The City of Morro Bay is one of four local government groups nationwide to win the 2012 award for Excellence in Local Governance for coastal and ocean management from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The city is being recognized for its ground-breaking work with other California coastal communities, local fishermen, and the Nature Conservancy to preserve historic fishing activity and build long-term economic and environmental resiliency.
Adrienne Harris, Executive Director of the Morro Bay National Estuary Program, nominated the city for the award and said, "The City of Morro Bay and local fishing groups like the Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen's Organization deserve this national-level praise. They are working closely together — along with conservation groups — to address the social, economic and environmental concerns surrounding fisheries management in the U.S."
Currently, the city is leading an effort to form a Morro Bay Community Quota Fund to acquire and anchor groundfish landings on the Central Coast. Recently, the city was awarded a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to complete a Fishing Community Sustainability Plan for the cities of Morro Bay and Monterey. This plan will provide a strategic path for the twohistoric fishing ports to preserve their working waterfronts, improve environmental and economic performance in the fishery, and work toward regional management.
Historically, the fishing communities of the Central Coast relied on harvest of local groundfish stocks to drive their economies and create vibrant working waterfronts. By the mid-2000s the West Coast groundfish industry was in economic crisis. Smaller traditional fishing ports, like Morro Bay, were the hardest hit. Since 2006, the Nature Conservancy, the city, and a number of local fishermen have been working together to protect marine resources, as well as the local fishing industry.
Over the years, this dedicated partnership has worked to implement a number of best management practices, including diversifying gear types used and testing new gear designs to minimize environmental impacts. While this work was taking place, the ex-vessel value of landings to fishermen in Morro Bay has doubled. The group also helped to create a risk pool and new collaborative information sharing techniques in order to avoid certain sensitive fish stocks. The goal of this local partnership is to harvest abundant stocks, improve long-term fisheries management, and keep local fishermen and marine-dependent businesses financially successful.
"In a time when fisheries quotas are being consolidated and landings funneled to larger ports, it is important to keep Morro Bay a viable working waterfront. The city is committed to protecting the historic fishing industry here and to creating a vibrant harbor area," said Andrea Lueker, City Manager. This work in Morro Bay is helping to protect natural resources for this and succeeding generations, while giving priority consideration to fisheries development and the redevelopment of ports of historical and cultural importance. The City of Morro Bay and many local fishermen leaders have realized that this small fishing community needs to evolve with the changing conditions of the fishery. This work has not been easy. These leaders have faced huge obstacles in their effort to try a new model. It's great to see this award recognize the courage and hard work of the City and these fishermen," said Michael Bell, Senior Marine Project Director for the Nature Conservancy.
NOAA announced this week the national winners of the 2012 Walter B. Jones Awards for Excellence in Coastal and Ocean Management. Every two years, NOAA announces the winners of this prestigious award to recognize the achievements and accomplishments of coastal stewards who make noteworthy contributions and apply innovative tools, approaches, and technology to conserve, protect and improve our coasts and coastal communities. "I'm very proud the City of Morro Bay has received the 2012 NOAA Walter B. Jones Award for Excellence in Local Governance for Coastal Management," said Congresswoman Lois Capps. "Working with their partners — our innovative fishermen and The Nature Conservancy — the City is making a difference and helping to preserve our community's fishing heritage and economically important harbor for years to come."
The awards were created to honor the late, 11-term congressman, Walter B. Jones of North Carolina, who provided leadership in addressing coastal and ocean issues. This year, the City of Morro Bay, CA; the Port of Anacortes, WA; City of Naples, FL; and Town of Plymouth, NC were the national winners in Excellence in Local Governance.
The City of Morro Bay is a full service public agency managing a community of 10,000 people on the coast of California between Santa Barbara and Monterey and is led by city Manager Andrea Lueker, a 25-year employee who is dedicated to making government work.
The Morro Bay National Estuary Program is one of 28 National Estuary Programs around the country working to safeguard and improve the health of our nation's most important coastal waters. The Estuary Program brings citizens, local government, non-profit organizations, agencies, and landowners together to protect and restore the Morro Bay Estuary. For more information call 772-3834 or visit MBNEP.org.
NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Additional information on the Walter B. Jones awards can be found at Ocean Service NOAA.
