Scoping a California State Fishery Bycatch Monitoring Program - Oceana USA

Report | November, 2023

Scoping a California State Fishery Bycatch Monitoring Program

 

Monitoring and accurately quantifying fishery bycatch are essential components of modern fishery management, especially for fisheries with unselective gear types and/or high ecological risk. This initial scoping document explores the potential development of a state-managed California fishery bycatch monitoring program using a combination of human observers and electronic monitoring. The immediate purpose of this document is to provide a resource to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and California Fish and Game Commission outlining key background information required to build a successful observer program for the California set gillnet fishery as an initial pilot program that could then be expanded to other state fisheries as needed.