Marin activists seek fishing ban at Bolinas reef

The western shore of Bolinas, a state marine conservation area of less than a square mile, boasts more than 200 species of invertebrates, seaweeds and marine plants.

An environmental group wants to strengthen regulations of the coastal waters of Duxbury Reef — one of the larger shale reefs in North America, which received protected status in 2009 — to ban fishing. Some locals see the proposal as a threat to their deep-rooted traditions as a fishing community.

Today, hook-and-line and poke-pole fishing are allowed from the reef, but beachgoers are prohibited from taking urchins, snails and other sea creatures from tidepools.

The Environmental Action Committee of West Marin says existing regulations are confusing to many visitors and violations have risen over the past decade. Additionally, the entire reef is not within the boundary of the conservation area. Both issues demonstrate that existing protections are not adequate, the organization says.

Now, the nonprofit is petitioning to redesignate the reef as a state marine reserve, which would ban all fishing in the area. It also requests the protected area be expanded from its 2.8 miles of shoreline, which includes Agate Beach, to encompass nearly an 8-mile stretch. The new area would reach northward to Double Point, which is a harbor seal rookery, to the southerly tip of the reef exposed at low tide.

“We wanted to increase, strengthen protections and also make sure the whole continuous reef habitat is protected,” said Ashley Eagle-Gibbs, executive director of the nonprofit. “From our perspective, it’s such a special place that we feel that it should have a really strong level of protection.”

The petition was submitted to the California Fish and Game Commission as part of the state’s 10-year review of marine protected areas in 2023. Though not required to, the nonprofit submitted it with 150 signatures, including 67 from residents of Bolinas.

Staff at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife have been reviewing the Duxbury petition along with a batch of other petitions. Twenty petitions were submitted as part of the decadal review of marine protected areas. Fifteen, including Duxbury, still under review.

“CDFW is working in close coordination with commission staff and Ocean Protection Council staff on the evaluations,” said Sara Worden, an environmental scientist for the wildlife agency.

Worden said she is unable to provide specific information on pending applications, but the Fish and Game Commission is expected to discuss next steps at its meeting in October.

Kent Khtikian, a Bolinas naturalist and environmental activist who helped develop a docent program at Duxbury Reef, is one of the supporters of the petition. Khtikian said he’s observed suspected poaching at the reef.

Last year alone, docents with the volunteer Marin Marine Protected Area Watch, which was formed in 2013, recorded 132 potential violations at Duxbury. Since its formation, 1,606 potential violations have been observed, disproportionately higher than neighboring protected areas in Point Reyes and the Corte Madera marsh, according to the report filed with the Fish and Game Commission.

“I think that the petition is reasonable and on balance,” Khtikian said. “It’s quite equitable in terms of what limitations it would place on people’s activities and the benefits to visitors.”

For decades, though, the reef has been a go-to site for locals to teach their children how to fish.

Additionally, anglers argue that the fishing industry has been challenged recently. For the past three years, salmon fishing has been shut down, and abalone fishing has been suspended across the state since 2017.

“This is an unnecessary new classification,” said Rudi Ferris, vice president of the Bolinas Rod and Boat Club. “We think what they’re proposing is an elimination of an important part of our natural and cultural heritage. There has been generations and generations of fishing out there.”

Patrick Sullivan, manager of the Coast Cafe in Bolinas, said his restaurant, other West Marin eateries and their patrons value locally sourced fish. Sullivan supports a competing effort called Save Duxbury Access.

“I definitely feel like the petition to change the category of the MPA (marine protected area) is unnecessary and detrimental to the town of hundreds in Bolinas who have a reverence for nature and living in harmony with nature,” Sullivan said. “It would impact the town in a huge way. There are protections already in place.”

Sullivan said he believes there is a way to amplify enforcement of the existing regulations, which could include adding more adequate signs detailing the rules and potential fines. He said volunteers could help educate potential violators to try to stop illegal poaching.

Enforcement is the responsibility of the state’s game wardens, but they cover a large area and are not always nearby, Eagle-Gibbs said.

Volunteers sometimes feel comfortable educating visitors they suspect may be violating the rules, but the confrontation is a challenging task, proponents say.

Community members have asked the county parks department to help, but that’s another hurdle.

“Marin County Parks has no jurisdiction over the State Conservation Area in question,” Samantha Haimovitch, the county parks superintendent, said in an email. “Parks owns and provides permits for the Agate Beach parking lot and pathway down to the beach, but our enforcement abilities end there. We have no jurisdiction or ability to enforce regulations on the beach or within the water.”

Eagle-Gibbs said the Environmental Action Committee’s petition does not ask to ban recreational activity such as tidepooling, kayaking or surfing in the coastal water.

She said the expansion north to Double Point covers water that is part of the Phillip Burton Wilderness Area, a preserve regulated by the National Park Service, and boating is already banned in there.

Eagle-Gibbs said a study showed that the most effective way to protect a marine area is through designations such as state marine reserves.

“It is not our intent to significantly impact commercial fishing with this petition,” Eagle-Gibbs said. “We need signage, we need enforcement, we need education. Our view is, we would like to see the regulation strengthened because our docents see a lot of confusion from people.”