California moves forward with fishing ban in some rural areas to stem coronavirus spread

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration was granted authority Wednesday to temporarily close the state’s fishing season in some rural counties following a disastrous telemeeting last week that erupted into chaos and slurs.

The California Fish and Game Commission’s unanimous vote over another teleconference will allow Charlton Bonham, director of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, to postpone the spring trout season, which opens April 25, in a few eastern Sierra counties at the request of local officials.

Elected leaders in Mono, Inyo, Sierra and Alpine counties have been urging Newsom’s administration to close the fishing season in their lakes and rivers. They fear that the thousands of out-of-town anglers who normally travel to their regions to fish for mountain trout will bring the coronavirus with them.

The worry is that if the infection rates among local residents spike, it will overwhelm their small medical facilities, which have limited equipment and medical staff to treat critically ill patients even in the best of times.

Several local officials from those counties, including Mono County Supervisor Stacy Corless, urged the commission to give Bonham the authority to halt fishing locally. For some anglers, the opening weekend of the spring trout-fishing season is so momentous they call it “Fishmas.”

“No one wants to be the Grinch who postpones Fishmas,” but it was necessary to protect her small county from COVID-19, Corless said.

During the meeting, Bonham emphasized that his emergency authority, which expires at the end of May, would only be used to close fishing in the counties that request a closure.

“We don’t intend to force any county to do something,” Bonham said.

Anglers worried about overreach

About 1 million licensed anglers regularly fish California’s waterways through the year, making the state one of the country’s top fishing states. Punishment for violating a fishing closure is a misdemeanor crime, with penalties of up to six months in jail and a fine of $1,000.

Several anglers called the board’s virtual meeting Wednesday, saying they were worried the commission was overstepping its authority, fearing a slippery slope that would give Bonham authority to stop all fishing, which is protected under California’s constitution.

“I do respect their small communities not wanting to be infected,” one caller said. “But I also believe in the Constitution.”

Others said they were worried about limiting the ability of anglers to catch fish to feed their families, arguing fishing is less dangerous than going to the grocery store.

“Standing on the bank of a river or an ocean is not any worse than standing in line at a food bank,” said another angler.

Others urged the commission to do nothing, saying local governments had already closed piers, boat ramps and marinas, cutting off fishing access.

“We are using fishing to de-stress down here, and a lot of our local lakes have been made unavailable,” said another caller who said he lived in San Diego.

Meeting remains calm

Though there were a few minor technical delays, Wednesday’s meeting went significantly smoother than Thursday’s disastrous board meeting that first attempted to discuss giving Bonham the emergency authority.

Last week’s meeting immediately spiraled out of control when more than 600 people dialed into a phone conference. Officials apparently didn’t have the ability to mute those on the call and hostile callers quickly overwhelmed the proceedings.

State officials and participants urged everyone on the line to mute their lines amid the howls of background noise and beeping as dozens called in.

But several took the opportunity to disrupt the call. “I have a right to speak!” “Fascists!” “Let’s make fishing great again!” callers said. At one point, as the meeting devolved into chaos someone said “Make a stand! Join the Klan!” Another man repeatedly said the N-word.

At one point, someone broadcast what sounded like an evangelist’s sermon.

Much of the umbrage followed inaccurate reports shared widely on social media, including by north state politicians, that California was going to shut down fishing statewide like some other states have done to try to slow the spread of COVID-19.

This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 1:36 PM with the headline "California moves forward with fishing ban in some rural areas to stem coronavirus spread."