Eureka, CA Fishing Community Sustainability Plan

The Eureka Fishing Community Sustainability Plan (FCSP) is the product of years of planning, hard work, and collaboration among a wide range of interests, led by local commercial and charter fishermen, processors, representatives from the mariculture industry, fishing-related businesses, fishing families, civic leaders, elected officials, City of Eureka staff, academia, business owners and operators, and funding from the federal government. An FCSP is a document outlined in the federal Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) to address “the social development needs of coastal communities.” The word “Fishing” has been added at the community’s discretion to better represent the focus of this strategic planning effort. CSP and FCSP are used interchangeably throughout the document and represent the same outcome. More specifically, CSPs are indicated in MSA for communities that wish to remain eligible to participate in the Federal Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) Groundfish Trawl fishery, an important component of the commercial fishing communities on California’s North Coast. However, in the case of this project, as in recent CSP efforts in California, the fishing communities and civic leaders view the CSP as an opportunity to develop a strategic planning document for the entire fishing industry that ensures its place within the greater economic, social, and environmental fabric of the community as well as to better secure access to the groundfish fishery

Shelter Cove, CA Fishing Community Sustainability Plan

The Shelter Cove Fishing Community Sustainability Plan (FCSP) is the product of a strong collaborative partnership among the fishing community, Humboldt State University, civic leaders, elected officials, and local business owners and operators. The project was funded by a generous grant from Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program, awarded in September of 2016. The FCSP is a powerful example of the Shelter Cove fishing community’s capacity to establish key partnerships, identify opportunities and constraints, procure funding and engage in strategic planning. The FCSP culminates with a list of Recommendations which reflect the highest priorities needs aimed at the success and resilience of the fishing industry. The project takes much of its strength from including the perspective of the commercial, recreational and commercial passenger industries as well as broad cross section of the community. The project kick-off took place in December 2016 and was characterized by an extensive community engagement process which included the formation of an Advisory Committee and meetings in May 2017 and September 2018, a Public Workshop in June of 2017 and site visits and personal interviews throughout June, July and August of 2017. The final report will be presented to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, Humboldt Bay Harbor Conservation and Recreation District and the Resort Improvement District. The Shelter Cove FCSP will ultimately be presented to the Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC), the regional governing body for federal fisheries. FCSPs are identified in the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries and Conservation Act (MSA), primary federal fisheries policy, as a requirement for communities that wish to remain eligible for Limited Access Privilege Protocol Programs. The Shelter Cove fishing community saw this as an opportunity to fulfill the tenets of MSA and develop a FCSP that characterizes Shelter Cove by addressing the needs and unique synergy among commercial fishing, recreational fishing and the Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel (CPFV) industry. At the community’s discretion, the report is referred to as a Fishing Community Sustainability Plan or FCSP and identified as such throughout the report