to stop reappointment of Fish and Game commissioner by Fishing group works

 To stop reappointment of Fish and Game commissioner by Fishing group works

Richard Rogers and his critics agree on one thing: He is in favor of the controversial Marine Protected Areas, the swaths of the ocean off Southern California where fishing was recently banned.

But while Rogers sees them as a long-term benefit to fishermen as well as the ecosystem, some in the fishing community see the MPAs — and Rogers — as things that have to go.

A group of fishermen is petitioning Gov. Jerry Brown to not reappoint Rogers to the Fish and Game Commission, the board that recently implemented the MPAs.

More than 1,000 people have signed a petition started by the Sportfishing Association of California asking that Rogers, a Montecito resident who owns a sod business headquartered in Camarillo, not be reappointed, said Bob Fletcher, a member of the group and its former president. Rogers’ second six-year term is up for reappointment on Jan 15. Fishing groups across the country have picked up on the petition and posted form letters on their websites.

“The way that he comported himself on the commission clearly points to the fact that he is not qualified,” Fletcher said, arguing that Rogers was too much in favor of the MPAs and he didn’t listen to the concerns of fishermen who testified.


But Rogers said he is in favor of the MPAs because they will help, not hurt, fishermen in the long run.

“The science of MPAs all over the world points out that MPAs work and work well with a minimum of a 10 percent net advantage to fishermen” by getting more fish out of the non-protected areas, he said. The belief is that fish will flourish inside the protected areas, helping to seed fish populations outside the MPA boundaries, which would be available to fishermen.

Rogers said he’s a life-long fisherman with a boat in the Channel Islands Harbor who wants to use the MPAs as a way to help fishermen.

“Everything I am about is to protect fishing but the way you protect fish is to have a sustainable resource,” he said.

Fletcher said this is just the first round in a series of volleys his group will fire to try to poke holes in the MPAs. He said they may file similar petitions with the governor when the other two members of the commission who voted for the MPAs come up for reappointment.

Lawyers for the group are also looking to take legal action to get the MPAs tossed out. Fletcher claims the environmental reviews during the process weren’t comprehensive enough.

MPAs were established in two other sections of the state before those in Southern California were created in December. But the Southern California MPAs were the most hard fought as fishermen and environmentalists debated where the lines should be drawn and who should be allowed inside the protected areas.

The concept, which was put into law in 1999 with the Marine Life Protection Act, is to provide a place where fish can flourish in a type of underwater national park.

The new reserves are expected to take effect sometime this year.

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