Marine protected areas and fishing community well-being: An example from statewide socioeconomic monitoring of the California MPA network

Abstract

As marine protected areas (MPAs) continue to proliferate as an ocean conservation tool, it is important to understand their socioeconomic outcomes, both in the short-term following implementation and in the long-term as they become a more permanent part of the ocean landscape. This paper presents results from an effort to conduct long-term socioeconomic monitoring of commercial fishing communities in relation to California's statewide MPA network, which was fully implemented in 2012 and consists of 124 MPAs covering 16% of state waters. To assess commercial fishing community perceptions of well-being and outcomes from the MPA network, we held virtual focus groups in 18 major port-based commercial fishing communities across California with a total of 85 participants from 2020 to 2021. Focus groups had both quantitative and qualitative components, with participants rating their fishing community and engaging in discussions on topics related to their environmental, economic, and social well-being and MPA outcomes. Results revealed that perceptions of fishing community well-being varied throughout the state, but were overall low. Key areas for improvement included recruitment and retention of participants in the fishing industry, availability and maintenance of key fishing infrastructure, and access to harvestable resources. Fishing community perceptions of the management and outcomes from the MPA network were overwhelmingly low across the state with little variation. Common reasons for participant dissatisfaction included perceptions of negative ecological and livelihood outcomes from the MPAs and a perceived lack of clear MPA management goals in addition to poor communication of those goals. Overall findings highlight the value of collecting community well-being data in coordination with long-term socioeconomic MPA monitoring to understand the greater context in which MPAs are received. A well-being approach to socioeconomic MPA monitoring also broadens policy pathways that could help improve outcomes from and beyond MPAs to support overall fishing community health.