Struggling West Coast fisheries find hope

In the 1940s, Monterey, CA, "the sardine capital of the world," processed more than four million pounds of sardines a day.

Today, the canneries made famous by John Steinbeck's Cannery Row have been replaced by art galleries and T-shirt shops.

All along the West Coast, the once-thriving fishing industry faces hard times. But change has come. A new way of managing the West Coast's largest fishery — the more than 90 bottom-dwelling species called groundfish — took effect on Jan. 1, 2011. For EDF staff, this marked the culmination of eight years of work.

"This gives me hope," says John Pennisi, a fourth-generation fisherman from Monterey. "What we were doing wasn't good for the resource and it wasn't good for us."

A model of success in the Gulf of Mexico

Pennisi has reason for hope. In 2006, we helped design a similar program in the Gulf of Mexico for the commercial red snapper fishery. The result? From 2006 to 2009, the estimated biomass of red snapper grew roughly 60%, even as the season expanded from 52 to 365 days a year and catch limits rose 45%.

For a long time, I despised environmentalists... once I got to know EDF, I realized that we wanted the same thing: lots of fish out there and healthy fisheries.

Rob SeitzOregon fisherman

Not so on the West Coast, where catches of groundfish plunged 70% over the last two decades. In 2000, the federal government declared the fishery a disaster. The size of the fishing fleet fell from 1,200 to 150 vessels."It got to a point," says Pennisi, "where guys didn't have money to paint their boats.”

Coastal communities are at risk, not just fish

The Pennisi family has worked out of Monterey since 1906, when John Pennisi's great-grandfather emigrated from Sicily. The work was dangerous — Pennisi, who captained his first boat at age 16, lost an uncle and a brother to the sea — but back in the 1970s, a smart fisherman could still make a good living. By the '80s, however, catches began to fall, hitting fishing communities hard.

"As trawl fishing fails," says EDF fisheries analyst Shems Jud, "fuel docks, marine stores and the like shut down, and you start to see a collapse of fishing infrastructure. Eventually coastal communities begin to deteriorate and board up."

No more dangerous race for fish

Under old-style fishery management — which uses tactics like ever-shorter seasons — boats raced each other to catch as many fish as possible in the time available. Overfishing continued, as on-the-job injuries and even deaths rose. We offered a different approach.

70% decrease in catches of West Coast groundfish over two decades under old-style management

Under catch shares, each trawler is assigned a percentage of a scientifically determined total allowable annual catch. No longer racing against the clock, captains can fish when it's safe and when market prices are higher. They can also be more selective, avoiding the accidental killing of unwanted species of fish.

The California plan, which we helped develop, calls for observers on boats. "For the first time, fishermen will be held truly accountable for the number of fish they catch," says Johanna Thomas, our Pacific Coast Oceans director.

Catch shares: Enlisting fishermen as stewards

“EDF won my trust and cooperation because they understand that sustainability is not just about conserving fish. It’s about families who have been fishing for generations,” says Geoff Bettencourt, who operates a boat out of Half Moon Bay, an hour north of Monterey.

"As the fishery recovers, each catch share becomes more valuable, giving fishermen a long-term financial stake in the health of the system," explains Thomas.

Since fishermen own their shares, these valuable financial assets can be passed down to their children, leased to other fishermen or even sold. In effect, fishermen become investors in the fish stocks they depend on, and they prosper only if those stocks grow.

"Catch shares are going to give us more freedom in how and when we fish, and what kind of gear we use," says Bettencourt. "We should be able to fish more sustainably."

"For a long time, I despised environmentalists," says Rob Seitz, 43, who operates a trawler out of Warrenton, Oregon. "I blamed them for everything that was going wrong with fishing. Later, once I got to know EDF, I realized that we wanted the same thing: lots of fish out there and healthy fisheries."