The Spot Prawn Fishery: A Status Report - Earth Economics
The Spot Prawn Fishery: A Status Report - Earth Economics
The Spot Prawn Fishery: A Status Report - Earth Economics
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Spot</strong> <strong>Prawn</strong> <strong>Fishery</strong>: A <strong>Status</strong> <strong>Report</strong><br />
Washington fishers displaced from collapsed<br />
or overcapitalized fisheries<br />
•changes in gear design, in particular the advent<br />
of large rollers on trawl gear (rock hopper gear),<br />
which allowed fishers to fish areas that previously<br />
had been unfishable due to the rocky nature<br />
of the habitat. “<strong>The</strong>se areas had previously acted<br />
as de facto reserves providing new recruits for<br />
adjacent areas traditionally worked by trawl<br />
vessels” (Larson, in press)<br />
•Strong recruitment years in 1996 and 1997<br />
In 1999, statewide landings decreased 21%, even<br />
though fishing effort continued to increase. <strong>The</strong><br />
combination of these factors led to the proposal<br />
and discussion of a range of new management<br />
and regulatory measures. <strong>The</strong>se included:<br />
•limits on landings made with trawl roller<br />
gear larger than 8 in.<br />
•bycatch-reduction devices in trawl gear<br />
•limits on the number of allowable traps<br />
•future phase-out of trawl gear, pending<br />
observer data<br />
•seasonal closures<br />
•observer coverage implemented in both the trap<br />
and trawl fishery and funded by fees assessed<br />
on the industry<br />
•establishing a qualifying date for future<br />
limited-access programs<br />
Not all of these measures have been adopted. Of particular<br />
interest is the fact that roller gear has not been<br />
limited in the trawl fishery, despite the fact that the<br />
Pacific <strong>Fishery</strong> Management Council adopted rollergear<br />
and mesh restrictions in order to protect severely<br />
depleted rockfish species.<br />
Nature of the <strong>Fishery</strong> Today<br />
Commercial <strong>Fishery</strong><br />
In 1999, the California spot prawn fishery consisted<br />
of a total of 95 vessels (46 trap, 49 trawl). Some of the<br />
vessels landed in more than one port, and more than<br />
half the landings were in the Santa Barbara area (see<br />
chart on p. 41 for detailed analysis of landings by gear<br />
type and port). <strong>The</strong> present-day trawl-fishing effort<br />
is widely dispersed north of Point Conception. In<br />
Southern California, effort tends to focus around<br />
California Fishing Areas<br />
Image Courtesy Valerie Taylor, CDFG<br />
39
Change language