Engaging Stakeholders to Inform California Halibut Fishery Management

CLIENT NEED

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) identified California halibut as a species requiring management attention due to potential risks associated with bycatch and climate change. As a first step, CDFW is engaging with the stakeholder community to share information about the fishery and learn of stakeholders’ priorities, concerns, and needs for the management of the fishery.

STRATEGY

In partnership with the Resources Legacy Fund, Strategic Earth will work with CDFW to provide members of the California ocean community the opportunity to learn about and become involved in CDFW’s management process for California halibut through an initial round of informal interviews and a public webinar series. One-on-one interviews will be conducted by Strategic Earth with a small number of fishermen and ocean users to inform the webinar design and set up conversations for success. During the webinars, Strategic Earth will support CDFW in exploring shared priorities and concerns with recreational and commercial fishermen for the long-term sustainability of the species, ecosystem, and fishing community.

KEY RESULTS & OUTCOMES

Receive input from members of the ocean community on the needs of the California halibut fishery to inform CDFW’s design of a science-based, stakeholder-involved management process.