Working with our partners - A note from our ED
by Sherry Flumerfelt, Executive Director
In 2014, a diverse group of community members came together to start the Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust. Our founders came from different backgrounds and with different perspectives, but they joined forces because they shared a vision of thriving and sustainable fisheries and fishing communities in Monterey Bay.
Our roots were formed through this spirit of collaboration, which has guided our organization every step of the way. I’d like to share some of the key partnerships that have shaped our organization, allowing us to accomplish so much more.
Since the beginning, we’ve worked closely with the City of Monterey. The City Council and staff have helped us protect historical access to groundfish fishing rights and rebuild excitement and demand for local seafood.
We regularly collaborate with the City Manager’s office and the Harbor Office on community outreach, lost gear recovery, dock sale promotions, quota leasing, and more.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is another great partner of the Trust. Over the years, the Aquarium team has helped us raise awareness and demand for local seafood (see the Aquarium’s recent blog), kept us informed and engaged on relevant policies, worked with us on collaborative research, helped with educational events, and more. Last winter, we facilitated a meeting with Julie Packard, Jennifer Dianto Kemmerly of Seafood Watch, and twenty local fishermen to talk openly about the past, and plan for a collaborative future - plans are underway for future meetings to continue building on these relationships.
MBFT facilitated a meeting with fishermen, Julie Packard and other Aquarium leaders to build trust and foster collaboration, November 2019
Get Hooked Restaurant Week would not have happened if not for our partnership with business leaders from two community-supported fisheries, Real Good Fish and Ocean2Table, who met with us bi-monthly to plan, engage restaurants, and build excitement around local seafood and the local fishing community. In fact, the entire program was a collaborative effort, with 39 participating restaurants, multiple buyers and fishermen, tourism bureaus, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and others joining forces to celebrate local, sustainable seafood.
Speaking of business leaders, this year, we started meeting monthly with a team of local fishermen and other industry advisors to get feedback and direction on our programs and strategy. These meetings led directly to our #MontereyBaySeafood outreach campaign, which has fostered enthusiasm for local seafood during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our programs are so much stronger when designed in partnership with the fishing community.
MREP West Steering Committee, with representatives including commercial and recreational fishermen, tribal representatives, state agencies, environmental groups, and the Pacific Fishery Management Council.
Another exciting project that we’ve been involved with over the years is the Marine Resource Education Program (MREP). A nationwide initiative, started by fishermen and coordinated by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, MREP aims to give industry stakeholders the tools to engage in the fisheries management process.
This is a true collaboration among fishermen, government agencies, tribal representatives, conservation groups, scientists, and others, who organize and deliver workshops resulting in a more engaged fishing industry, and an improved fisheries management process.
Here are a few more examples of groups and programs that MBFT works with:
Lost Gear Recovery Team participants, Calder and Miles Deyerle and Darryl Donovan, 2017
The Nature Conservancy has been a valuable partner over the years. The organization divested significant fishing rights to our community and continues to provide guidance and support to us and our partner quota funds.
Our Lost Gear Recovery project depends entirely on working with local fishermen, harbormasters, boaters, state government officials, and others who are collectively responsible for removing thousands of pounds of lost gear from the Bay, preventing entanglements with marine life. This is a true partnership.
We are very excited by our recent work with California FarmLink to explore a new fishermen’s loan program, and recently collaborated with them and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA) on a webinar that helped 25 fishermen navigate CARES Act funding. We are now working with PCFFA on a blog series to make it easier for stakeholders to engage in the fisheries management process.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the amazing team of contractors and consultants that we work with, such as TrimTab Media, and Ecological Assets Management, that make our team so much more impactful.