The MLMA includes four general policies for achieving its goals of conservation, sustainable use, and restoration of California's marine living resources: science, constituent involvement, adaptive management, and socio-economic considerations. The application of each of these general policies is reflected in other provisions of the MLMA. Science At the core of the MLMA is the principle of basing decisions on sound science and other useful information. With this in mind, the MLMA includes, as a general objective, promotion of research on marine ecosystems that will enable better management decisions [7050(b)(5)]. The MLMA also calls for basing decisions on the best available scientific information as well as other information that the Department and Commission possess [7050(b)(6)]. While the MLMA emphasizes scientific information, it also recognizes the value and importance of relying upon other sources of information in making decisions regarding the conservation and sustainable use of California's marine living resources, such as local knowledge [7056(h)]. Within this general policy on science and marine living resources, the MLMA establishes more specific policies for the management of marine fisheries. Fishery management decisions are to be based on the best available scientific and other relevant information, including what the MLMA calls essential fishery information. Essential fishery information includes the biology of fish, population status and trends, fishing effort, catch levels, and impacts of fishing [93]. The MLMA calls upon the Department to collect essential fishery information for all marine fisheries managed by the State [7060(a) and (b)]. This kind of information is to form the basis for fishery management plans developed under the MLMA [7072(b)]. Obtaining information shall not substantially delay the development of a plan, however. This provision is intended to ensure that the pursuit of additional information does not delay the adoption of needed management measures, thereby increasing the risk of unsustainable fishing. To foster improvements in the management of individual fisheries, the MLMA requires that fishery management plans include a research protocol that identifies critical information gaps and the steps that will be taken to close those gaps [7081]. There are other ways in which the MLMA calls for the use of sound science in managing fisheries. Fishery management plans are to summarize the best available scientific and other relevant information regarding the effects of management measures on fish populations and habitats, fishermen, and coastal communities [7083(b)]. Plans are to rely on such information in identifying measures that might minimize damage to habitat from fishing [7084(a)]. Where bycatch occurs in a fishery, a fishery management plan is to summarize the best available scientific information on such things as level of bycatch and its effects on other fisheries, the conservation of bycatch species, and the ecosystem [7085]. Fishery management plans are also to draw on such information when identifying criteria for determining when a fishery is overfished [7086(a)]. To foster the soundness of scientific information used in decisions on fisheries, the MLMA calls for the Department to have the scientific basis for management documents reviewed by a panel of external experts [7062(a)]. Constituent Involvement Generally The MLMA builds upon traditional public participation in government decisionmaking in laying out its policy on involving constituents in its implementation. As a matter of practice, both the Department and the Commission have regularly held meetings to gather suggestions for changes in management and regulations. Under the California Environmental Quality Act, they also hold hearings and solicit comments on regulatory matters. The Department has established several committees, such as the Director's Marine Resources Advisory Committee, as well as committees on sea urchins, and abalone. The Legislature has established several other committees, as on abalone, Dungeness crab, squid, herring, and salmon. Usually, membership on these committees is allocated to specific interest groups, such as sport and commercial fishermen, processors, and environmental organizations. Less formally, Department and Commission staff speak and correspond with interested individuals, and distribute information through newsletters and at meetings and conferences. (See Appendix C for more information on the regulatory process.) In addition to these traditional approaches, the MLMA calls for the development of new ways of involving fishermen, conservationists, processors, and others in issues ranging from identifying fisheries most in need of management to developing research protocols for individual fisheries. It is up to the Department and constituents to decide how constituents will be involved. Depending on the situation, the particular issue, and the stage in the decisionmaking process, meaningful involvement may require conversations in person or by telephone, a newsletter, email, small-group discussions, workshops, large meetings, or hearings. In other words, the MLMA does not dictate the form that constituent involvement is to take, but does require that the decisionmaking process be open and meaningful. Generally, the MLMA calls for involving "all interested parties" in making decisions regarding marine living resources [7050(b)(7)] and for disseminating accurate information on the status of marine life and its management [7050(b)(8)]. The MLMA emphasizes the importance of ongoing communication among the Department, the Commission, and those most affected by decisions, and other interested parties [7059(a)(1)]. It encourages the Department and the Commission to seek the help of specialists in the sciences and other individuals in dealing with the complex issues that arise in managing fisheries [7059(a)(2)]. Finally, to foster participation, meetings should be conducted in those areas most affected by decisions [7059(a)(4)]. As with other management tasks, the Department and the Commission should seek to improve communication, collaboration, and dispute resolution activities, partly by soliciting the views of constituents [7059(b)(1)]. The Commission and Department must also develop a way of designing factfinding and dispute resolution processes appropriate for each element of the MLMA [7059(b)(2)]. The Act specifically mentions as models the take reduction teams established under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the processes used for improving the management of the California herring, sea urchin, prawn, angel shark, and white seabass fisheries [7059(b)(2)]. Constituent Involvement in Marine Fisheries Management The MLMA focuses special attention on constituent involvement in marine fisheries management-not only in the development of management plans but in other key activities such as research and implementation of management decisions. This focus does not mean that the Department or the Commission are to abdicate their public trust responsibility to ensure that fisheries are ecologically sustainable. Rather, the Department and the Commission are to strive to build agreements with constituents within the policy guidelines of the MLMA. The MLMA requires that the overall fishery management system meets several objectives regarding constituent involvement [7056(h), (k), and (l)]: The process is open and seeks relevant information from interested people. Collaborative management is encouraged, and dispute resolution mechanisms are in place. The management system seeks to respond to the concerns of participants in the fishery and to changing conditions in the environment and markets, for instance. In involving fishermen, the MLMA specifically mentions that the Department and Commission should ensure adequate involvement by considering the gear used in a fishery, the involvement of commercial and/or recreational fishermen, and the areas of the coast where the fishery occurs [7059(b)(4)]. The MLMA specifically mentions application of these constituent involvement policies in the following fisheries management activities: designing and conducting research [7060(c)], preparing the annual state of the fisheries report [7065(a)], preparing fishery management plans [7076(a)], developing the master plan for fisheries management [7073(a)], developing a process for involving constituents in the preparation of fishery management plans, plan amendments, and research plans in the master plan [7073(b)(4)], designing research protocols for individual fishery management plans [7074(b)], and developing criteria for determining when a fishery management plan may be exempted from peer review [7075(c)]. Adaptive Management Conservation and sustainable use of marine living resources are hampered by the limits of our understanding and the many external forces, from climate changes to economic changes, that affect human activities and the abundance and distribution of marine life. As a result, the outcomes of management are much less certain than those of engineering, for instance. The MLMA recognizes the limits of current fisheries management practices and the need to adapt to changing circumstances. It does so by embracing the principle of adaptive management. The MLMA defines this principle as a scientific policy that seeks to improve management "by viewing program actions as tools for learning" [90.1]. Management measures must be designed to provide useful information whether they succeed or fail. Monitoring and evaluation of fisheries are needed to detect the effect of the measures. The MLMA explicitly calls for ensuring that managers can respond to changing environmental and socio-economic conditions [7056(l)]. It also calls for reviewing the overall fishery management system's effectiveness in achieving sustainability and in involving people in a fair and reasonable manner [7056(m)]. Besides requiring the Department and Commission to review their public involvement and communication activities [7059(b)(1)], the MLMA also requires that the master plan for fisheries and fishery management plans include periodic review and amendment [7073(b)(5); 7087.1]. The Act also suggests that the annual report on the status of fisheries recommend changes in the management system. Socio-Economic Considerations While the overriding goal of the MLMA is to ensure that activities affecting marine life, including fisheries, are sustainable, the Act recognizes other needs as well. Several times in the MLMA, the Legislature referred to the different values and benefits that Californians find in their marine wildlife: environmental, economic, aesthetic, recreational, educational, scientific, nutritional, social, and historic [7050(a)]. Since the MLMA is largely devoted to the management of marine fisheries, it pays more attention to the values and interests of fishermen and others interested in fisheries. In general, the MLMA calls not only for maintaining satisfying sport fisheries but for fostering the growth of commercial fisheries [7050(c) and (d)]. The MLMA recognizes the potential for conflict between commercial and recreational fishing and calls for close coordination in the management of these activities [7056(f)]. The long-term interests of those dependent on fishing for food, livelihood, or recreation receive special mention in the MLMA [7056(i)]. The management system established by the MLMA also is to minimize adverse impacts on small-scale fisheries, coastal communities, and local economies [7056(j)]. Note, however, that these concerns are secondary to the broader mission of fostering sustainable fisheries. These themes draw together in the preparation of fishery management plans. Under the MLMA, FMPs are to summarize information on economic and social factors in the fishery [7080(e)]. If an FMP includes new management measures, it must analyze their anticipated effects on fishermen as well as coastal communities and businesses that rely on the fishery [7083(b)]. Any increases or restrictions on catches are to be allocated fairly among recreational and commercial fishermen [7072(c)]. Questions, comments or suggestions? Please contact us