Meet the Fish and Game Commission

The Commission is a quasi-judicial body of political appointees who are paid only a modest per-diem for their efforts in a very high-profile position. They provide guidance and oversight to the Department staff and have enormous powers they rarely exercise. On August 17th, just in time for the election, Governor Gray Davis announced the appointment of Robert Hattoy to the Fish and Game Commission. Hattoy is a former Clinton administration staffer, and long-time employee of the Sierra Club. Hattoy's appointment, yet to be approved by the State Senate, allowed him to cast the deciding vote in favor of a system of marine reserves, one that disproportionately affects the recreational fishing public.

Hattoy joined a fellow environmentalist on the CFGC, Samuel Schucat (pronounced "shook-it"), who also sits on the Coastal Commission. Michael Chrisman, a republican, Wilson-era appointee, is a rancher. Two Commissioners, Michael Flores and James Kellogg, failed to appear at either of these meetings, at which some of the most important decisions in decades were passed. The original date of the meeting at which the issue was to have been decided was in December, after the election. Flores, an intelligent man, has been suspected to be a friend to outdoors hunting and fishing enthusiasts, because he's a duck hunter and asks some pointed questions. James Kellogg, an official with the pipefitters, steamfitters, and plumbers union, also likes to hunt and fish but he has been more or less a cipher since his recent appointment. Their absence was a suspicious sign that the fix was in. Gov. Davis announced a press conference to herald the creation of the Channel Island marine reserves before the final decision had been made by the Commission.

Non-commercial fishermen who attended several years' worth of hearings on the Channel Islands marine reserve issue came away from the whole thing absolutely convinced that public input had been ignored. The short-handed panel, comprised of Michael Chrisman, Robert Hattoy, and Samuel Schucat, voted 2-1 to accept the Department's preferred alternative for marine reserves. Chrisman voted against.

The size, placement, and rationale behind these reserves is especially burdensome in Southern California because the areas are prime fishing grounds in shallow water that is accessible by recreational gear. Corporate environmental foundations have placed the concept of marine reserves at the top of their ocean policy agenda. While appealing in concept, marine reserves have been described by one marine biologist as a "solution in search of a problem." Indeed, Environment, Inc has successfully commandeered the fishery management infrastructure. The Department of Fish & Game's Marine Resources division has been overworked, understaffed, and hijacked from traditional fishery management tasks to implement a series of public hearings on the siting and placement of marine reserves throughout the state.

This unfunded mandate came from the Marine Life Protection Act. The David and Lucille Packard Foundation is picking up the tab for a significant portion of the expenses associated with the creation of marine preserve areas (MPAs). Packard money funds both sides of the special-interest resource battle in fishery management between the enviro and the commercial fishing lobbies. The marine reserve juggernaut is international in scope, with the United Nations leading the way, along with various elements of the World Trade Organization and NAFTA. Careers are at stake; big money is involved.

"I'll brag that the Channel Islands reserve will be the largest in U.S. waters," exclaimed Mary Nichols, California's Secretary of Resources. Nichols, who played a "central role" in the Headwaters deal, was the director of the LA office of the Natural Resources Defense Council before joining the Davis team. She's handling about $4 billion in voter-approved bond money for "parks, open space, habitat, clean water and wildlife."

Commission meetings, like the one in Crescent City last week, represent the only opportunity for the public at large to speak out on our fisheries. Yet the entire process resembles a black box to the public. Input from members of the public is backed up by packed halls of supporters, who overwhelmingly feel that their views are ignored. Add in a perfectly casual violation of the Brown Act in Crescent City Thursday night, when all three Commissioners enjoyed a meal of rockfish at the home of a local commercial fisherman, and you've got a recipe for complete and total violation of public trust.