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In 2006 The Nature Conservancy partnered with central coast fishermen and fishery managers to protect 3.8 million acres of seafloor from bottom trawling. Now the Conservancy is exploring more sustainable ways of harvesting groundfish in a one-year pilot project with a Morro Bay fisherman.
Nature.org spoke with Margaret Spring, director of the Conservancy’s California Marine Program, to find out just what this means for marine habitats, sustainable fisheries and dinner out at your favorite restaurant.
nature.org: Bottom trawling has a reputation for harming seafloor habitat and producing excessive bycatch. Why is The Nature Conservancy working with trawl fishermen?
Margaret Spring: Area closures — like the 3.8 million acre no-trawl zone created in 2006 — help to protect important marine habitats and revive depleted fish populations, and we may be able to convert some bottom trawling to more habitat-friendly gear such as hook and line. But trawling will remain an important part of the West Coast heritage and economy, and is permitted in many areas of the Pacific. Right now, it’s really the only way to harvest certain groundfish species. So we need to work with fishermen to develop best practices that help reduce the impacts of bottom trawling and create a more environmentally sustainable fishery that will last long into the future.
nature.org: What kinds of fish are caught by trawling — anything that I might order at a restaurant or buy at the supermarket?
Margaret Spring: Fish caught by trawlers off the coast of California, as well as Oregon and Washington, are sold all along the West Coast and around the world. For instance, you could go to a restaurant in San Francisco or Singapore and order halibut or cod that was caught here. Other popular West Coast groundfish include petrale sole, sand dabs, sablefish and rockfish.
nature.org: How does bottom trawling work?
Margaret Spring: Traditional bottom trawlers drag large, weighted mesh nets along the sea bottom, which can damage habitat and capture fish and other sea life not targeted by fishermen (known as bycatch). The magnitude of these effects depends on the gear used and the type of habitat it contacts.
nature.org: What is The Nature Conservancy doing to address the impacts of trawling?
Margaret Spring: Our purchase of federal trawl permits in 2006 means we can work directly with fishermen and fishery managers to explore sustainable practices and new gear. We’ve submitted a proposal to the Pacific Fishery Management Council for permission to evaluate methods for improving fishing practices, and use our trawl permits experimentally with non-trawl gear, such as hook and line and traps (wire or wooden enclosures that rest on the ocean bottom). As part of this effort, we hope to gain a better understanding of the benefits — social, economic and biological — of converting from bottom trawling to more selective methods that limit bycatch and reduce habitat impacts.
nature.org: Would The Nature Conservancy actually be fishing?
Margaret Spring: No. The Conservancy would lease the permits to local fisherman who would use non-trawl gear and test other more sustainable fishing practices. We are hopeful that this project will benefit both the environment and the local fishing community.
nature.org: But even if some fishermen switch gear, it sounds like trawling will still continue on the West Coast. Is it possible to make the process less destructive and catch enough fish to earn a living?
Margaret Spring: Fishermen may be able to adjust fishing locations and gears to selectively capture more abundant stocks while avoiding other species and vulnerable habitats. We don’t know the economic and environmental benefits of such an approach, but we’re trying to find out. To do that, Michael Bell, our marine project director on the Central Coast, is working with a Morro Bay fisherman on a one-year project to explore more sustainable ways of trawling.
nature.org: How will this pilot project work?
Margaret Spring: The pilot project uses a Conservation Fishing Agreement — a voluntary, non-regulatory lease that the Conservancy created to provide sustainable guidelines for fishermen. The terms of the agreement restrict the type of gear used for trawling and the locations where the fisherman can trawl.
nature.org: But what difference does it make where the trawling takes place or how it’s done?
Margaret Spring: We know from scientific studies and reports that some areas of the seafloor are more susceptible to damage, like rocky bottoms. And some areas are more important for fish to spawn and find refuge. Michael and the team combined this scientific data with information from local fishermen and identified the most appropriate places for this restricted trawling experiment.
Under the agreement, the fisherman can trawl only in mud and sandy seafloor areas open to trawling. Fishing is also prohibited in areas of sensitive habitat inside open trawl zones.
nature.org: How is the fisherman’s trawl gear different than traditional equipment?
Margaret Spring: His gear — selective flatfish trawl gear — is smaller and lighter. It’s specifically designed to reduce bycatch and to work only in flat sand and mud. Similar gear has been tested on other areas of the coast, as far north as Oregon, with promising results.
nature.org: Why would a fisherman want to participate in a Conservation Fishing Agreement?
Margaret Spring: Fisheries and fishing economies around the world have been struggling to recover from the impacts and waste associated with unsustainable fishing practices, and the central coast groundfish fishery is no exception. It’s hard to earn a living as a fisherman, and many have left the industry — whether because of economic hardships caused by depleted fish stocks and associated regulations, competition with low-priced products from overseas or the high cost of fuel, insurance and other operations. Fishermen are very interested in finding more sustainable ways to harvest fish that will conserve marine resources and their livelihoods.
nature.org: What happens next?
Margaret Spring: The fisherman launched his boat on October 24, 2007. We’ll work with him and federal fishery managers to monitor the operation, including the gear and technologies we are testing on the vessel. As we go, we will routinely evaluate the results and adapt our strategies to ensure the project meets our goals of protecting vulnerable habitat, reducing bycatch and selectively targeting abundant flatfish stocks.
nature.org: Why do you think this project is so important?
Margaret Spring: The waters off California’s central coast contain some of the world’s richest marine ecosystems — rocky reefs, kelp beds, coral gardens and some of North America’s largest and deepest underwater canyons. Recovery plans and regulatory restrictions are in place now to restore overfished stocks along the west coast. But we need to take steps to help fishing communities remain viable and provide fresh, locally caught seafood to consumers. And that means finding new, more sustainable ways to fish.
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Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Mark Godfrey/TNC (Fishing boats in Morro Bay, California); Photo © Margaret Spring/TNC (Margaret Spring); Map © Richard Herrmann (Copper rockfish)
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