Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of California Commercial Fisheries from 2005 to 2019 and Potential Overlap with Offshore Wind Energy Development

Abstract

As climate change accelerates and fisheries management continues to evolve, California's commercial fisheries are changing. To improve the understanding of recent California fisheries dynamics, we compiled and analyzed commercial landings receipts to characterize temporal and spatial variation in landing and value of key fisheries groups within the exclusive economic zone across the state from 2005 to 2019. We found that California fisheries continue a shift first observed in the 1980s from higher-biomass, lower-value species, such as coastal pelagic species and market squid, toward lower-biomass, higher-value species, such as Dungeness crab Cancer magister and groundfish. Over the 15year time series analyzed, total landings declined by nearly two-thirds but total value remained relatively stable, likely due to a focus on higher value species and rising prices. The northern half of the state has become much more economically valuable, accounting for over 50% of total value across the state in 2019. A case study analysis found groundfish to be the dominant fisheries in the two areas that have been identified as priorities for potential offshore wind development in central and northern California. Our results elucidate the most recent status and trends of California's commercial fisheries, over time, across space, and among different fisheries groups, providing valuable information for informing fisheries management and marine spatial planning.

Effects of basin-scale climate modes and upwelling on nearshore marine heatwaves and cold spells in the California Current

“…Dynamically, these processes operate on distinct timescales with basin-scale climate modes driving low-frequency (interannual) variability in the background state and positive phases associated with increased SST, thermocline depth, and upper ocean stratification 31 , 32 . Upwelling drives higher-frequency fluctuations in temperature and stratification in this region both seasonally and intraseasonally (synoptically) due to one to two week upwelling/relaxation cycles 29 , 33 – 36 . Given the time-scales of MHWs/MCSs (days to months; see Table 1 and Fig.…”

“…Coastal upwelling seasonality dominates the physical and biogeochemical variability in this region, with peak upwelling in the spring (April and May) and moderate upwelling throughout the summer 29 , 35 , 52 . This region is also home to two major commercial fishing ports and economically important fisheries, several marine protected areas, and giant kelp forests that support high biodiversity 36 . Data were collected in a shallow (~ 3 m nominal depth) nearshore site adjacent to the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant (35.2055°N, 120.8500°W; Fig.…”