Members of several tribes in northern California forced a meeting of the state Department of Fish and Game to listen to their concerns about fishing rights.

The tribes say they should be exempt from the Marine Life Protection Act . A task is currently holding meetings around the state to discuss the law.

"They are infringing upon our rights and they have no authority to do so,” Yurok Tribe Chairman Thomas O'Rourke, who attended the meeting, told The Eureka Times-Standard. “Tribal rights are nonnegotiable. Bottom line.”

Tribal members protested an earlier MLPA meeting. This was the first time the Yurok Tribe officially supported the effort.

Get the Story:
North Coast tribes barge into MLPA meeting (The Eureka Times-Standard 7/22)
Dan Bacher: California Tribes and Allies March to Protect Tribal Rights, Ocean Resources (Indybay 7/22)