Tyler Young

Climate change and increased variability and intensity of climate events, in combination with recovering protected species populations and highly capitalized fisheries, are posing new challenges for fisheries management. We examine socio-ecological features of the unprecedented 2014–2016 northeast Pacific marine heatwave to understand the potential causes for record numbers of whale entanglements in the central California Current crab fishery.

In the spring of 2015, a massive harmful algal bloom (HAB) of the toxin-producing diatom Pseudo-nitzschia occurred on the U.S. West Coast, resulting in the largest recorded outbreak of the toxin domoic acid and causing fisheries closures. Closures extended into 2016 and generated an economic shock for coastal fishing communities. This study examines the economic and sociocultural impacts of the Dungeness crab and razor clam fisheries closures on two fishing-dependent communities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 community members from two communities impacted by the event – Crescent City, California and Long Beach, Washington.

Changes in ocean conditions and variability in fisheries productivity have stimulated an effort to integrate climate information into fisheries science and management processes to inform more responsive decision-making. However, institutional, capacity, and budget constraints within U.S. federal and state fisheries management agencies may hinder the potential to deliver climate-ready strategies for many fisheries. We examine whether adaptive co-management as a governance approach can enhance capacity and advance climate-ready fisheries objectives.

This interactive Fisheries Data Explorer allows you to visualize data from commercial fisheries and commercial passenger fishing vessels, across the State. Using data collected and managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), the Explorer lets you dynamically view summarized data from the commercial fishing sector (i.e., number of fishermen, pounds of fish landed, and revenue from fish landed) and from the commercial passenger fishing sector (i.e., the number of anglers, vessels, trips, and fish caught from specific fisheries and ports).
Funded by the California Ocean Protection Council, and developed in partnership with CDFW and the California Ocean Science Trust, the Explorer was developed through the California’s Marine Protected Area Monitoring Program, to ensure that the State’s decision-makers, stakeholders, and the public have ready access to data and information that support the health and management of California’s ocean.