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# Three cheers for sea floor
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/three-cheers-for-sea-floor/
- Published: 2005-04-21T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T06:42:36.000Z
- Author: Ryan Hyatt
- Tags: Environment, Pier, #archive-import

*Groups urge government to establish limits for bottom-feeders*

SM PIER — Time is running out for Santa Monicans to help decide whether the West Coast sea floor should be protected.

Actor Ted Danson, representatives from the environmental group Oceana and the fishing organization United Anglers announced on Wednesday their sustainable fishing plan to keep bottom trawling fishing within 200 miles of the Pacific Coast, except within specified coral areas.

Plan supporters argue bottom trawling fishing — a form of commercial fishing in which a large weighted net is dragged across the ocean floor — is causing immense damage to underwater habitats which will have long-term impacts on wildlife and the availability of fish for consumers to eat.

According to supporters, the federal government will be accepting public comment on its ocean floor fishing policy up until May 11, at which time it will be decided whether or not the initiative has ample support to be put into action.

The plan will require bottom trawling fishing boats to stay within the areas they currently fish to prevent further destruction to the ocean floor. They said this will also ensure a robust fishing industry for the future.

“When you stand here and see the ocean is so beautiful, it’s hard to imagine something underlying could be wrong,”

Danson told an audience of about 50 at the end of the Santa Monica Pier. “Right now, bottom trawl nets can go anywhere they want, destroying the ocean habitat and having a huge impact on fishermen.

“We’re asking trawling fleets to stay within the footprint they have already made, an area twice the size of the U.S.”

Danson said the fish available to eat on an annual basis are becoming fewer and smaller, largely due to the bottom trawlers’ impact on the ocean floor — the foundation of the fish food chain.

Meanwhile, the plan also calls for stepped-up efforts to protect some coral habitats along the coast, such as the Cowcod Conservation Area off the coast of Los Angeles, Monterey Bay and the Catalina Islands.

Jim Ayers, Director of Oceana for the North Pacific, said Danson has helped raise $300,000 for his group’s research efforts. Ayers said Oceana’s goal has been to determine how protection from bottom trawling fishing can occur while minimizing impacts to fishermen.

The plan to keep bottom trawling fishing within its current radius would include those portions of the Pacific Coast southward from the Columbia River to the tip of Southern California, according to Ayers. He said Oceana estimates that of the $37 million generated in revenue each year by bottom trawling fishing on the West Coast, the plans to protect the coral areas would only have a $3 million impact on the fishing business.

Danson and Ayers said the fact the United Anglers endorsed the sustainable fishing plan showed there was a broad range of support for it, but Ayers said some big fishing companies have not been so inclined.

For more information on efforts to stop bottom-trawl fishing, visit the Web site at www.savecorals.com.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/042105-02_02.jpg)

to the Daily Press Actor Ted Danson made an appearance on the Pier on Wednesday to lend support to a plan limiting the allowable coverage area of trawling fishermen. (Photo: Devon Meyers/Special)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 21, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/042105.pdf?ref=smdp.com)