The California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program (CCFRP) has launched a new effort as part of the baseline monitoring effort program of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA).

• View a list of  documents to download, including survey results. (Results from the 2009 season and individual angler catch totals now posted!)
  
• View photo albums of our surveys.
• Visit the website of our partners at SLOSEA in San Luis Obispo.

CCFRP has begun monitoring 3 Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in collaboration with the Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel industry in Port San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, Monterey and Half Moon Bay. We have recently expanded this effort to include commercial fishermen as well.

The protocols for the monitoring effort were developed collaboratively through a series of scoping meetings that included fishermen, academic scientists, and DFG and NOAA scientists and resource managers.

From those meetings we designed a study that uniquely utilizes the knowledge and expertise of fishermen and skippers within a standardized experimental framework ensuring that the data can be utilized for both MPA and stock assessment purposes.

The study includes a controlled catch-and-release program made possible by a group of dedicated volunteer anglers as well as the captains and crews of the F/V Caroline, Fiesta, Huli Cat, Pacific Horizon and Patriot.

In this study, fish are caught, tagged and carefully released to avoid trauma.

Our Central Coast Study Area: