headquarters or regional staff. Cordell Bank and Gulf of the Farallones Sanctuaries will be hosting.

Steve Scheiblauer announced the City of Monterey has begun a major planning effort for the waterfront area beginning at San Carlos Beach all the way to Del Monte Beach. This will pull in a lot of stakeholders and users. He also announced he was named to the Pacific Fishery Management Council Habitat Committee.

NEXT MEETING: February 18th, 2010 in Half Moon Bay
The meeting adjourned at 3:51 p.m.

Submitted by
Nicole Capps
Sanctuary Advisory Council Coordinator