Bruce Gibson can’t guarantee NOAA won’t regulate fishing

Supervisor Bruce Gibson in his Feb. 2 Viewpoint (“With SLO County supervisors in a new era of pettiness, the public must pay attention”) lists three “facts,” one of which is, “The proposed sanctuary would not regulate fishing.” Supporters of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary have been opining since the nomination of this sanctuary that there will be no regulations imposed on commercial or recreational fishing.

What they do not say is that the authority will be taken out of their hands once it is in the hands of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They are the governing body that makes the rules and regulations. It is known that there is management of fisheries in all four of the sanctuaries off of the California coast. An unknown cannot be a fact if it hasn’t happened yet.

This story was originally published February 25, 2017 at 1:12 PM with the headline "Bruce Gibson can’t guarantee NOAA won’t regulate fishing."