Economic Impact of the Commercial Fisheries on Local County Economies from Catch in All California National Marine Sanctuaries 2010, 2011 and 2012

Authors:

Vernon R. Leeworthy, NOAA, National Ocean Service, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Desiree Jerome, Clark University, NOAA Summer Fellow
Kelsey Schueler, Monterey Institute of International Studies, Center for the Blue Economy Summer Fellow

photo montage of sea life

This report estimates the economic impact of commercial fishing within all California National Marine Sanctuaries (CA NMS) according to the California Ocean Fish Harvester Economic Model (COFHE). The methodology applies county multipliers to estimates of harvest revenue from CA NMS in order to calculate output, income, value added and employment. This report also describes a profile of the commercial fish industry in the CA NMS. CA NMS includes all existing National Marine Sanctuary sites in California: Channel Islands (CINMS), Monterey Bay (MBNMS), Cordell Bank (CBNMS) and Gulf of the Farallones (GFNMS).

The three-year average for 2010 to 2012 finds that landings of commercial fish catch from CA NMS generated over $69.2 million in harvest revenue, almost $114 million in output, $76.9 million in value added, $69.8 million in total income and 1,841 full- and part-time jobs across 15 counties. Consequently, almost one third of all CA commercial fish catch comes from CA NMS. During the study period harvest revenue demonstrated a consistent decline from almost $75.7 million in 2010 to almost $64.9 million in 2012. In 2012 the top five species/species groups caught in CA NMS were Dungeness crab, Squid, Salmon, Urchin and Groundfish. These top five species/species groups accounted for almost 86% of all CA NMS landings in 2012. In 2012 the top four ports where catch from the CA NMS was landed were Princeton-Half Moon, San Francisco, Moss Landing and Santa Barbara Harbor. Dependency on the sanctuaries for total port landings varied, ranging from a high of over 96% at Princeton Half-Moon to a low of almost 60% at San Francisco. In addition, the largest numbers of vessels in CA NMS were out of the San Francisco, Monterey and Santa Barbara Harbor port complexes.

Key Words:

Economic impact, income, jobs, commercial fishing, harvest revenue, California, output, multiplier, Channel Islands, Cordell Bank, Monterey Bay, Gulf of the Farallones, National Marine Sanctuaries