Pete,
Thanks for bringing this up. You know I read a fair amount about the island closures and while I don't entirely agree with what appears to be the end result, I could understand some of what was going on.
But coastal closures really have me miffed. Anyone who has fished the areas from Refugio south to Carpenteria (and I would imagine most of the central coast) would probably tell you that they haven't seen much of a change over the past 10+ years. If anything the fishing has gotten better at areas like Goleta Beach, the Harbor, El Capitan etc. So to propose closures for these inshore areas is just baffling to me. What evidence are they basing these closures on? Has the number of fish changed drastically recently? It would be one thing if you went to Goleta or the 1 mile etc etc and the fishing was terrible and obviously depleted. If you've ever fished the east end of Anacapa you would know what I mean. Micro sized rockfish are about the only thing left on what were probably once very productive rocks. Sure there are migratory species like yellowtail and whiteseabass that move through, but as far as reef species go, the area is whacked. So I can understand closures in these areas. But goleta beach? Or devereux? There just aren't that many people fishing these areas and I can't figure why it would be necessary to close them. There's only two 1/2 day boats in SB and even when the Seahawk was here they weren't hitting the local stuff that hard. So I'm stumped, but I will send a letter. Pete and Brian if you can keep me updated I would appreciate it.

-Rob