The author catching a fish.
By Anupa Asokan / Op-Ed / San Diego Union-Tribune / Nov. 12, 2021
This summer I was determined to catch a fish called the California corbina. Corbina don’t really carry the clout that comes with reeling in fish like yellowtail or white seabass prized by Southern California anglers, but I’m drawn to corbina partly out of nostalgia since they are related to the red drum I grew up catching in the Gulf of Mexico, and mostly because they are easier to get to. I could fish for them right off the beach without a boat.
One evening, after catching and releasing several fish, I was approached by a fellow angler on the beach. We exchanged a few tips and fish stories, as fishers do. Before he walked back to his fishing spot, he asked if I would share my catch so he could feed his family and others in need through his church.
I’m a fisherwoman and my days are focused on advancing ocean conservation, specifically an issue called 30×30. It’s a global goal to protect 30 percent of land and water by the year 2030 in an effort to preserve life on our planet.
For the ocean, this would be accomplished through parks we call marine protected areas, or MPAs. My colleagues in marine science know we need strong MPAs to protect important habitat, boost nature’s resilience to climate change and preserve the health of our planet for future generations. Fishers, or at least the organized interest and lobby groups of fishers, will tell you they, themselves, sustainably conserve and manage the ocean through size limits, catch limits, fishing seasons, etc. They claim MPAs serve no benefit and only restrict ocean access.
The man I met that evening and the other anglers with whom I share the shoreline know nothing about 30×30 and how it will impact them, despite industry groups claiming to represent all of us. Yet, with one simple request, that man uncovered what access should mean when we’re talking about MPAs and achieving 30×30 — ensuring equitable access to nature and nature’s resources.
Yes, protecting the ocean may limit where people who own a boat can drop their hooks. But in limiting spatial access of a privileged few, every single person on this planet has better, more equitable access to the resources and benefits our ocean provides.
If we can agree to value equity when talking about access, we can capitalize on this opportunity to actually connect more people to the ocean through 30×30 efforts. We can consider rebuilding and reinforcing infrastructure like fishing piers and shoreline easements to make them safer and more resilient to sea level rise and storms. We can create subsidized parking programs and public transportation options so inland communities can access an ocean that’s healthier, resilient and more abundant.
While it’s tempting to buy into the impassioned pleas of industry-represented fishers wanting to protect their livelihoods, the reality is their conservation dollars, management tools and even baseline assessments on the health of a particular fishery go to those prized species like the yellowtail and white seabass. The corbina, croakers and surfperch my fellow shore-based anglers rely on for sustenance get little, if any, attention or resources. Yet all of these species, and all of us, stand to benefit from protecting more of the ocean.
We must fully and highly protect at least 30 percent of our ocean. Let’s start there and shift the “access” conversation to where the opportunity really lies — efforts to connect marginalized communities to nature. The ocean is for everyone, for all time, and advancing more equitable access to nature should be a priority for the Biden-Harris administration.
As one of the federal agencies responsible for advancing 30×30 under the president’s “America the Beautiful” plan, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is accepting public comments on the topic through Dec. 28. Whether you fish, surf, dive or enjoy the coast from afar, you have a stake in this issue because everyone depends on a healthy ocean. I urge you to comment. This is our opportunity to meaningfully protect and restore nature within this decade, while expanding access to the ocean for all.
I’m happy to share my catch, but wouldn’t it be great if there was enough for everyone?
Asokan is an avid waterwoman and ocean advocate who works in marine science and policy. She serves on the National Board of Directors for the Surfrider Foundation and formerly worked at NOAA in Washington, D.C. She lives in Santa Monica.
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