Yvon Chouinard recently wrote a guest opinion piece in the Santa Barbara Independent advocating for the approval of the Marine Life Protection Act in Southern California that restricts fishing in designated protected areas.
The MLPA takes us a step towards making the 21st century the Century of the Environment, as Edward O. Wilson calls for in his 2002 book, The Future of Life. Government, the private sector, and science need to come together and cooperate to find ways of solving the major environmental challenges we face. All of California’s ocean users, from surfers and environmentalists to fishermen and scientists, have been called in to take part in the public process of establishing this important network, which in addition to safeguarding some of our priceless ocean habitat, will make the ocean more resilient to additional stress.
The act was just narrowly approved by California State Wildlife officials. The 3-2 vote in Santa Barbara by the California Fish and Game Commission bans or restricts fishing in dozens of protected marine areas designed to replenish depleted fish populations and protect marine life.