[BigJoe]

Please Read Very Important:
I am very informed about the MLPA process and noticed most of the surf/pier fishing public was not aware of this survey and there is only a limited time left to participate.

Ecotrust has been contracted by the state of California to collect data on usage and economic impact of recreational and commercial fishing for developing MLPA areas. The MLPA legislation does not require social economic impact studies however as part of the process in the earlier regions it was learned that it is a very important consideration for the public. Ecotrust uses interviews with fisherman to collect data to create GIS maps of fishing effort by area. The more data they have the better the information the can provide to the process. Now is your chance to let your voice be heard. You can volunteer to be interviewed as a recreational fisherman (by Surf and Pier/kayak/spear/boat) at the following link:

MLPA South Coast Recreational Fishery Interview Sign-up http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Cg76PlEFTwS6F7jG94HWEQ_3d_3d
This legislation is coming the best we can do is get involved and participate in the process.

[BigJoe]

There is only a few weeks left to participate. After you sign up they will send you an invitation via email to take the survey. Mark areas important to you for fishing as accurately as possible. This information will be used by the stakeholder group to determine the impact that restricting fishing in areas would have.

[riorust]

Thank you for the very easy to use link; I registered and will wait for contact. Everyone south of Point Conception should do it. Its like voting, don't cry about the results if you do not participate.

[Ken Jones]

We've had several discussions on this issue as far as if the interviews help or hurt and UPSAC has chosen not to push the interviews. However, United Anglers and the RFA are pushing the interviews. Ecotrust has supposedly changed the way the interviews are done since our experiences in the (MLPA) North Central Region. People may want to check out the link themselves and decide what they feel is best.

[kelpangler]

Got my invite to the interview this morning and filled it out for both pier/shore fishing and kayaking. There's not much to it, fill out some general info and start drawing out the areas you frequent. You get to distribute a number of "pennies" or points for each area per target species.

Here's their demo: http://pearl.ecotrust.org/mlpa_southcoast/videos/rec_drawing_shapes.html

[eelmaster]

The areas that I put my pennies are the exact areas that are going to be shut. ha!
I know I've said this before, but it's just a tool that allows them to say that they allowed folks to give input.

[northern boy]

[BigJoe]

I just received a notification from Ecotrust that 1050 people signed up for the online interview process. All of those people have received emails informing them how to complete the survey. To date only 216 people have completed the interview process. If you signed up for the interview please take the time to complete it, if you have problems please email them at fish@ecotrust.org. They will help you finish the interview. The information gathered by Ecotrust will be used to create maps of areas used heavily by fisherman that would have the most harm to the economy if closed. This gives information to the stakeholders whom will create the proposals for restricted areas. If used correctly it will keep areas open that are important to those who participated.

[riorust]

[riorust]

[dompfa ben]

If the MLPA closures are based on sound science and environmental need, what difference does it make if it's "important" to fishermen?

As eelmaster suggested, the data collected by Ecotrust could be used as a filter to create a list of focus areas that receive the most traffic; thus, we've done their homework for them, and made the job of initiating a list of potential areas to close easier for the BRTF.

I'd be interested to see the quantitative results of the Ecotrust surveys in the Central and North-Central management areas next to the final recommendations for closure...and then assess how much the MLPA is concered about whether or not an area is important to you for fishing.

I'm not participating. Let them do their own due diligence based on their "sound science" and ridiculous scoring system.

[BigJoe]

[Ken Jones]

Thanks.

[kelpangler]

Some numbers on participation in the MLPA survey as of 9/26 (provided by Paul Lebowitz on one of the kayak sites):

Signups by user group:
count | mid_name
-------+------------
467 | Dive
1014 | Private
628 | Pier/Shore
433 | Kayak

Completed by user group:
count | mid_name
-------+------------
153 | Dive
242 | Private
155 | Pier/Shore
148 | Kayak

Percentage of sign-ups who completed survey:
Dive: 33%
Private: 24%
Pier/Shore: 25%
Kayak: 34%

You can still sign up--I think the deadline is the end of this month.