The Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust, Regenerative California, and other select regional partners are launching a groundbreaking initiative called The Future of Blue. This community-based effort aims to unlock the immense potential of Monterey Bay’s marine ecosystem and human communities, creating a thriving, resilient, and innovative regional blue economy by 2030.

As stewards of this remarkable ecosystem, we recognize that the future of Monterey Bay depends on revitalizing our working waterfronts while preserving the region’s rich social, cultural, and ecological heritage. Through community-led improvements to port infrastructure, workforce development, seafood supply chains, and distribution systems, The Future of Blue will serve as a model for sustainable and profitable coastal development across California and beyond.

Why Monterey Bay? Monterey Bay is one of the most productive ocean ecosystems on the planet, home to vibrant marine life and a rich fishing tradition that stretches back generations. As one of the oldest and most active fishing regions in the United States, the Bay holds immense promise for sustainable growth and innovation. Yet, its potential remains underutilized, and coastal communities face significant challenges, from aging infrastructure to the impacts of climate change.

The Future of Blue seeks to harness this untapped potential, building a blue economy that not only supports local food systems and ocean health but also fosters innovation, smart technology, economic diversity, social justice, and community resilience. The history of fishing for commercial food production in Monterey Bay dates back to the early 1800s.

The story of Cannery Row in the mid-1900s put Monterey on the map as the center of seafood production on the West Coast (Palumbi and Sotka 2011). Fisheries for sardine, anchovy, salmon, and groundfish (e.g., rockfish and soles) were the key economic drivers of the region for over 50 years. Over decades, due to changes in state and federal laws, the total allowable catches for many species were drastically reduced. The lack of activity compromised jobs and livelihoods, businesses and related infrastructure, and the overall economic prosperity of the region. Today, regulatory challenges, climate disruption, and lack of unified governance bring new and growing threats to Monterey Bay.

In the Monterey Bay region, the fishing community is unable to contribute its full potential to the regional economy and the resilience of our local food system. Similar to other regions in California and across the U.S., fishermen and women in our region are largely unable to profit from current activities due to high costs of fishing, competition with cheaper imported seafood, lack of market distinction and demand for local species (MBA 2020), and outdated infrastructure and services (Anderson 2024).

Infrastructure is a particular challenge, as fishermen in our region can’t reliably access gear and cold storage, ice machines, and processing facilities to support viable fishing activities (Monterey Fishing Community Sustainability Plan 2013). Existing infrastructure is also increasingly at risk from deferred maintenance and climate change (Hanak and Moreno 2011). It is critical for all communities across the Bay to participate in a collaborative planning effort to implement change. We want to ensure that our local fisheries continue to thrive and contribute to a vibrant, nutritious local food system and diverse economy. Our project seeks to fill a critical gap in facilitating communication and collaboration amongst stakeholders, to co-create a cohesive vision for how the Monterey Bay blue economy can thrive in the face of the many challenges.

Currently seeking more funding partners!