Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative
Fisheries Uses and Values Project
Frequently Asked Questions - Dive Spearfish Community
Has Ecotrust collected data from recreational fishermen prior to the South Coast study region?
Yes, we collected recreational fishing data for the North Central Coast study region; however, we were asked to do the recreational fishing analysis late and because of that we were unable to interview the number of recreational fishermen required to have statistically significant sample size. In the South Coast our intention is to get started early enough so that we can provide information that accurately represents the recreational fishing community along the South Coast. We also intend to make the information available to the Regional Stakeholder Group by their first or second meeting.
Why should we provide information about ALL of our fishing sites as opposed to looking at use patterns for only those areas that have been identified as requiring protection? Will the data we provide be used against us?
Providing information for all areas you fish allows us to calculate the cumulative impact of all closures (i.e. existing and proposed). We also provide analyses in our evaluation that consider just the fishing grounds inside state waters as compared to total fishing grounds. The data will be displayed publicly to the RSG as they begin to design their MPA proposals. The data will be presented to the RSG in aggregated form only, reviewed and verified by the fishing community. Individual information will never used in a public setting. Also, we have strict protocols in place to prevent the data from being used by third parties, including the State.
What is Ecotrust’s motivation for collecting this information? Is Ecotrust neutral?
Ecotrust is a non-profit organization working to find innovative solutions to environmental challenges that balance ecological, economic and social outcomes. We believe that you cannot achieve robust conservation outcomes without paying attention to the livelihoods of people affected. We pursue both grant funded and contract work where we can help balance this equation. Our motivation is to provide sound economic, environmental, and socially equitable analyses to the projects on which we work.
A Monterey diver summarized his experience with the MLPA process by saying, “negotiating openly, and revealing our prime dive spot resulted in them being targeted for closure.” — What was Ecotrust’s role in the Central Coast process?
Ecotrust was contracted to do work late in the Central Coast process and the information we provided was not used effectively — because of time pressures we were not able to bring the information to stakeholders until after they had drafted closures, and it ended up only being used to evaluate the proposals. Ecotrust was not asked to conduct interviews or evaluate the consumptive dive fishery (commercial or recreational) in the Central Coast process. The North Central Coast is a better example of the analyses we provide—there, stakeholders used the information in the design phase, and our iterative evaluations of proposals were used by them to lower socioeconomic impacts to commercial and recreational fishing communities while still meeting other requirements (e.g. size, spacing, and habitat type).
What criteria will Ecotrust use to design the survey sample for recreational fishermen?
At present, the Ecotrust staff is working with individuals from the MLPAI and CDFG, as well as experts from the recreational fishing community, to first understand and accurately describe the various user groups within the South Coast study region. We will then use that information to help us stratify our sample in such a way so as to be broadly representative of all the major user groups.
