draft tomales bay vessel management plan - Gulf of the Farallones ...

Estimated Cost: Costs are limited to staff time. Funding for a GFNMS Tomales Bay
Project Coordinator, or the commitment of dedicated staff time by another agency is
needed to implement this recommendation.
C. VESSEL MOORING PROGRAM
Issue Statement:
Moored boats have been a familiar part of the Tomales Bay landscape for many years,
and these moorings have historically been and continue to be concentrated in several
primary mooring areas on both the east and west shores of the bay. Mooring vessels in
Tomales Bay requires both GFNMS and CSLC authorization. To accomplish this
GFNMS will issue a permit, or some other legally supportable mechanism that is
acceptable to both agencies, to CSLC to administer the Vessel Mooring Program and
CSLC will issue individual leases to be issued for each mooring. GFNMS staff, in
partnership with CSLC staff, has developed the following proposed Tomales Bay
Mooring Program, which includes criteria for where moorings can be sited, specifications
for allowable mooring tackle, and requirements for the inspection and maintenance of
moorings. The mooring program would be subject to a maximum number of moorings
that could not be exceeded on Tomales Bay.
CSLC requires a lease for all private vessel moorings in Tomales Bay on sovereign lands,
however only one CSLC private vessel mooring lease has been issued, and that lease
expired in 2008 and is no longer valid. There is a permitted mooring field in the north
part of the bay at Lawson’s Landing, which is under a CSLC commercial lease. On
December 16, 1998, the Commission authorized the 25-year lease at Lawson’s Landing
for an existing marina with a total of 35 moorings (12 side ties and 23 poles); the lease
for the marina expires on December 31, 2023. In 1981, when the GFNMS was
designated, Sanctuary regulations prohibited the discharge of materials into GFNMS and
disturbance to the seabed, which includes the placement of moorings. Non-authorized
moorings installed in Tomales Bay after GFNMS designation, except those used for state
permitted aquaculture, are illegal pursuant to the National Marine Sanctuaries Act
(NMSA), 16 USC §1431 et seq., and regulations thereunder (15 CFR Part 922). Noncompliance
of CSLC mooring lease requirements and GFNMS regulations has been a
persistent issue in Tomales Bay.
Moorings located within state water bottom lease areas for aquaculture must be directly
associated with aquaculture pursuant to a valid lease, permit, license or other
authorization issued by the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG). Moorings
used in conjunction with aquaculture operations are exempt from the GFNMS seabed
disturbance regulations in Tomales Bay and are therefore not addressed as part of the
TBVMP; however, these moorings are subject to CDFG and California Department of
Public Health (CDPH) regulations and must meet all requirements set forth in the terms
of the aquaculture lease.
August 23, 2012
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