Ecological Study Upsets California Fishermen

KPBS | By KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published July 2, 2007 at 11:38 AM PDT

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

In the coming weeks, a team of scientists will investigate fish populations and marine ecosystems along the entire California coast. The goal? To determine how human activity impacts sea life. Althoug

Alison St John (Guest Host): We all know how valuable it was when the nation established national parks, like Yosemite, to preserve their natural beauty for ever. This month, marine researchers will begin a series of studies of underwater areas off the coast of California. They want to find out how human activity, including commercial fishing, affects the marine habitat. And they want to create a string of "safe havens" or marine protected areas -- like underwater Yosemite -- along the coast. Guests

Dr. Mark Carr, associate professor of ecology & evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz.
Susan Ashcraft, senior marine biologist and supervisor of the Marine Protected Areas Project for the California Department of Fish and Game .