Staff from Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary submitted a proposal to the Pacific Fishery Management Council to modify boundaries for the Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat as part of a five-year review process. This proposal is the product of an eleven-month stakeholder process that began in August of 2012 with meetings among fishing industry stakeholders, and in June 2013 was expanded to include additional stakeholders, forming a group that represents MBNMS staff, MBNMS Advisory Council representatives, the Alliance of Communities for Sustainable Fisheries, Monterey Bay trawl fishermen, the City of Monterey, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, Ocean Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, the California Risk Pool, and Environmental Defense Fund.
To access a PDF version of the proposal (7.8 MB), click here.
The ocean’s health is critical to all life on the planet, as well as to our economic and physical well-being. Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is particularly important because it supports one of the world’s most diverse and productive marine ecosystems. The sanctuary is affected by many human activities that are actively managed by local, state, and federal agencies to reduce risks posed by pollution, resource extraction and habitat degradation. MBNMS staff takes an integrated approach to ecosystem-based management, taking into consideration the interconnections among physical and biological features of the marine environment, as well as the interactions among the various resource users and managers.
“Our mission is to understand and protect the coastal ecosystem and cultural resources of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.”