MBNMS SAC Meeting Minutes August 18th, 2011

MONTEREY BAY NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY
ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING

FINAL
August 18th, 2011
Santa Cruz Police Department
Santa Cruz, CA

The following non-voting members were present as indicated:

• Monterey Bay NMS: Paul Michel
• National Marine Fisheries Service: Churchill Grimes

Alternates present in audience:

• Agriculture – Tim Frahm
• California Department of Fish and Game – Susan Ashcraft
• Diving – Brian Nelson
• MBNMS – Karen Grimmer

Paul Michel, MBNMS Superintendent, recognized advisory council members who have left the advisory council. He recognized Frank Degnan (Diving), Randy Herz (Diving), Steve Clark (Education), and John Hunt (Research). Paul also recognized Churchill Grimes, National Marine Fisheries Service, who is retiring in September.

Paul swore in the following new advisory council members: Tim Frahm (Agriculture), Phil Sammet (Diving), Brian Nelson (Diving), Wayne Thompson (Education), Dr. James Lindholm (Research).

Paul also announced that Margaret "PJ" Webb is the MBNMS Volunteer of the Year and presented her with a MBNMS logo jacket as a thank you gift for all of her volunteer efforts.

APPROVAL OF 4/21/11 DRAFT MEETING NOTES

The advisory council approved the April 21, 2011 meeting minutes with the following substantive changes:

• Correct spelling of "powerpoint" in the first paragraph on page three.

MOTION: (Passed)

Motion introduced by Cynthia Mathews, seconded by Steve Scheiblauer
(Vote: 12 in favor, 0 opposed, 3 abstentions)

There was concern expressed by one member about how advisory council advice to the Sanctuary gets recorded. The chair said the topic would be discussed at a later meeting when a directed discussion on how the minutes should be put together can occur.

• Don Heichel, Santa Cruz recreational fisherman, provided comment on desalination.
• Laura Kasa, Save Our Shores, provided comment on the City of Salinas ban on styrofoam take out containers and Coastal Clean Up Day.
• Scott Jarrett, big wave surfer, provided comment on motorized personal watercraft (MPWC) use in the sanctuary. Comments focused on his concerns that the MBNMS regulations have made his sport much less safe and that he feels the regulation may contribute to a drowning
• Jeff Martin, big wave surfer and Santa Cruz resident, provided similar comments on MPWC use in the sanctuary. Comments focused on safety concerns with the regulations, and that big wave surfers do not disturb wildlife.
• Vince Broglio, surfer at Maverick's, provided comment on MPWC use in the sanctuary. Comments focused on concerns for his life with the regulations.

Discussion amongst advisory council members continued after public comment regarding use of MPWCs within the sanctuary. Several SAC members expressed a sense of urgency about resolving the safety issues, and urged the formation of an expert committee to make a recommendation. Chris Harrold, Chair, committed to contact Richard Charter, Gulf of the Farallones Sanctuary Advisory Council Chair, and report back to the MBNMS Advisory Council via email about what happened at the last GFNMS advisory council meeting of this topic. He also suggested the Executive Committee discuss how this issue should be considered.

Paul Michel highlighted several topics of interest that sanctuary staff worked on over the last four months. These included placement of a historical anchor, visit by the Pacific Voyagers, Yacht Club Speaker Series, 10 year celebration for MERITO, record year for volunteer recruitment for TeamOCEAN/Bay Net, work with Access Monterey Peninsula to launch a new channel this fall with a show titled "Your Sanctuary", water quality data, Coastal Discovery Center fair was a success, outreach in Santa Cruz regarding the Exploration Center, and a visit by International visitors to the office. Coming up in October is the US Coast Guard/Office of National Marine Sanctuaries dive to the S.S. Montebello to conduct hull surveys.

Paul also showed two simulations of the Japan tsunami on the Santa Cruz Harbor. These simulations are available by sending an email to Andrew DeVogelaere.

Chris Harrold highlighted several items from the Sanctuary Advisory Council Summit that was held in May in Savannah, GA. Chris stated the group of advisory council chairs and coordinators received presentations on the Maritime Heritage Program, socioeconomics, sentinel sites, and addition/expansion of sites. Chris also stated that the advisory council chairs discussed the concept of a National Council of Chairs, which ONMS staff will now begin looking into developing based on advisory council chairs comments.

Bridget Hoover, MBNMS Water Quality Protection Program Coordinator, provided a presentation on beach closures and nearshore water quality in the MBNMS. Mrs. Hoover's powerpoint presentation may be viewed here.

Congressman Sam Farr thanked the advisory council for their work and thanked the Santa Cruz Police Department for the use of their building. Congressman Farr provided an update on the federal budget. He stated there needs to be collaboration among levels of government in these challenging economic times. More needs to happen from the bottom up, meaning local communities. Congressman Farr said communities can make governments respond to their needs, but communities need to figure out how to be more collaborative and forward thinking.

Mark DiOrio, Capital Campaign Coordinator, announced that the goal of raising $3 million for the exhibits in the Sanctuary Exploration Center has been reached and funds are continuing to be raised beyond that goal. Mr. DiOrio asked for the advisory council's help in raising those additional funds. Mr. DiOrio also recognized the Leadership Committee for all of their work.

Fred Keeley, Leadership Committee Chair, reiterated the success of the capital campaign and stated the Leadership Committee and staff want to make it more of a success. Mr. Keeley thanked Lisa Uttal and her team for their outstanding work and he thanked Congressman Farr for his efforts.

Lisa Uttal led the advisory council, the Leadership Committee, and Congressman Farr on a brief tour of the Sanctuary Exploration Center construction site so they could see the progress to date.

Lisa Ekers, Port Director for the Santa Cruz Harbor, provided a powerpoint presentation on damages to the Santa Cruz Harbor during the Japan tsunami and restoration efforts. Ms. Eker's powerpoint presentation may be viewed here.

Steve Scheiblauer, Harbors, announced that the visit to Monterey by the Pacific Voyagers was a good visit. He also announced that fishermen are working with the MBNMS to develop a community supported fishery, which is in its early stages. Currently the group is looking for names of interested people to participate in this effort. The question is whether there is enough product to serve customers year round. The City of Monterey is strongly supportive of this effort.

Russ Jeffries, California EPA, announced that the Regional Water Quality Control Board will meet Sept. 1 in San Luis Obispo and we will be taking up the issue of agriculture waivers. He also announced that Moss Landing Harbor received severe damage from the tsunami but the damage is not as evident as in Santa Cruz. The engineer is finding more and more sediment that will have to be dredged. Some pilings will have to be replaced.

Tami Grove, California Coastal Commission, said that Peter Douglas, California Coastal Commission Executive Director, announced his retirement last week. Charles Lester is the interim director. Mr. Douglas' retirement takes affect Nov. 1.

Churchill Grimes, NMFS, stated NMFS is faced with some budget constraints, but may be a bit better off than ONMS. He announced that he will be retiring in two weeks and Steve Ralston will be taking over for a few weeks. Steve Ralston is retiring at the end of December. Additionally, NMFS has accommodated MBNMS folks for the last few years by providing office space at the lab in Santa Cruz, but that is coming to an end. NMFS works with the MBNMS on the Integrated Ecosystem Assessment and the MBNMS' Ecosystem Based Management Initiative.

Paul Reilly, California Department of Fish and Game, announced there are recreational boat fishing opportunities for a variety of species this summer, including rockfish, halibut, white seabass and salmon. Boat effort from the three primary harbors within Monterey Bay (Santa Cruz, Moss Landing, and Monterey) varies depending on the location of the primary target species.

Lauren Gilligan, Conservation, reiterated the comments of Laura Kasa about Coastal Cleanup Day on Sept. 17. Additionally, the Save Our Shores annual fundraiser at Seascape State Beach will take place August 21.

PJ Webb, Citizen At-Large, announced that the 6th Annual Coastal Discovery Center Fair was a success and that it took a community to put it on. There were an estimated 700-800 people in attendance, many of which were families from the valley. She thanked everyone for the award and the jacket as well as Stephanie Harlan, Deborah Streeter, and Kaitlin Gaffney who are her mentors.

Paul Michel, MBNMS Superintendent, announced that the Ocean Gate submarine that will be used on the S.S. Montebello expedition will be coming to Monterey in early October. MBNMS staff will also be getting ready for the lost fishing gear project later in October.

Chris Harrold, Research, announced that planning for the 2012 Sanctuary Currents Symposium has begun. If anyone has any thoughts on this year's symposium, send Chris an email. The 2011 symposium was one of the more successful with over 300 people in attendance.

Simona Bartl, Education, announced her education workshops this summer were around the topic of sustainability. She appreciates the efforts by the sanctuary to use reusable materials. She also announced that Bay Watershed and Education Training (BWET) program funding has been cut so staff who go out and talk to teachers will not be doing that this year. The Sanctuary Education Panel (SEP) is working on how to get more teachers and students to the Sanctuary Currents Symposium. Chris Harrold suggested a member of the SEP should be on the planning committee for the symposium. Lastly, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories is changing directors. A search for a new director is underway.

Michael Bekker, Tourism, is working with Karen Grimmer at MBNMS on a front line tour of the sanctuary for major hoteliers. Mike announced there are several hotels that will be participating in Coastal Cleanup Day. Mike currently has three guys cleaning a mile of Cannery Row picking up cigarette butts. It is a huge problem. He is working to try and get cigarette butt receptacles placed along Cannery Row.

Cynthia Walter, Business and Industry, announced that Passionfish has always wanted to be more of a platform for ocean awareness. They will be launching a new program that is an online auction for a dinner at Passionfish. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to Barbara Block's lab for this dinner. There will be 24 seats for this effort. Wine will be matched with all courses. If this event is successful, Passionfish would like to host more non-profit or research groups that would benefit from additional funding during this time.

Gary Pezzi, Recreation, announced the local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation participated in a global event, International Surfing Day, which was held in Capitola. It was a reason to get in the water but also served as ocean awareness. This chapter will likely be involved in Coastal Cleanup Day.

Cynthia Mathews, AMBAG, announced that the City of Santa Cruz continues to sponsor a lot festivals on the wharf. She is interested in comments regarding desalination as the issue is winding it's way through the City of Santa Cruz and is currently in the Environmental Impact Review stage. A very important project for the City of Santa Cruz was the redevelopment of the La Bahia Hotel, which was turned down by the California Coastal Commission. Cynthia suggested the advisory council send a letter to Peter Douglas thanking him for his career contributions.

Lynn Robinson, AMBAG, supported Cynthia's suggestion of sending a letter to Peter Douglas. Lynn highlighted the art components for the City of Santa Cruz redevelopment. There will be artwork from downtown to the ocean. There will be a beautiful piece of work in the new roundabout down the street. The glass piece that will be on the Sanctuary Exploration Center will be one of a kind.

Phil Sammet, Diving, announced that the diving community will be holding the Monterey Bay Shootout next month. This will be a huge event for divers. There will be up to 1,000 dives which produce up to 100 images per dive and there will be a film festival at the State Theater in downtown Monterey. Everyone in the diving community thinks their personal photographs are the best in the world and would like to contribute. Phil was on the Montebello expedition has a lot of imagery and would like to get quite a bit of footage to the sanctuary, if possible. Brian will be at the Cambria meeting and he is the best conduit for Monterey.

Dr. Rikki Dunsmore, MBNMS Resource Protection Specialist, provided an update on the MBNMS EBM Initiative. Dr. Dunsmore's powerpoint presentation may be viewed here.

This agenda items was cancelled – suggested moving to the October meeting if appropriate/feasible by then.

The advisory council reviewed the calendar and asked to have presentations on collaborative fisheries and chemicals of emerging concern on the October agenda. The agenda item regarding a Petition to Establish a 10 Knot Vessel Speed Limit should also try to be moved to the October agenda. SAC members requested that the PWC issue be agendized for October, as the big wave season will start in November.

NEXT MEETING: October 20th, 2011 in Cambria
The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.
Items for next meeting:

Submitted by
Nicole Capps
Sanctuary Advisory Council Coordinator