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Duxbury Reef is one piece of California’s historic Marine Protected Area network, which has long been a source of debate. Supporters point to its ecological benefits, while fishermen argue it has cost them valuable fishing grounds. Now, more than a decade after the network’s creation, state officials are fielding a set of proposals to amend the network. The process has taken over three years and left fishermen, conservationists, stakeholders and policy-makers disillusioned by years of compromise and negotiation.
Proponents of increased protections at Duxbury worry that a rising number of visitors and climate threats warrant more regulations. Commercial and recreational fishermen express fear that their last accessible fishing grounds are trickling away. Many contest if the reef is in decline and warrants more protections at all.
California is expected to vote on a number of the petitions to alter the network, including Duxbury, in August.
“We’re in crisis mode,” said Mollie Lounibos, co-founder of Save Duxbury Access. “There’s this sense of urgency across West Marin that this is the last stand.”
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📸 Claire Barber
