World fisheries and California fisheries management

In light of the growing world population and increasing seafood needs, it is this generation of resource managers, scientists, fishermen and conservationists who must work to stabilize and enhance fisheries harvests. As the world eighth largest economy with growing public interest in marine conservation issues, California has the opportunity to lead the world in designing and implementing innovative fishery management programs for continued, reasonable consumer access to publicly owned fisheries. However, problems with harvest records and their use, marine mammal issues and resource allocation disputes are crippling California's ability to efficiently manage fisheries resources. These problems are common in nearshore fisheries worldwide, impede efforts to accurately assess the status of fisheries stocks, and degrade the capacity to enhance fisheries productivity and harvests. This paper presents an overview of these issues with examples and discussions.