Pre-MPA Central Coast Commercial Fisheries

These datasets are a part of Ecotrust's project entitled: Commercial and CPFV Fisheries Values and Uses project. This project is a component of the California Marine Life Protection Act Initiative that is designed to characterize the ecological and socioeconomic conditions within the MLPA Regions. These datasets are for the Central Coast study region, which extends from the north at Pigeon Point to the south at Point Conception, and consist of data collected in the summer of 2006 from fisheries mapping interviews with commercial fishermen who had landings in the California Central Region in the 5 years prior to collection. Results from the interviews were then combined through an aggregation process where the value each fisherman gives to their fishing grounds are weighted by their landings. Each dataset represents the spatial extent and relative value of the fishery in the years prior to MPA implementation.