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Read John Beuttler's comments State's halibut gamble: Don't worry, be happyBy Nels Johnson Marin Independent Journal Because salmon fishing has been shut down, regional recreational and commercial fleets are focusing on bay halibut, and thousands of fish have been decked following unprecedented pressure during the peak spawning season. "The impact on this year's spawning could seriously set back the whole fishery," said Marin Assemblyman Jared Huffman. But Steve Wertz, 47, a senior marine biologist for the Department of Fish and Game, says there is "no indication there is any problem with the fishery." Wertz, a department veteran based in Los Alamitos, said no study has been done but asserted halibut are "very well regulated" in light of a 22-inch length restriction. The size limit allows females to spawn at least once or twice. A colleague, senior marine biologist Paul N. Reilly in Monterey, said the department is collecting data and "monitoring halibut fisheries statewide, including the San Francisco Bay halibut fishery." A stock assessment later this year "will be the first statewide evaluation of the halibut resource and it is designed to give us a good estimate of the population size, as well as the amount of fishing pressure that it can safely sustain," he said. Some fear the state is moving too slowly to do too little, too late. "Since the DFG doesn't have a halibut management plan for the bay fishery, they have no idea what is sustainable or what isn't," Beuttler noted. Beuttler, 64, a founder and first executive of the United Anglers of California, has little faith in fishery managers with whom he has tangled for decades. Beuttler helped draft the federal Klamath River Basin Fishery Resources Restoration Act and other laws restoring salmon habitat. He helped write the Central Valley Project Improvement Act to boost fish populations, and played a pivotal role in Proposition 132, which banned gill nets in state waters. He is a key player in efforts to curb fresh water exports from the Delta. The Department of Fish and Game "is the same agency charged with the management of our salmon, steelhead, striped bass, American shad and sturgeon fisheries that have tanked compared to their population levels 20 years ago," Beuttler said. "The DFG has failed repeatedly in their mission." He noted the department has collected information about the party boat and commercial halibut catch for years, but has not analyzed it. "The department says the Fish and Game Commission could make emergency regulation changes if the DFG had good data to support such actions," Beuttler said. "Unfortunately they haven't analyzed the data so they can't make an informed recommendation." Furthermore, "if the near-shore trawlers and gill net fishery were not stopped more than a decade ago, there would be no bay and coastal halibut fishery of any magnitude today," he said. "The DFG supported those commercial fisheries," he added. "Do we want to err on the side of conservation and reduce the bag limit and bump up the minimum size to accommodate increased natural production, or do we want to run the risk of having a boon or bust fishery?" Common sense, he concluded, demands "precautionary conservation actions to protect the public's fishery resources." But Wertz isn't worried. "We shouldn't be panicked right now to think that the resource will be wiped out," Wertz said. "You can't be reactionary without supporting data." Before the Fish and Game Commission restricts halibut fishing, it will ask the department for a recommendation - which could be issued only after a study. And since there is no such analysis, there can be no recommendation despite the extraordinary harvest of spawners. It's a Fish and Game Catch 22. Caught a big one lately? Contact Nels Johnson, an IJ assistant city editor,at Marin Independent Journal, 150 Alameda del Prado, Novato, 94948. His phone number is 382-7288; fax 884-1478; e-mail njohnson@marinij.com. Fish Wrap appears Fridays.
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