Permits & Trawlers: California Fisheries Conservation

Location

Pacific Coast, California, USA

Description

This case study was presented in June 2008 at the workshop, A Private Sector Approach – Conservation Agreements in Support of Marine Protection. The information below is a short abstract of the case study. A complete case study will be posted on the toolkit prior to October 2008.

The Nature Conservancy has long acquired terrestrial lands in California as a protection strategy. Now, in addition to coastal land acquisition, the Conservancy is undertaking kelp leasing, the identification of underwater land holdings, and fishery buy-outs as strategies to conserve ocean and coastal resources. This case study will focus on the Conservancy’s 2006 purchase of seven federal trawling permits and four trawling vessels from commercial fishermen. In doing so, the Conservancy became the first private organization to buy out Pacific fishing permits and boats for conservation purposes. The acquisitions were part of a collaborative effort with fishermen and government regulators to protect 3.8 million acres of ocean. The Conservancy has since launched the organization’s first Conservation Fishing Agreement. The Agreement is with a central coast fisherman and is aimed at helping sustain fisheries, protect California’s marine resources and support fishing communities. The voluntary, private agreement is a lease designed to test methods for making fishing more sustainable and economically viable, focusing on techniques to reduce by-catch and conserve habitat. In addition to this effort, the Conservancy is evaluating the benefit of using more selective gear (hook & line and traps) with its remaining permits.

Conservation Fishing Agreement

California trawler. Photo ©The Nature Conservancy, California.

Through the project, the Conservancy is now testing the concept and effectiveness of a new marine conservation tool – the Conservation Fishing Agreement. Under this agreement, an NGO can lease a fishing permit to a local fisherman subject to geographical, gear, catch, by-catch, and other restrictions designed to reduce environmental impacts of an otherwise legal fishing operation.

Contact Information

Michael Bell, Marine Project Director
The Nature Conservancy in California
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1004, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406
Street Address: 75 Higuera St. Suite 200, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Phone: 805-544-1767
Email: mbell@tnc.org

See Also

• California Marine - New Strategies to Protect our Marine Habitat  
• California – Turning the Tide to a More Sustainable Fishery