Final technical report - Establishing a baseline and assessing spatial and socioeconomic change in the California Central Coast commercial and CPFV fisheries

The waters off the Central Coast of California have long supported fishing activities that are integral to the cultural and economic history of the area. Fisheries exemplify the interdependencies between the natural environment and coastal communities that have characterized California since well before statehood. In September 22, 2007, as part of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative, the California Fish and Game Commission (CFGC) designated 29 marine protected areas (MPAs) within the Central Coast state waters of California. The Central Coast Region of California stretches from Pigeon Point in the north to Point Conception in the south (see Map 1 and 2). As part of the baseline marine protected area monitoring effort to characterize the ecological and socioeconomic conditions and changes within the Central Coast Region since MPA implementation, this report provides three sets of primary findings: 1. A spatial and socioeconomic baseline characterization of select commercial fisheries and the commercial passenger fishing vessel (CPFV) fleet in the California Central Coast Region;2. An assessment of initial spatial and socioeconomic changes following MPA implementation; and3. An investigation of the role of MPAs and other major driving factors in observed spatial and economic changesEstablishing a baseline characterization of the commercial fishing and CPFV fleets of the California Central Coast provides a better understanding of the current socioeconomic health of the Central Coast fishing communities and provides a benchmark of socioeconomic conditions and spatial fishing patterns against which future MPA impacts and benefits can be measured. Furthermore, assessing historical trends along with initial changes in socioeconomic conditions and spatial fishing patterns that followed MPA implementation will help inform how MPAs and other driving factors may interplay to influence observed changes. The primary goal of this project was to collect up-to-date information on historical trends, current socioeconomic conditions, and the spatial distribution and relative economic value of key commercial fisheries and the commercial passenger fishing vessel (“party-boat”) fleet in the Central Coast Region. This work documents the initial socioeconomic changes that may have followed MPA implementation and investigates the degree to which any changes are attributable to the MPAs themselves.