Fish and the Future - Innovation and unlikely alliances to save Central Coast (CA) fishing?

[pinto]

Kudos to the various groups involved and Rep. Capps for her support - pinto

Collaborate or collapse
Morro Bay's fishing industry is charting a bold course through unexplored territory--because that may be its last chance.

BY KATHY JOHNSTON
Date: 03/26/2008

When Capt. Ed Ewing's fishing boat, the South Bay, pulls up to the dock to unload thousands of pounds of freshly caught local fish, the whole Morro Bay waterfront seems to hum in harmony. After years of discord, all the players are pulling together to keep the local fishing fleet from sailing over the brink of extinction.

Longtime local fishermen like Ewing have been feeling the squeeze of ever-increasing regulations and gear restrictions, cutbacks in quotas, catch limits, and new marine protected areas. Landings of seafood at Morro Bay and Port San Luis have dropped from 14 million pounds in 1990 to 1.2 million pounds in 2006, with a corresponding decline in the economies of the two fishing communities.

The threat of a total collapse of the local industry has inspired a bold new approach, where instead of wrangling, fishermen are working alongside conservation groups, scientists, and local officials to preserve the local fishing heritage, protect marine resources, and keep local seafood on local dining tables.

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Fishermen's organization president O'Brien, The Nature Conservancy's Bell, and Harbor Director Algert talked about the innovative partnership recently over a seafood lunch outdoors on the Morro Bay waterfront, their plates filled with fresh fish caught by Capt. Ewing. The local rockfish they ate was caught with experimental fishing gear on the South Bay--namely a lighter weight trawl net designed to avoid damaging the sea floor while harvesting abundant species. The Nature Conservancy and Ewing worked together to convince federal regulators to allow the experiment under an official Conservation Fishing Agreement.

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http://www.newtimesslo.com/index.php?p=showarticle&id=3229

[OwnedByFerrets]

1. K and R