Fishing grounds off central California

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Fishing grounds off central California

• Overview of final data from the project conducted
  for MBNMS and the MLPA Initiative federal waters

MBNMS MPA Working Group, 30 March 2006 Astrid
Scholz Charles Steinback
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Outline

• Background of project
• Analytical framework and methods
• Participatory GIS surveys
• Sampling strategy
• Results
• Extent and relative importance of regional
  fishing areas
• Discussion
• What happens at the edge of the study region?
• Where is the Vietnamese fleet?
• Is there ever a good time to interview fishermen?
• Next steps

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Project background

• Ecotrust Consulting Initiatives contract with
  RLFF
• Characterize extent and relative importance of
  central Coast commercial fishing grounds
• Especially those not adequately described,
  spatially, by logbooks.
• Based on previous work
• Pilot study with PCFFA and Environmental Defense
  in 2001
• Extended study with CBNMS and GFNMS joint fishing
  working group, 2004-05
• Congruency with MLPA central coast study region
  and MBNMS

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Analytical Framework and Methods

• Participatory GIS surveys
• Use computer based map interface to administer
  survey
• Conduct follow-up individual and group
  verification meetings
• Worked with fleet on any publicly displayed
  information.
• Sampling strategy
• Unlike previous projects, sampling is
  representative of local fleet
• Sampling criteria select for 50 or more of each
  fishery in two subregions.

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Participatory GIS surveys
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Sampling strategy

• Stratified region into north and south
• North Santa Cruz, Moss Landing, Monterey
• South Morro Bay, Avila Port San Luis
• 50 of yield in each fishery
• in terms of 2003-04 pounds landed in each port
  group
• At least 5 fishermen interviewed per fishery
• If total sub-sample less than 5, tried to capture
  at least 50 of the sample population
• Identified sample of 192 fishermen, interviewed
  109
• Problems no contact information, no response,
  not interested, Vietnamese fleet.

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Results

• Extent and relative importance of fishing grounds
  off the central coastfederal waters
• Summary map of all the most important areas
• For each fishery, normalized the responses to the
  total fishing grounds for that fishery, and
  summed across all respondents
• Classified the resulting weights in 5 equal
  intervalsthe top representing the 20 most
  important for that fishery
• These top scores are now comparable across
  fisheries.
• Number of fisheries present in a given area
• Presence and absence of a fishery in an area,
  using the 1 microblocks, irrespective of the
  stated importance.

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Discussion

• What happens at the edge of the study region?
• Where is the Vietnamese fleet?
• All modes of contact attempted failed
• By phone with native speaker
• By mail with Vietnamese language project
  description
• In person by Asian American project team member
• Through referral by community members (church,
  MBA)
• Is there ever a good time to interview fishermen?
• Project conducted during height of summer fishing
  season
• Next steps
• Project report, peer review, presentations,
  publications.

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Questions?