MBNMS SAC Meeting Minutes April 15th, 2010

MONTEREY BAY NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY
ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING

FINAL
April 15th, 2010
Carmel Valley Trail and Saddle Club
Carmel Valley, CA

The following non-voting members were present as indicated:

• Monterey Bay NMS: Paul Michel
• National Marine Fisheries Service: Frank Schwing
• Gulf of the Farallones NMS Liason: Bob Wilson

Alternates present in audience:

• Agriculture: Traci Roberts
• AMBAG: Lynn Robinson
• At-Large: Kortney Leaborne
• At-Large: Kurt Schnebele
• At-Large: Nancy Selfridge
• Commercial Fishing: Jiri Nozicka
• Diving: Randy Herz
• Monterey Bay NMS: Karen Grimmer
• Recreation: Robert Chatham
• Recreational Fishing: John Klusmire
• Tourism: Bob Massaro

Supervisor Dave Potter welcomed the sanctuary advisory council to Carmel Valley.

Paul Michel, Superintendent, swore in the following new members: Jane Parker, AMBAG primary; Dick Ely, At-large primary; Kurt Schnebele, At-large alternate; Allison Ford, Conservation primary; Traci Roberts, Agriculture alternate; Nancy Selfridge, At-large alternate; Jim Weisenstein, Business/Industry alternate; Robert Chatham, Recreation alternate; John Klusmire, Recreational Fishing alternate.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Paul Michel read the guidance from the advisory council charter regarding officer elections.

There were two advisory council members nominated for Chair. Steve Scheiblauer, Harbors, nominated Kirk Schmidt, Agriculture, as Chair. The nomination was seconded by Mat Fuzie, CA State Parks. Paul Reilly, CA Department of Fish and Game, nominated Chris Harrold, Research, as Chair. The nomination was seconded by PJ Webb, Citizen At-large. Kathy Fosmark, Commercial Fishing primary, nominated Steve Scheiblauer as Chair. Steve Scheiblauer respectfully declined the nomination.

Vote: 17-4 in favor of Chris Harrold. Chris Harrold was elected as Chair.

Russ Jefferies, CA EPA, nominated Kirk Schmidt as Vice Chair. The nomination was seconded by Gary Pezzi, Recreation. Kirk accepted the nomination of Vice Chair.

There were two advisory council members nominated for Secretary. Randy Herz, Diving, nominated PJ Webb, Citizen At-large, as Secretary. The nomination was seconded by Allison Ford, Conservation. Russ Jeffries nominated Kathy Fosmark, Commercial Fishing, as Secretary. The motion was seconded by Kirk Schmidt.

Vote: 14-6 in favor of PJ Webb. PJ was elected as Secretary.

APPROVAL OF 12/10/09 AND 2/18/10 DRAFT MEETING NOTES

The advisory council passed the December 10, 2009 meeting minutes without any changes.

MOTION: (Passed)

Motion introduced by Mike Dawson, seconded by Rich Hughett.
(Vote: 19 in favor, 0 opposed, 0 abstentions)

The advisory council passed the February 18, 2010 meeting minutes without any changes.

MOTION: (Passed)

Motion introduced by Kirk Schmidt, seconded by Mike Dawson.
(Vote: 13 in favor, 0 opposed, 6 abstentions)

Paul Michel provided protocol for public comments. All comments will be limited to three minutes per person. No back and forth discussions will occur during public comment. Advisory council members should save their comments for member announcements.

The following members of the public provided comments to the advisory council: Bonnie VanHise, Bob Wilson, Steve Scheiblauer, Sean VanSommeran, and Bob Scoles.

Paul Michel provided several timely updates on sanctuary activities. These activities include: the Sanctuary Currents Symposium, the 2009 MBNMS Accomplishments Report, Snapshot Day, Capitol Hill Oceans Week in Washington D.C., the US Open, Sanctuary Exploration Center groundbreaking, and the BLUE Ocean Film Festival.

Frank Schwing, National Marine Fisheries Service, provided a presentation on Integrated Ecosystem Assessment. Dr. Schwing’s powerpoint presentation may be viewed here.

Paul Michel provided information on artificial reefs, one of the management plan's “emerging issues”.

After some discussion, the advisory council felt it would be a good idea to learn more about artificial reefs. Randy Herz, Diving alternate, proposed inviting someone to present on artificial reefs.

Dayna Matthews, NOAA Office for Law Enforcement, provided a regular update on the meetings of the Enforcement Task Force.

David Boughton, National Marine Fisheries Service, provided an informational presentation on salmon recovery efforts by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Dr. Boughton’s powerpoint presentation may be viewed here.

Salvador Jorgensen, Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, provided an informational presentation on white sharks within the sanctuary. Dr. Jorgensen’s powerpoint presentation may be viewed here.

Debbie Kinder, Executive Director for BLUE Ocean Film Festival, provided a brief video and presentation on the various events related to the BLUE Ocean Film Festival. The festival will take place at various venues in Monterey, CA, August 24-29.

PJ Webb, At-large primary, announced that the Coastal Discovery Center has had great attendance for Spring Break. She also announced that she has brought an emerging issue to the sanctuary regarding a historic mine and how it relates to water quality.

Steve Clark, Education alternate, thanked Chris Harrold and Mike Bekker for their efforts in organizing the Sanctuary Currents Symposium. The Sanctuary Education Panel (SEP) held a meeting last month and heard from a speaker with California Academy of Sciences regarding climate change. MERITO received a $60,000 grant and the Coastal Discovery Center received a Bureau of Land Management grant for school kids. The Sanctuary Exploration Center will have a ceremonial groundbreaking in July. The Voices of the Bay curriculum has gone to teachers and is being classroom tested and revised. The Wildflower Show will be this weekend at the Pacific Grove Natural History Museum.

Jim Weisenstein, Business and Industry alternate, commented on what a great learning experience this first meeting has been for him as a new advisory council member.

Kirk Schmidt, Agriculture primary, announced the Central Coat Vineyard Team will be having their annual Food and Wine Festival this month.

Chris Harrold, Research primary, announce the Monterey Bay Aquarium opened a new exhibit on climate change, Hot Pink Flamingos. The Outer Bay exhibit is coming down after Labor Day 2010. There will be major repair work to the in the Outer Bay exhibit and gallery. The exhibit will reopen in July 2011.

Paul Michel announced the Coastal Discovery Center will hold a coastal fair in San Simeon, CA on July 17th.

Allison Ford, Conservation primary, echoed the statements made by Jim Weisenstein. She asked everyone to please support sea otters during tax time.

Dick Ely, At-large primary, announced that he was glad to be a part of the advisory council. He would like to meet with each seat over the next few months to get to know everyone better.

NEXT MEETING: June 17, 2010 in Santa Cruz
The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.

Submitted by
Nicole Capps
Sanctuary Advisory Council Coordinator