While waiting for the light to change, I saw a fisherman friend of mine on the opposite side of the street. Red turned green and we crossed, with a quick exchange of hellos and a promise to connect soon. Fitting that we should meet in the middle of the road, as our initial introduction began on opposite sides of the Marine Life Protection Act. Ultimately, we found enough common ground to create, along with the rest of the regional stakeholder group, a unified marine protected area network proposal -- a unique achievement on the North Coast. (The proposal continues to wend through the California Fish and Game Commission. See fgc.ca.gov.)
Working so closely with fishermen from Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties taught me a lot about marine wildlife, oceanographic currents and the art of negotiation. But the stakeholder experience also opened my eyes to the unique challenges commercial fishermen face, including our notoriously harsh North Coast weather. So when the March 11 tsunami destroyed Crescent City's harbor, the effect on the fishing fleet's ability to make a living was felt keenly among our MLPA colleagues -- from all sides. We'd worked together for over a year, spending time in meetings, over coffee, on the phone and via email. When the bad news arrived, it hit home.
We couldn't fix the damage, of course, or compensate for all the wages lost, but Ocean Conservancy, Humboldt Surfrider and Humboldt Baykeeper figured we could at least raise some funds during our monthly Ocean Night event at Arcata Theatre Lounge. The word went out. Reweti Wiki proved generous as ever, donating dinner and a night's stay at his Requa Inn. Local shaper Mark McClendon donated a custom surfboard. Each hosting organization donated goods and funds to make this Ocean Night extra special -- and the community responded in kind, with new faces and larger donations. All together, we raised close to $1,000 for the Redwood Region Rotary Relief Super Fund. Our gratitude goes out to those who stepped forward to help and our best wishes go to those still recovering from the devastation of the harbor.
Additionally, the U.S. Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Game worked together to complete pollution mitigation efforts for several weeks after the tsunami. Cleanup crews hauled out over 2,100 gallons of petroleum products and 2,260 cubic yards of oily debris. Simultaneously, we passed the one-year anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, reminding us yet again of the importance of a clean, healthy ocean for our entire community.
Even more recently, I had the pleasure of helping Trinidad School kick off their Marine Activities Resources and Education Month. Each class studied a particular habitat, showing up to the assembly decked out in costumes ranging from sea stars to jellyfish. Designing Marine Protected Areas taught me a great deal about the range of habitats and sea life along our coast -- seeing the kids already so knowledgeable about those very things thrilled me. The more we love and understand our ocean, the more likely we, and future generations, will strive to protect it.
June 8 offers a chance to especially celebrate the sea through World Oceans Day. On June 1, Arcata's City Council issued a proclamation in honor of World Oceans Day and on Friday, June 3, Ocean Conservancy, Humboldt Baykeeper and Humboldt Surfrider present another Ocean Night, this one focusing on sharks, one of the most feared and least understood creatures of the sea. Filmmaker Rob Stewart debunks historical stereotypes of sharks as bloodthirsty, man-eating monsters and reveals the reality of sharks as pillars in the evolution of the seas.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and films start at 7 p.m. Ocean Night is always all ages with a $3 donation requested and a raffle held between movies. For more information, see surfrider.org/humboldt or humboldtbaykeeper.org.
Jennifer Savage serves as Ocean Conservancy's North Coast Program Coordinator and Humboldt Surfrider chair.
