Student Name: Oliviya Wyse
Fellowship Organization: Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust
Fellowship Location: Monterey, CA, USA
Dates of Fellowship: May 21st-Aug 10th, 2018
Description: Oliviya will be defining traceability goals and needs for Monterey Bay fisheries and participants of the MBFT and develop recommendations for programs that could meet MBFT needs. Additionally, she will support the Lost Gear Recovery program, a project that helps local fishermen recover crab pots to reduce entanglement risk to whales and other marine life. She will be collecting and storing gear, writing reports summarizing the project expansion and related challenges, and providing recommendations for future steps.
Detailed Description of Fellowship:
The Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust (MBFT) works to advance the social, economic and environmental sustainability of Monterey Bay fisheries. We propose a Summer 2018 CBE fellowship to promote that mission through a few interrelated projects. Through these projects, the CBE fellow will gain insight into challenges associated with fishery conservation and management, and gain practical experience in education and outreach, working with members of the fishing community to support sustainable fishing methods and markets.
Traceability for Fish Hub
Following extensive supply chain research conducted in 2016 and 2017, the Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust intends to set up a seafood-based food hub, or “fish hub,” through which Monterey Bay fishermen will be able to sell some of their catch, and Monterey Bay customers (private or institutional) will have more access than they currently have to local fish caught in a sustainable manner. This would promote sustainability by reducing food miles and supporting the market for local, rebuilt species, in place of the current system whereby fish of unknown provenance make up much of the seafood sold in the Monterey Bay region.
The MBFT recently hired a Marketing and Supply Chain Manager to work with local fishermen, processors, and buyers as part of the fish hub. As we promote sustainability and work to reduce the carbon footprint, an important aspect of the hub will be the need for traceability throughout the supply chain. Multiple seafood traceability programs have been developed by other organizations. Some of the steps of this project would be:
- Work with MBFT staff to define traceability goals and needs
- Review existing literature, including meta-analyses
- Compile summary of existing traceability programs (including how blockchain
- Compile summary of organizations currently working in seafood traceability, e.g.,technology is being used for seafood traceability), features of each, which aspect of the supply chain each addresses, where the program has been implemented, and associated costs
- Develop a recommendation of programs that could meet MBFT needs
- Present findings to staff and board
Lost Gear Recovery
In 2017, the MBFT, with the support of the Nature Conservancy, piloted a Lost Gear Recovery Project with local fishermen to recover crab pots lost near Moss Landing, to reduce entanglement risks to whales and other marine life. In 2018, we will expand this project to cover all three Monterey Bay ports: Santa Cruz, Moss Landing and Monterey. Responsibilities include establishing and maintaining relationships with fishermen who will fetch the gear and managing logistics such as storage and return of crab pots. The deliverable will be a report summarizing the expansion, analyzing challenges encountered, and recommending future steps.
Education and Outreach
The CBE Fellow will be interviewing members of the fishing community and writing their biographies for the website, writing newsletter articles, and
producing educational tools such as infographics of seasonal fish.
More information:
Fish Hub: https://montereybayfisheriestrust.org/news/2018/4/15/what-is-the-montereybay-fish-hub
Lost Gear Recovery: https://montereybayfisheriestrust.org/news/2017/6/19/localfishermen-partner-with-the-trust-on-lost-gear-recovery-project
Community Bios: https://montereybayfisheriestrust.org/community/
Newsletter articles: https://montereybayfisheriestrust.org/news-press/