Sustainable Fisheries

OPC continues to advance the sustainability of California’s marine fisheries by supporting innovative, science-based, collaborative management in alignment with OPC Strategic Plan Objective 3.3: Support Sustainable Marine Fisheries and Thriving Fish Populations. Advancing the long-term sustainability of these fisheries offers co-benefits of protecting marine ecosystems, port communities, and coastal economies, particularly in the face of a changing climate.

Our Work

Project Highlights

Protecting Whales and Sea Turtles & Ensuring Thriving Fisheries: Reducing the Risk of Entanglement in California Fishing Gear

The 2018-2019 Governor’s Budget included a $7.5 million General Fund appropriation to OPC to address whale and sea turtle entanglement in California fishing gear. Through this appropriation, OPC has funded collaborative partnerships, best available science, gear innovation, and response and outreach according to our 2019 Strategy for Protecting Whales and Sea Turtles & Ensuring Thriving Fisheries.

Learn more about this effort on our Protecting Whales and Sea Turtles & Ensuring Thriving Fisheries: Reducing the Risk of Entanglement in California Fishing Gear webpage.

OPC also supports collaborative partnerships and management of the Dungeness Crab Fishery through the Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group and the Dungeness Crab Task Force.

California Fisheries Fund

In 2021, OPC reauthorized its contribution to the California Fisheries Fund and transferred its administration to California FarmLink. The California Fisheries Fund is a revolving loan that supports sustainable commercial fisheries in California. The fund’s mission is to help borrowers (fishermen, fishing businesses, ports, communities and others) succeed in fisheries that achieve environmental conservation and sustainability, improved profitability for the industry, and stability for port communities. The fund supports California fishing communities, groups, associations, and businesses by assisting them with a transition to more environmentally and economically sustainable fishing practices and governance, where conventional investment capital or loans from traditional financial institutions are not available.

For more information on this project, visit our California Fisheries Fund page.

Statewide Cooperative Groundfish Sampling Program

In 2023, OPC approved funding to San Jose State University to support a cooperative groundfish sampling program with the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program (CCFRP). CCFRP is a unique and successful partnership with recreational anglers, boat captains, scientists, nongovernmental organizations, and charter companies interested in promoting sustainable fisheries. Since the establishment of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Network, CCFRP has worked to develop a long-term coordinated, collaborative, and standardized statewide monitoring program that involves recreational anglers in hook-and-line surveys inside and outside MPAs. This project leverages CCFRP’s rigorous protocols and a diverse network of participants, and builds collaborations with the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center in Santa Cruz and the Sportfishing Association of California to develop a cooperative biological sampling program. This project is helping to fill current data gaps, improve stock assessments and sustainable harvest regulations, and increase our understanding of potential long-term climate impacts by providing the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Marine Fisheries Service with biological information for California groundfish stocks. A final report from this project is expected in 2026.

Facilitation of the Market Squid Fishery Advisory Committee and Supporting Enhanced Population Genomics Research

In 2022, OPC approved funding to the Resources Legacy Fund to support the facilitation of the Squid Fishery Advisory Committee (SFAC) and the completion of population genomics research to inform potential updates to the Market Squid Fishery Management Plan. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) convened the SFAC, composed of stakeholders and tribal members, in 2023 to provide input to CDFW on potential changes to California Market Squid fishery management. The final SFAC report, along with the completion of genomics research, will ultimately inform updates to CDFW’s Fishery Management Plan for market squid. At the California Fish and Game Commission’s July 18 Marine Resources Committee Meeting, CDFW staff presented a summary of the SFAC’s recommendations. These recommendations included regulatory changes, a proposed transition to electronic logbooks, and several suggested gear modifications. The SFAC also recommended distributing a “best practices” guide for limiting the impacts of squid lights on seabirds to the fleet and continued exploration of small-scale using innovative modeling techniques. A final report from this project is expected in 2025.