Turning the Tide for Coastal Fisheries

Port Orford Ocean Resource Team

Port Orford, OR, USA

An Overview Of Our Solution

Developing a Community Based Management Program for the Port Orford Stewardship Area
Who is this solution impacting?
Ecosystem
Oceans
Océans/Côtes
Community Type
Rural
Rural
Additional Information
  • Population Impacted:
  • Continent: Amérique du Nord
Problem

Describe the problem

The commercial fishing industry is at the very heart of the Port Orford economy. Ensuring the health and long‐term viability of habitats and species supporting this industry is our goal. Port Orford Ocean Resource Team’s stakeholder involvement and projects are focused on developing a new citizen science based model for Community Based Management in collaboration with state and federal authorities, NGO’s, Oregon’s K‐12 and University educational programs. Using the CBM paradigm we develop science based fishing and conservation practices that reflect local habitat and stock conditions and apply pre‐cautionary management principles to ensure long term health and sustainable resources. Our solution includes development of value added fisheries through conservation brand marketing.

Biodiversity Impact

Current fishery restrictions limit the amount of harvest through trip limits and quotas, managed on a large regional management scale by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Two of the concerns expressed by local fishermen are 1) how to prevent localized depletion of these important resources and 2) if local stocks are healthy, how to maintain access to resources without being unduly restricted due to problems outside of the Stewardship Area. There is increasing global recognition of Community‐Based Management (CBM) as a legitimate management paradigm for nearshore fisheries. The community of Port Orford seeks to explore how a CBM paradigm can improve understanding and management of their fishery. State, federal, and local partners have collaborated to develop a CBM framework with the community. Two initial steps have been taken concurrently to facilitate the evolution of a functional CBM structure in Port Orford: 1) educate and empower stakeholders to contribute to sustainable solutions, and 2) assess the biological, economic and social health of the Port Orford Reef and its surrounding fisheries. These critical first steps prepared stakeholders for successful long‐term strategic planning of the reef and its associated fisheries, including aspects of harvest management, allocation, marketing, selective gear practices and area management. CBM can also provide an open framework for improving communication between seemingly disparate interest groups in fisheries management (e.g. government, scientists, industry, environmental advocates).
Solution
At Redfish Rocks, Port Orford Ocean Resource Team helped established Oregonƒ??s first marine reserve/marine protected area. POORT and the Redfish Rocks Community Team are partners in supporting ongoing monitoring and evaluation efforts by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to look at the effects of the closed area on biodiversity. Many people are closely watching the Port Orford process. We will provide a regional and national model for the future of community based management paradigms. Increased knowledge of local stock conditions through local knowledge/citizen science and collaborative research will help guide stewardship using preƒ?cautionary management principles. Examples of implemented projects supporting local knowledge include: ƒ?› A coastal marine spatial planning project to establish geoƒ?spatial analysis capability for the community of Port Orford and use MSP tools to conduct planning within the Stewardship Area. ƒ?› Port sampling projects in partnership with ODFW to enhance collection of biological data including samples used to identify stock structure. ƒ?› Tagging studies in partnership with Oregon State University (OSU) to look at fish movement and survival. ƒ?› A multiƒ?beam bathymetric survey in collaboration with ODFW and OSU to map the Redfish Rocks Marine Resereve/Marine Protected area and adjacent areas. ƒ?› A dive survey in collaboration with OSU and The Nature Conservancy to groundtruth habitats within the bathymetric survey area and collect and identify seaweeds and invertebrates. // The Port Orford Community Stewardship Area was established through a bottomƒ?up process that brought together commercial fishermen, community leaders, state agencies and members of the public. With support from the Port Orford Ocean Resource Team and other partners, the Stewardship Area project works to enhance existing management through engaging local residents in bottomƒ?up science, management, and stewardship. The Stewardship Area encompasses 242,164 hectares of ocean habitat and 99,714 hectares of land and watershed habitats. The Stewardship Area concept is founded on an ecosystemƒ?based approach to management. The boundaries of the Port Orford Stewardship Area encompass both the communityƒ??s traditional fishing grounds, as well as upland watersheds. Management goals of the Stewardship Area are focused on advancing the sustainability of the entire nearshore system, including the resource users that are dependent upon it. Fundamental Principles Established for the Stewardship Area 1. Science should drive management 2. Rules must provide the community a secure future 3. Management decisions should reflect local needs 4. Management decisions must maintain economic and ecological sustainability 5. Recognition comes with participation

Replicability

How many years has your solution been applied? 8 years // Have others reproduced your solution elsewhere? Yes // A systems view approach is desperately needed to save what remains of our fishery resources and their associated communities. A decentralized, holistic perspective will require decision‐makers to work on an appropriately small geographic scale. They will need to take not only ecological measures to protect the resource, but concomitant ecological and social measures to preserve healthy, viable coastal communities. With limited budgets, state and federal agencies also need the support of local community to manage on a smaller spatial scale. POORT has been a leader in helping develop a community based model for managing resources and offers a platform for local, state, federal agencies, Universities, NGOS etc come together to solve problems and plan for the future.

Human Well Being and Livelihood Impact

The stated vision of the Advisory Board for the Port Orford Community Based Management Project is: A sustainable fishery that combines the best science, education, conservation, and local experiential knowledge for the community to make local fishery management decisions that 1) sustain and improve the habitat or population base of fish, 2) provide high quality, high value seafood products to consumers and 3) support the economic viability of the Port Orford community. The community of Port Orford has a population of 1,200. There are approximately 300 members of the fishing community (fishermen and families). POORT has brought money directly into the community by (1) initiating research projects, workshops, conferences that bring in folks who spend money on gas, food, lodging and vessel charter from commercial fishermen (2) securing legislative funds to purchase property for an education/research facility – the build out of the facility will provide local construction jobs (3)initiating science that increases understanding of the nearshore marine environment by fishery managers thus helping our fishermen secure a future in local sustainable fisheries (4)partnering with a lending company to provide much‐needed access to capital for fishermen to purchase fishing rights (5)establishing a marketing program that increased the value of four fisheries directly to the fishermen. POORT, via donations from fishermen and agency research projects, provides 400lbs of fish filets to the food bank annually. Often this is the only protein in the food box. // The POORT process is guided by a formal board of five fishermen. The POORT Board functions as the ultimate governing body of the community process & is charged with advancing POORT’s vision of a sustainable fishery & healthy marine ecosystem. As such, the POORT Board provides a transparent & functional mechanism for decision‐making – a key element to the success of any community‐based process. The POORT Board’s efforts are closely connected to the broader fishing fleet. Facilitation is provided by staff from POORT & partner organizations to assist fleet members in developing common goals & objectives & determining alternatives for action. Fleet meetings also include an educational component, as a recognized prerequisite of empowerment at both the individual & community scale. The POORT process includes formal input from a Community Advisory Team that provides recommendations & expertise to the POORT Board & project partners. Comprised of stakeholders & community leaders, the Team is intended to reflect the interests & concerns of the broader Port Orford community. Engagement of the Community Advisory Team ensures that different segments of the community are formally represented within the POORT process. Such diverse participation is important for improving understanding between different groups & can also facilitate development of stronger solutions by community participants. The Community Advisory Team also includes a staff representative from the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) to ensure that community planning efforts are connected to existing management.
Overview