Yurok Tribe upset about MLPA plan

Proposal on agenda for Thursday meeting

The Yurok Tribe is bristling at the latest development in  the effort to establish Marine Protected Areas on the North Coast.

When regional stakeholders united behind a single proposal for the North Coast MPAs, they included exemptions for the taking of some marine species by  non-commercial fishermen to preserve traditional tribal uses.

But when that proposal went to the Blue Ribbon Task Force, it created an alternative proposal that eliminated the exemptions. In doing so, the task force noted there is currently no legal way to allow only tribes to harvest in a certain area.

The task force and officials of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative noted that there would be time

 time for legislators to address the tribal issues before MPA restrictions take effect, but that hasn’t satisfied the Yuroks.

“The Yurok Tribe is deeply disappointed about the Blue Ribbon Task Force’s most recent proposal to trample on tribal rights and completely dishonor the regional shareholders’ proposal,” said Yurok Chairman Thomas O’Rourke Sr. in an e-mail statement. “We will continue to work through the process to protect our traditions, despite the proposal before the Blue Ribbon Task Force.”

A  teleconference to discuss the issue will be held Thursday at 10 a.m., and can be viewed in the multi-purpose room of the Flynn Administration Center.

Ken Wiseman, director of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative, plans to be in Crescent City for the teleconference.

In Del Norte County, the proposal would establish MPAs around Pyramid Point and Point St. George. An area around Reading Rock was also included, which is a popular crabbing location for locals.

The regional stakeholders made it clear in their unified proposal that traditional tribal uses were being addressed.

They also acknowledged that by allowing all members of the public a right to harvest in the MPAs until a solution is found, their proposal had a lower level of protection than what is advised by the MLPA science guidelines.

An “Enhanced Compliance Alternative” was produced  by the Blue Ribbon Task Force to strengthen the level of protection of areas that were weaker than suggested by science guidelines.

The alternative includes the same areas and boundaries, but reduces some of the uses that would be allowed, Wiseman said.

The motion in contention would remove all of the tribal uses that give the MPAs a lower level of protection until the state can give exclusive rights to tribes.

Fishing for species such as abalone that are fixed in an ecosystem is considered to lower the protection of an area.

Crab and salmon would remain open for fishing because those species migrate through the areas, and their harvest is considered to have a lesser impact on an ecosystem.

The idea of removing the tribal uses from the proposal is to make the level of protection for the North Coast Region MPAs consistent with the rest of  California while also making it a point to find a solution to tribal use issues, Wiseman said.

“This isn’t about taking anything away from the tribes,” said Wiseman. “It’s trying to make it clearer what the tribes have.”

While some tribal fishing rights could potentially be halted until the issue of separating tribal uses from the rest of public is sorted out, there is at least a year until the MPAs will be implemented, Wiseman said.

“There could be a break in access if the legislation isn’t there, but there is an incentive to get it there,” said Wiseman.

The Department of Fish and Game Commission still must approve the proposal during its February meeting, then it must go through various processes such as public hearings and environmental impact reports.