More than 700 people weighed in Wednesday on plans by the California Fish and Game Commission to protect marine life by expanding coastal areas that limit fishing and other activities.
Wednesday's meeting at the Four Points Sheraton in San Diego was the final hearing before the commission votes Dec. 15 on whether to approve a system of marine life protected areas.
The plan would replenish failing fisheries by setting aside 16.5 percent of Southern California's offshore habitat, more than doubling existing reserves.
Encinitas Deputy Mayor Maggie Houlihan compared the effort to establish the marine protected areas with the creation of national parks in the past century.
Fishermen, however, say the plan would place a stranglehold on their trade.
See the areas involved in the full article in the North County Times.
