| Summary | Nearshore and Offshore ground fish fishermen targeting California stocks |
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| Project | SESMAD |
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| Subtype | Group of Local Resource User Groups |
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| Sector | Marine protected areas |
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| Interest Heterogeneity | Low (1) |
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| Explanation | In general, groundfish fishermen have the same interest in promoting economically viable fisheries. While many use trawling methods, there is also fishermen who focus on troll, longline, hook and line, pots, gillnets, and other gear. They are limited entry and compete against each other. To minimize individual risk, risk pools are created where fishermen combine quotas to help each other not overfish and to maintain their activities. |
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| Costs Of Exit | Yes |
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| Explanation | Most of the time it is very costly to leave, since it is high cost to invest in gear and takes time and relationships to develop the market. |
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| Proportionality (Of Costs And Benefits) | No |
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| Explanation | For many species, the quota allocations have decreased substantially, making the high costs of owning and maintaining a boat and a limited entry license high cost, with not as much benefit as once occurred. Additionally, the high cost of paying for an on-board monitor is many times higher than the benefit they receive from their catch. |
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| Actor Group Coordination | Both formal and informal |
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| Explanation | The Fishermen’s Marketing Association is a formal group representing trawl vessel owners, skippers, and deck hands and speaks on behalf of the fishermen and tries to establish a stable market. Some processing companies form formal groups of boats they employ. However, most coordination is informal, through friends or family or handshake approved quota-share groups. |
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| Leadership | ["Informal leader"] |
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| Explanation | The Fishermen’s Marketing Association has a board of directors with a Monterey representative, but the leaders typically are the most outspoken and involved individuals. |
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| Leadership Accountability | Low (1) |
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| Explanation | Leaders typically speak on behalf of the other fishermen, but are not expected to represent all fishermen. |
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| Leadership Authority | Low (1) |
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| Explanation | Mostly self-involved and longest-participating individuals are leaders and are followed not by any authoritative formal means, but by relationships. |
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| Actor Group Trust | Low (1) |
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| Explanation | With quotas becoming smaller and protected areas becoming bigger, competition is becoming more fierce. While many times members are friends or family, competition is so high that trust is low. Possible higher level trust within Risk Pool groups (need confirmation on this through interviews). |
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| Past Collaboration | Medium (2) |
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| Explanation | Risk pools are a form of fishermen collaboration, where fishermen will combine quotas to reduce risk of one of them overfishing a certain species. However, competition is still high amongst fishermen. Fishermen collaborate in professional organizations as well (e.g. Fishermen's Marketing Association). |
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| Personal Communication | More than once a year (5) |
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| Explanation | Fishermen discuss frequently at landing sites and markets. Also, association meetings provide a forum for in person communication. |
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| Remote Communication | More than once a year (5) |
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| Explanation | Likely often. Phone calls are the most common form of remote communications. |
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