CFSB Board meeting 6/28/19 minutes
In attendance: Chris Voss, Mike McCorkle, Gary Burke, Mike Nelson, Jason Robinson, John Colgate, Michael Harrington, Kim Selkoe, Laszlo Nemeth, Brian Colgate
Suggested Agenda
1. Report on progress of LEAF funded infrastructure project*
2. Fish and Game Commission engagement report by Chris Voss
3. Commission’s workshop on Fishing Community Resilience upcoming*
4. Vote to send funding to Sea Otter de-listing campaign
5. Vote on Trap Clean up partnership with Surfrider*
6. Report on CBD vs. Bonham – San Diego working group letter follow up
7. Abalone meeting report back by Chris
8. Report on CFSB support of Get Hooked*
*See the end of this document for more detail on these items that was prepared in advance of the meeting by Kim.
MINUTES
(Note: agenda items were not approached in the order above)
o We will aim for the 2nd week in July (8th-12th) for a general meeting during a bad weather window, if possible.
o (#2 above) – George Osbourne, a rec fishing rep, approached Chris about collaboration.
o Recommendation from the board: Talk to folks at the MRC in San Clemente on July 11th to feel it out.
o Other news:
o Dungeness Crab fleet has put in a bill to create a Marketing Commission, used the lobster bill as a template.
o San Diego Fishermen’s Working Group sent a letter to Bonham asking the Dept to weigh in on whether or not they believe there is a need for Incidental take permits for the other trap fisheries so we avoid the situation that the Dungie fishery is in with CDB. We may want to chime in on this. Suggestion to do more intel at MRC on next steps for CFSB.
o Chris reported on attending an N. Coast Abalone meeting.
o Kim was invited to attend FGC meeting in July on resilience of fishing communities to climate change (#3 above). All expenses paid by Commission. Agenda attached at bottom, with invite list. We are bringing a board vote on this to set a precedent on being more proactive about planning Kim’s time use on various topics. Good opportunity for networking and getting the word out for our boatyard/land use project. Motion passed
o Partnering with Surfrider on lost lobster trap removal (#5 above). Make it clear that our intent is to focus clean up during April-September, outside the season. We have limited time and funds to do the work, but so far the workload is highly doable. Make it clear that the geography is limited to the Gaviota-Carp stretch of coast. Suggest providing them with guidelines on how to dispose of traps if they chose to remove one themselves (set next to harbor dumpster). Adding our logo to the flier is good PR. Motion by Chris to participate, but not with unlimited commitment - unanimous approval.
o Update on LEAF grant activities (#1 above). Everything discussed is in prepared notes. Reminder that only $8,000 of the $20,000 total grant funds is allocated to Kim’s involvement. We have only spent $4,000 to date. We hope to be able to work with land use analyst, etc. using additional grant funds, as planned in the budget submitted with the grant proposal.
o Get Hooked: See prepared material below for coverage of this topic. Additionally, there was discussion that having an inexpensive membership option for the public, as has been pursued through Get Hooked, seems beneficial and we could further pursue this at other venues, e.g., the Saturday Market. The donations made by Get Hooked members are paid to Get Hooked. CFSB gets a lump sum quarterly, with list of names and addresses of the Get Hooked members. Most Get Hooked members chose to opt in to getting the CFSB mail chimp updates and Saturday Market Reports. We may want to design a welcome email sent from CFSB directly that welcomes them and explains what CFSB is and ways to support the organization.
Jason Robinson asked to put the following agenda items on the next membership meeting:
o Can CFSB look for more grant money for safety gear?
o Note: most likely sources are CREF at County and mitigation funds, like the South Bay and Morro Bay Cable Grants. In fact, CFSB just got a new Saftey Gear grant from South Bay for $10,000. Feedback on the nuts and bolts of how to set up reimbursements will be discussed at the next meeting.
o Explain and answer questions about Get Hooked relationship’s with CFSB so confusion can be cleared up.
o Recap the goals and motivations for the TNC lobster imagery project, hours spent on it, and what outcomes are expected.
o Note, as part of this project, we are planning a dedicated port meeting about this topic to be held in the next month or two, date TBD. All welcome to attend.
o What is the board’s stance on “digital” data collection and monitoring (as per a reference to it in previous advocacy letter submitted by PCFFA and CFSB jointly)?
o Report on recent talk that we can all expect increasing pressure for more observer coverage in every fishery, and what approach CFSB should take on this.
Meeting ended with a closed session to discuss salary compensations and financial planning.
PREPARED SUPPORTING MATERIALS for some agenda items above
1. Recent events on infrastructure project:
§ Kim and Mike Nelson met with Peter Rupert –
o He’s been analyzing recent fisheries data (tied to Plains class action suit)
o We will send him our Economic Impact data for inclusion of fisheries in his Economic Forecasting project for the County
o He has offered his expertise and tools to aid our economic forecasting and strategizing about industry growth, as it ties into shoreside infrastructure planning.
o He is interested in being part of our task force
§ We have had multiple meetings with Waterfront Dept, City Planning Staff, Coastal Commission, Harbor Commission to move the problem-solving process forward.
o Working with the Waterfront Dept, we were successful in asking the Harbor Commission to form a Subcommittee on Fisheries to serve as a mechanism for evaluating and implementing ideas.
o Bird-dogging the Planning Dept. and CC on plan to update the Local Coastal Plan Implementation Plan, now that the policy part of the LCP was approved by CC.
§ Working with Radius and the Planning Dept. to evaluate land opportunities
§ Investigating the role of Stearns Wharf in Harbor Master Plan, potential for re-establishment of fisheries uses and connections on Stearns Wharf (leasing policies on local seafood in restaurants, possible live tank storage project).
§ Had a Fisheries tour for city council member Megan Harman this morning to show her first hand the space issues and infrastructure needs for fisheries and seafood industry. Toured the boat yard, hook-baiting in Funk Zone, SB Fish Market plant. It all went very well, she grasped our needs and appears interested to engage further.
§ Hoping to start gathering info from the fishing community on demand and willingness to pay to inform feasibility and scope of a new project.
3. Kim has been asked to attend a workshop in Sacramento. This workshop is the result of the Fishing Communities Report that the Commission put out in September. Kim and Noah Oppenheim wrote a joint letter in response with heavy critique and pressure to do more. This led to a series of calls with Susan Ashcraft at the Commission and ultimately, this workshop, which is a subtopic of the larger issue of the future of CA fishing communities, focused on climate change adaptation.
More information on this project can be found here.
5. Surfrider lobster trap clean up.
Surfrider reached out to Kim about a partnership on lost fishing gear ID and removal. Right now, this is mostly reporting locations of lobster traps on beaches. Surfrider put a call out to its members to snap photos and report Lat/Long of lobster traps found along the coast. CFSB (mainly Chris Voss and perhaps Sam Shrout) can then take over picking up and disposing of the traps. Surfrider created a flyer to announce this campaign. We can choose to add CFSB logo and language that this is a partnership between Surfrider and CFSB.
9. Get Hooked & CFSB
In April 2018 CFSB voted to put in a letter of support for a USDA grant proposal that included funds to restart a CSF in Santa Barbara. The grant is managed and formally belongs to Real Good Fish. Kim and Victoria are named subcontractors on it. CFSB’s letter of support is at the end of this document for reference, followed by the Board minutes that describe the plan that was voted on by the board last April for reference. This plan as described still holds today.
Kim’s motives for starting the CSF were to primarily to 1. Relieve CFSB of fully covering the cost of her outreach efforts to the Santa Barbara community about supporting local fisheries, and 2. Provide a new revenue stream to CFSB by making quarterly donations of revenue from Get Hooked to CFSB. These two goals are being met.
Report on Get Hooked Impacts to date:
- Get Hooked members make an obligatory $10 donation to CFSB upon sign up. This has raised over $4000 in funds this year for CFSB. (First check for $3,000 representing the first quarter was given to CFSB in April). Having a large community of supporters helps to amplify our message and provide opportunities to get signatures and other forms of support for our campaigns.
- Get Hooked will continue to strive to support direct marketing by fishermen. We have connected 3 fishermen with commercial kitchens and shared info on certifications required for direct marketing to restaurants and farmer’s markets. We strive to pass on information to restaurants about which fishermen are interested in direct marketing. If/when we are in a situation where no direct market is available to a restaurant, and it seems beneficial to the community to fill a need, we may explore supplying seafood to a restaurant. This has not yet happened. We will continue to check in with direct marketers about new opportunities we hear about, and get updated on market rates so as to avoid undercutting fishermen’s direct marketing efforts.
- Get Hooked has added over 400 new subscribers to the CFSB mailing list. This list previously contained only 99 members of the public who opted to receive the weekly Saturday Market email and reports on CFSB activities.
- 300+ individuals in the Santa Barbara area, Santa Ynez Valley and Ventura now receive Get Hooked’s weekly newsletters with educational content about local fisheries, a fisherman bio and recipes using local seafood. Some of this information is also blasted on our social media accounts, which have large followings.
-These outreach numbers and the large numbers of donors are listed in CFSB’s IRS reporting as a 501c3 non profit, and they are helpful to our maintaining our status, as well as fulfilling our educational mission.
- A poll of Get Hooked customers about their use of the Saturday Fishermen’s Market returned responses from 44 individuals. The net effect of Get Hooked is to increase probability of visitation of the Saturday Market. 17 said they are more likely to go to the Saturday Market since joining Get Hooked and 9 said they were less likely. However, most surveyed said they never go to the Saturday Market and still don’t foresee going (22 people). 6 people answered ‘unsure.’ There doesn’t seem to be much overlap between the two crowds.
- In response to requests to better understand the commitment in the grant funded work that related to CFSB and the fishing community, Here are the sections of the grant proposal that address this topic.
“Kim Selkoe, Executive Director of Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara, our port organization with 65 fishermen members, will organize meetings with the fishing community for fishermen to provide input on ways the new CSF can maximally benefit the port. This will include working out a structure of financial returns to fishermen and the port association, trialing new production and processing of underutilized and bycatch species, and developing a cross-promotion strategy that benefits the Santa Barbara Saturday Fishermen’s Market. This weekly market includes 6 fishermen vendors selling their catch directly to the public off their boats at the harbor pier. It has struggled to survive due to lack of promotion.”
One other sentence in the ‘Longterm Impacts’ section: “By directly supporting CFSB goals and fishermen, the CSF will contribute to the social and political cohesion and economic agency needed within the fishing community to meet the challenge of maintaining successful fisheries over the long term.”
Note that Get Hooked has 3 years to work on achieving these commitments. We have already started doing all three of the aims mentioned.