Fishermen and UCSB scientists explore ways to improve management of California spin...( (Santa Barbara Calif.) Unique coll...)

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) Unique, collaborative ways to manage fisheries are emerging in Southern California. Currently the California spiny lobster is being scrutinized as Californians evaluate the first five years of marine reserves in the Channel Islands area.

An innovative collaboration has developed between local trap fishermen and scientists at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The partnership, called CALobster (www.CALobster.org), has ambitious long-term and short-term goals.

The long-term goals include involving fishermen in fisheries research and management, ensuring the sustainability of lobster populations, and maintaining working harbors. In addition, CALobster is building an education program to train graduate students in community-based fisheries management. The community includes fishermen, scientists, managers, environmental groups, and general public.

A series of short-term studies have been conducted to support the longer-term goals. They include assessment of a recent and controversial management decision to establish no-take fishing reserves at the Channel Islands.

Research conducted by CALobster will be presented at an upcoming special symposium Friday morning. Entitled The First Five Years of Monitoring the Channel Islands Marine Protected Area Network, the symposium, free and open to the public, is at the Embassy Suites Mandalay Beach Hotel and Resort, 2101 Mandalay Beach Road in Oxnard. The program agenda is available at www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/channel_islands/specialsession.asp

Hunter Lenihan, a professor at UC Santa Barbaras Bren School and a CALobster researcher, explained that the results to be presented at the symposium are preliminary because analyses and sampling are on-going. Nevertheless
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