Minutes
October
15, 2003
Members Present: Kelley Balcomb-Bartok, Mike Bertrand, Brian Calvert,
Peter Fromm, David Hoopes,
David Loyd, Mary Masters, Kit Rawson, Dennis Willows
Absent:
Tim Carpenter, Terrie Klinger, Rich Osborne, Kevin Ranker, Jim
Slocomb
Guests:
Laura Arnold, Shannon Davis, Jodie Kennedy, Kari Koski, Mike Sato,
MPA Fall quarter class from UW Labs
Guest
speaker: Brandon Davis
Acting
Chair, David Loyd, called the meeting to order at 8:35 a.m. in
the Community Room at Islanders' Bank, Friday Harbor.
Hunter
Lanahan said that students from the UW Labs Policy and Marine
Issues Class will be presenting reports on their projects half-way
through the course.
Minutes:
Minutes of the 9/3/03 meeting were approved as read. Minutes of
the 9/17/03 meeting were approved with the correction on page
2, last paragraph, 4th line: delete "wild" and add "juvenile
hatchery salmon,"Minutes of the 10/1/03 meeting were approved
as read.
New/Old
Business:
There was discussion about the proposed letter of concern to the
BOCC regarding the need to assure that Laura Arnold's position
on the MRC would be adequately filled.
Motion: Kit moved, and David Hoopes seconded, that the letter
be sent today to the BOCC and cc'd to Joseph McKenna-Smith. The
motion passed unanimously.
Aquaculture
Policy:
Discussion on David Hoopes' amendments to county language in regulations
regarding aquaculture was tabled to the next meeting. David said
that an alternative idea would be to ban finfish aquaculture entirely.
Derelict
creosoted pilings removal/disposal:
Information sent by Ginny Broadhurst will be discussed at the
next meeting.
GSX
Pipeline Proposal:
There was discussion on the workshop held last night in Friday
Harbor. The EIS comment period ends on October 25th. David Loyd
summarized Williams' proposal which would lay a gas pipeline from
north of Cherry Point to Vancouver Island, crossing San Juan County
between Patos Island and East Point on Saturna Island. David Hoopes
presented a brief summary of last night's meeting; he said that
Dr. David Bain spoke about likely impacts to the marine environment
and wildlife from construction noise and sediment disturbance
could release toxins. Other concerns expressed were deepwater
safety, the great seismic danger of putting in a high pressure
line (2000+ psi), the proposed site is in a high scour zone, wildlife
habitat in the area could be disturbed or destroyed and vessel
safety could be impaired by echo-sounding. Dennis pointed out
that the question remains of whether the plant to burn compressed
gas will even be built.
David
Hoopes said that the new issue of the "American Fisheries
Society Journal" notes that acoustic stress to fish is not
being addressed; other anthropogenic impacts are discussed in
the article. A northern alternative route may be preferred to
the high current environment of the proposal. The issue of invasive
species finding a home on the pipeline was also raised.
Laura said that there is reason to think that Williams has put
huge pressure on DOE, which was acknowledged by the consultant
at last night's meeting. Laura added that the scope of the EIS
is not complete enough to tell us that the pipeline design will
not have significant impacts on the environment. Impacts to San
Juan County's shoreline are also anticipated here and these issues
are not resolved in the EIS, she said.
It
was agreed that a sub-committee should look at the EIS and comment
on the shoreline permit as well. Kelley, Dennis, Laura, and David
Hoopes will take on the task.
Brian
pointed out that the pipeline will probably happen somewhere and
that if it were constructed as proposed to traverse San Juan County
then the county and Washington state would likely have more control
over construction and permitting. To Brian's question about whether
there would be economic benefit to the county, David Loyd said
that OPALCO has said there is potential to run a gas line to Orcas
off the pipeline. Laura said San Juan County would have virtually
no control since federal jurisdiction supersedes. She added that
there will be no economic benefit to the county unless local residents
are hired to work on the rig.
Kelley
emphasized that a pipeline should not be permitted through an
area of such high current (e.g. 7 knots at East Point).
Guest
speaker: Brandon Davis, outlined his recent report on the overall
fishing effort around San Juan Island, from observations recorded
from May 1st to June 15th (ling cod fishery opening) of this year.
Brandon indicated on a map of the island the sites where he viewed
fishing, including bottomfish recovery zones and their reference
sites. Over the six weeks of the study, Brandon took GPS coordinates,
recorded the type of fishing and lines used in sites randomly
chosen, at 8 A.M., noon, and 4 P.M.
He summarized his findings as follows:
o 7 boats were seen fishing in the BRZ's (the ideal is zero) and
20 boats were sighted in the reference sites;
o there were no boats in the Shady Cove Preserve (UW), suggesting
perhaps that bigger is better for reserve size and that the combination
of legal protection and lots of local monitoring assures more
success (i.e. no fishing);
o and, there is not enough data from the study to draw conclusions.
Brandon's
recommendations include:
o that the sign at the Kellet Bluff BRZ, now south of what the
program brochure and fishing guide indicate, should be moved;
o that the pelagic cormorant habitat next to the Kellet Bluff
BRZ should be included in the reserve.
Dennis
noted that the Shady Cove Preserve has a longer history of protection
(10 years); he added that there are virtually no fish there compared
to 20 years ago (black rockfish and yellowtails are gone). Kari
added that the "Restricted Fishing Area" sign and regulations
make the difference. She also said that the BRZ signs are not
big enough or clear enough to be effective. The "Be Whale
Wise" guide will be included in state fishing permit packets,
she said, which could open the door for future inclusions of educational
materials.
David
Loyd said that he has noticed that there are different fishing
patterns (e.g. in the Low and Yellow Islands area) at interior
and outside spots being preferred by locals vs vacation fishermen.
Kit said that Brandon's report is useful and that more of the
same should be done. There was discussion on existing fishing
regulations having a positive effect on ling cod recovery.
Mike
Sato announced that DFW is putting forth a range of options on
rockfish catch limits and the comment period is open. Also, DFW
is looking at protected areas in terms of the rockfish resource.
Kit said there is debate on how to deal with allowable directed
harvest (e.g. of lingcod and salmon). Kit suggested that the MRC
make recommendations to fisheries managers on how to structure
regulations to effectively manage rockfish with sensible allocation,
perhaps with a bag limit. Brandon brought up the concern of salmon
fishing being allowed in the BRZ's; there was agreement that incidental
catch and release of bottomfish kills them.
Work
session on the Marine Stewardship Area proposal:
Peter recommended the new book, "The Empty Ocean," by
Richard Ellis. He read from the concluding paragraph that time
is running out and the seas are being stripped, noting the benefits
of reserves in the "global commons."
Dennis
said that the concept of voluntary reserves is getting notice
at the state level and the MRC should remain pro-active on the
issue. Kit said that the perception is ecosystem protection versus
fisheries management. A discussion on Phase 1 of the MSA proposal
followed and it was agreed to continue presenting the map (of
existing protected areas, what's missing, and what next to designate
for protection) to the public, to, at least, promote more awareness.
Kit reiterated his concern that objectives be transparent from
the outset and Brian agreed that there should be no hidden agendas.
David
Loyd distributed copies of his draft "As I See It."
It was agreed that David should submit it to the local press to
stimulate interest in the MSA proposal.
Brian
pointed that there are no active fishermen on the MRC now. There
was discussion about the role of citizen groups taking on active
marine stewardship.
Kari
said that Island County is looking at the Soundwatch model with
interest, as a funded program with volunteers to help educate
the public, promote stewardship, and act as liaison between user
and other concerned groups. She suggested that there be a slot
on the MRC for a Visitors Bureau member, noting that more tourist
dollars should be going towards stewardship efforts since the
environment is why visitors come here.
David
Loyd mentioned the Community Assisted Marine Recovery Areas program
and asked if it could be implemented here.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.
Submitted
by Helen Venada
