After seven years of soul-searching, federal officials on Thursday agreed to allow tow-in surfing at California's most famous big-wave riding spot, known as Mavericks, as part of a major expansion of federal rules governing three marine sanctuaries.
The revised rules ban chumming for great white sharks around San Francisco's Farallon Islands for thrill-seeking divers in cages and photo-snapping tourists -- rules that have long been enforced closer to shore in waters colloquially known as the Bloody Triangle for their history of shark attacks.
The new management plan also expands the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary by 775 square miles to offer permanent protection for the Davidson Seamount, an enormous undersea mountain about 70 miles off Big Sur that is full of sea life found nowhere else on Earth.
These plans will also prohibit ocean cruise liners from dumping partially treated sewage and other wastewater into the protected waters of the Monterey Bay, Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank national marine sanctuaries.
"These areas are essentially underwater Yosemites off our coast," said William J. Douros, western regional director of the National Marine Sanctuaries program. Just like national parks on land, he said, the sanctuaries are meant to preserve nature and not disturb wildlife.
As for luring sharks closer to thrill-seekers with fish and blood, known as chum, Douros said: "We just think it was a bad idea for white sharks to associate humans with blood in the water."
Tourist boats will have to remain at least 50 feet from sharks feeding on elephant seals around the Farallones.
The new rules, which will take effect in mid-March, also forbid abandoning boats, introducing invasive species, and undersea mining and dumping in these sanctuaries, which were initially established to protect waters from offshore oil and gas drilling. A similar rewrite and toughening of rules is in the works for the national marine sanctuary that surrounds the Santa Barbara Channel Islands.
One of the most contentious issues has been the use of personalized watercraft at big-wave surf spots along California's Central Coast. These noisy, polluting vehicles will be banned at popular spots such as Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz, Ghost Trees off Pebble Beach and the Moss Landing jetty in Monterey Bay. Exceptions will be made for lifeguards and others rescuing troubled surfers.
