Tag Archives: Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust
For Whales and Crabbers, Finding Balance Is Getting Harder
In Dick Ogg’s 25 years of commercial fishing, he’s had a few close encounters with whales—mostly while pulling Dungeness crab pots off the ocean floor. “I’ve had whales right next to me,” within about five meters, says Ogg. “They follow me, they watch, they’re curious. And then they go on about their business.” Ogg is fortunate his interactions have been so leisurely. For nearly a decade, California’s whales and crabbers have been locked in a persistent struggle. From 1985 to 2014, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported an average of 10 whales were entangled in fishing gear each year along the west coast of the United States. >click to read< 07:53
As Salmon and Squid Seasons Rebound, New Questions
Over the last few months, hundreds of boats have been fishing off of, or transiting along Santa Cruz County’s coastline. Industry analysts report plenty of bright spots in both the salmon and squid markets this season. But after some scientific studies were scuttled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, and other research couldn’t be completed due to wildfires, fisheries management is still undergoing its own pandemic comeback, as climate change fears remain ever-present. “It’s definitely been a good season,” Scotts Valley resident Hans Haveman, the CEO of H&H Fresh Fish at the Santa Cruz Harbor says during a late-June interview. “Unfortunately, regulation from the state and feds have shut us down right when it’s goin’ good.” video, >click to read< 08:50
Local Commercial Salmon Fishing Industry Sees Silver Lining Amid Coronavirus Crisis
California’s fishing industry is designated as essential by Governor Gavin Newsom, but their usual markets, restaurants, are all but shut down because of the coronavirus. That’s spelling trouble for local fishermen and women. Still, some believe there’s a silver lining to this crisis. David Toriumi has been commercially fishing the Monterey Bay for almost 16 years. It’s a livelihood full of challenges, from rigorous and expensive regulations to changing ocean conditions. But the coronavirus is like nothing he’s seen before. Toriumi says the impact was slow at first, less people eating out, and then boom. >click to read< 08:44
City of Monterey looking to buy up commercial fishing rights
The city of Monterey wants to control nearly a million pounds of groundfish in Monterey Bay. At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, councilors looked at purchasing the fishing rights to 880,000 pounds of fish from Monterey native Giuseppe Pennisi. Pennisi is about to put his federally allotted fishing quota on the market and City Manager Mike McCarthy said the city is ready to pay $583,000 to buy the rights. “If the city is unable it is unlikely any other local organization will be able to buy it,” McCarthy said. The fear is an outside organization from Oregon or Washington would come in and buy the stock, pushing out local fishermen. click here to read the story 11:23
Con group buys $1m worth of groundfish quota
The 
(MBFT) bought $1m worth of groundfish quota — 4.2m annual quota pounds — from the nonprofit Nature Conservancy which it plans to use to benefit the area’s fishermen, MBFT said in a release. As part of the agreement, MBFT, which was formed to protect central California fisheries in the Monterey, Moss Landing, and Santa Cruz harbors, plans to retain ownership of the quota. It will lease the fishing rights to fishermen “while working to improve the economic and environmental performance of the fishery,” the group said in the release. Read the rest here 17:08
