South Coast ocean closures not approved by state’s law office

San Diego Union-Tribune

South Coast ocean closures not approved by state’s law office
In what is a big blow to environmental groups who seek massive fishing closures off the coast of California, the marine protected areas called for by the Marine Life Protection Act’s South Coast Region have been disapproved by the state’s Office of Administrative Law (OAL).
The third set of marine protected areas established by the MLPA process will be delayed by months or more, according to a high-ranking Department of Fish and Game official who requested anonymity. The OAL has ordered the Department of Fish and Game and the MLPA Initiative team to correct deficiencies in the MLPA’s final documents. The flaws must be fixed before the closures are approved, according to a document released Friday by the OAL.
The OAL listed several reasons why it did not approve the closures. Included among them is the MLPA staff’s failure to provide reasons for rejecting alternative proposals for closures. And perhaps the most telling reason is the MLPA’s Initiative team’s failure to adequately respond to all of the public comments regarding the proposed closures.
The ruling came 17 days before the entire process will be on trial in San Diego Superior Court. Bob Fletcher, a former state Fish and Game assistant director and one-time president of the Sportfishing Association of California, and the Partnership for Sustainable Oceans sued the MLPA Initiative team for its mishandling of the process. The trial is set for Sept. 26.
In recent months the sport fishing groups have scored significant rulings against the backers of the marine closures. In June, a San Diego Superior Court judge ruled that the Natural Resources Defense Council and Ocean Conservancy had no legal right to intervene in the lawsuit filed by Fletcher and his group. Fletcher filed the lawsuit on Jan. 27, 2011 for members of the Partnership for Sustainable Oceans such as the United Anglers of California and the Coastside Fishing Club. The suit asks that the court set aside regulations established through the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative.
The PSO lawsuit against the MLPA Initiative cites a lack of statutory authority for the California Fish and Game Commission to adopt the closure regulations. The group cites numerous violations of the California Environmental Quality Act in the Fish and Game Commission’s environmental review of the regulations.
Fletcher said the judge’s decision to keep the Natural Resources Defense Council and Ocean Conservancy out of the lawsuit was crucial to his group’s success in proving a flawed and corrupt process determined the South Coast region’s ocean closures.
“These environmental groups have played a major role in influencing the MLPA Initiative towards excessive and unnecessary fishing closures through a seriously flawed process,” Fletcher said. “Throughout the MLPA process, anglers have had the deck stacked against us due in large part to the deep pockets of these pro-closure environmental organizations.”