How San Diego Fishermen are Managed?
When San Diego fishermen return from a good day of fishing, they are returning with a load of sustainable seafood in their holds or ice chests. They also know that by observing set fishing limits and essential fish habitat protections, they ensure enough fish remain to reproduce and replenish the stock in their preferred habitats. How does this happen?
Advisory Board meeting for Highly Migratory Species (HMS) which makes recommendations and suggestions to the council on HMS matters.
Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting where recommendations from the Advisory Boards are deliberated upon.
Sustainable fisheries management starts with where the fishing took place and the catch, as that determines the management authority. There are three authorities that affect San Diego anglers: the state of California, the federal government, and international organizations. A simple way to delineate the responsible authority is by geographical boundaries:
- State waters extend from 0 to 3 nautical miles from the shore
- Federal waters extend from 3 to 200 nautical miles
- International waters, or the ‘high seas’, extend beyond the 200-nautical mile of the US Fisheries Conservation Zone.
California has management authority in state waters through the Fish and Game Commission and the California Legislature, with implementation and enforcement of regulations by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
San Diego fishermen targeting resources such as lobster, California halibut and white sea bass are managed by the state. When fishing in federal waters, the Secretary of Commerce working through the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), a branch of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has authority. NMFS manages harvesters targeting highly migratory species such as swordfish, tunas such as bluefin tuna, coastal pelagic species such as sardines, and most groundfish, such as rockfish, and salmon.
Finally, regional fishery management organizations (RFMO) of which the US is a member, handle fishery issues for stocks on the high seas. For the eastern Pacific Ocean, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) serves this role and NMFS implements their resolutions into regulations that subsequently apply to San Diego harvesters.
While the three geographical designations seem simple enough, some fish species have large home ranges and move between these boundaries. For these species, considerable cooperation occurs between state and federal authorities through the fishery management councils established by federal law. For the west coast, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) serves this role. The council system delegates much of the responsibility for managing specific fisheries between states and between state and federal waters to local stakeholders, including California and NMFS representatives.
For specific management measures, see Fishing Methods & Gears.
The term fisherman is used throughout is meant to denote individuals of any gender who participate in fishing.
Management Organizations
