None The Nature Conservancy in California Press Releases Search All Press Releases Kathleen Goldstein Phone: (202) 841-0295 E-mail: kgoldstein@greenfishcommunications.com

The Nature Conservancy and Trawl Fisherman Partner to Pilot New Conservation Tool in California

Conservation Fishing Agreement Could Promote More Sustainable Fishing Practices

Monterey, Calif. — October 18, 2007 — The Nature Conservancy announced today the launch of the organization’s first Conservation Fishing Agreement. The Agreement between a central coast fisherman and the Conservancy is aimed at helping sustain fisheries, protect California’s marine resources and support fishing communities.

Building on the Conservancy’s 2006 purchase of seven federal groundfish trawl permits, which helped protect 6,000 square miles of seafloor off California’s central coast, the organization has leased one of its seven permits to a Morro Bay fisherman, Ed Ewing. The lease is a voluntary, private agreement designed to test methods for making fishing more sustainable and economically viable, focusing on techniques to reduce bycatch and conserve habitat. In addition to this effort, the Conservancy is evaluating the benefit of using more selective gear (hook & line and traps) with its remaining permits.

“The Nature Conservancy worked with fisheries managers and other partners to protect 3.8 million acres of essential fish habitat last year, but reducing trawl impacts on productive groundfish habitat is only one step toward transitioning to a sustainable fishery,” said Margaret Spring, director of The Nature Conservancy’s California Marine Program. “The more abundant flatfish species, currently caught commercially along the entire Pacific coast using trawl gear, remain an important sector of the fishing economy and the Conservancy is working with fishermen to find more selective and sustainable ways to harvest them.”

The average American consumes 16.5 pounds of seafood per year, and there is a strong demand for popular flatfish, such as sole and sand dabs. Approximately 160 trawl permits are still in use off the Pacific coast to harvest these and other species. The Conservation Fishing Agreement is patterned on conservation easements, a tool used by The Nature Conservancy for more than four decades to protect working landscapes in California. The Conservancy hopes to apply the same principles of good resource stewardship that have been used on the land for many years to the oceans.

Under the Agreement, Mr. Ewing will use selective flatfish trawl gear designed to reduce bycatch of other groundfish species. The Agreement includes geographic restrictions that ensure fishing is constrained to mud and sandy seafloor areas currently open to trawl fishing and prohibited from existing federal and state trawl closure areas, previously untrawled areas, or sensitive habitats in remaining open areas. The Nature Conservancy used the best available scientific information and local fishermen’s knowledge to identify the area to be protected. As a condition of the lease, The Conservancy — working with resource managers — will monitor and observe the program to adapt fishing operations and conservation actions to sustain marine resources and protect sensitive ocean habitats.

“Our local fishing industry has been facing increasing restrictions and economic hardships for a long time," said Ed Ewing, the Morro Bay fisherman with whom the Conservancy established the Conservation Fishing Agreement. "We need to make some changes in the way we do business in order to survive, and I see this Conservation Fishing Agreement with The Nature Conservancy as a chance to find ways we can keep this local fishing industry on its feet."

"The Resources Agency is proud to play a role in The Nature Conservancy and fishermen's innovative efforts to protect coastal environments and support fishing communities,” said California Secretary for Resources Mike Chrisman. “Protecting ocean resources is of critical importance to all Californians, for this generation and generations to come."

A grant from the California Coastal Conservancy will help to cover some of the expenses associated with launching this innovative project.

The Conservation Fishing Agreement, which will be in effect for one year, will allow The Nature Conservancy to field-test the concept of private conservation fishing agreements as a tool for fishermen and local communities to protect working seascapes. Working collaboratively with the Morro Bay/Port San Luis fishing community, the Conservancy hopes to develop best practices that may be used to develop sustainable fisheries in other parts of California and around the world.

The Nature Conservancy is also exploring the use of more selective gear (hook & line and traps) that would allow groundfish fishermen to target more abundant species, and reduce bycatch and habitat impacts. Last May, the Conservancy, along with local partners, submitted a proposal to the Pacific Fishery Management Council that, if accepted, would allow the Conservancy to lease six of its seven permits to fishermen who agree to use non-trawl gear. This pilot project will help test the social, economic and biological benefits of converting traditional trawling practices to alternative, more selective gear that has less impact on the fish and the habitat.

“Our vision is a future of sustainable, healthy fisheries and vibrant communities. Transitioning a fishery to more sustainable practices is a long-term, challenging process that will require adapting our approach over time as we learn what works and what doesn’t,” said Michael Bell, a project director for The Nature Conservancy’s California Marine Program. “The Nature Conservancy is committed to a partnership with local fishermen and fishery managers to realize benefits for both people and nature and hopefully turn that vision into a reality.”

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. The Nature Conservancy has protected more than 1.2 million acres of land and 3.8 million acres of ocean in California. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.