CFSB Board Meeting Minutes - May 21st, 2024

Attendees: Andy Rasmussen, Mary Nishimoto, Mike Nelson, Gary Burke, Jason Woods, Kristie Mangot, Jeff Maassen, Doug Bush, Kim Selkoe, Jeff Hepp, Garrett Rose, Randy Hughes, Adrian Stimson, Theresa Tally, Marco Farrell, Eliza Harrison, Ray Kennedy, Ashleigh Palinkas, Nick Voss, Chris Voss, Michael Harrington, Harry Liquornik, Tony Luna
 

Notes: Ava Schulenberg
 

Agenda:

*Housekeeping, time limits, 4 minute maximum policy on individual comments 

1. Commercial Fishing Apprenticeship Program, Theresa Tally - 20 Minutes

2. USDA Grant - 5 Minutes 

3. Ocean Collective - 5 Minutes

4. UCSB Proposal - 5 Minutes

5. Update on Dos Pueblos Institute - 5 Minutes 

6. Q1 Financials - 5 Minutes

7. CFSB Higher Interest Savings Account, Michael Harrington - 5 Minutes

8. Prop Replacements, Andy Rasmussen - 5 Minutes

9. Ocean Rainforest Meeting Recap - 10 Minutes

10. Jeff Maassen Slip - 10 Minutes

11. Platform Holly Decommissioning, Mary Nishimoto - 10 Minutes

12. Santa Cruz Trap Cleanup Recap - 5 Minutes

13. Offshore Wind Update - 5 Minutes

14. Other:

1. CFSB Merchandise - 5 Minutes

2. Summer Intern: Riley - 1 Minute

3. VCCFA meeting Sunday 6/2 Mrs. Olson’s Restaurant - 1 Minute

4. Saturday Market Update - 5 Minutes

1. Ab Farm leaving

5. Swap Meet Recap

1. Thank you to Ed Anderson, Freddy Hepp, Chris Voss, and Jim Marshall

Kim starts the meeting at 4:05PM upstairs in the harbor classroom. 

Agenda:

*Housekeeping, time limits, 4 minute maximum policy on individual comments 

1. Commercial Fishing Apprenticeship Program (CCFAP), Theresa Tally - 20 Minutes

1. Theresa and Ashleigh introduce themselves - Both work for CA Sea Grant and are based in San Diego 

2. The program is comprised of shore-based workshops (120-130 hrs) and paid on-the-job training so that ideally is where apprentices will come in and before taking workshops might have a captain in mind for on-the-job training

1. Some apprentices do the program without a mentor in mind and find one through the workshops

2. 4 topical areas of workshops (more info on their website):

1. Fisheries science, policy, and practice

2. Boat and fishing gear competency

3. Business, marketing, and deckhand skills

1. Learning how to handle and sell your catch

2. A lot of basic deckhand skills are incorporated here (i.e. splicing, knots, etc.)

4. Safety and seamanship

1. Fishermen’s first aid safety training

3. CCFAP Offerings (so far)

1. San Diego, January 2020

2. San Diego, January-February 2024

3. Morro Bay, currently scoping for Fall 2024 

4. CCFAP Outcomes (so far)

1. Of 6 apprentices, 4 are new entrants now fishing and marketing in CA

2. Quality over quantity

3. Theresa said the limiting factor are jobs, fleets are small and it’s difficult to find folks a job sometimes despite all the connections they try to make; Mentorship is key

5. Scope for interest - What does CFSB think/want?

1. Spring 2025

2. They could give us content to distribute if we want (that’s what they’re currently doing in Morro Bay with the Central Coast Women for Fisheries organization which is run by Lori French)

3. Ray wants to know how easy it might be to contact potential deckhands because right now there is a lack of qualified help so if folks ran through this program it would be good to have a batch of potential new crew

1. Theresa says there is vetting that they do beforehand (i.e. making sure they don’t get seasick, making sure they can swim, etc.) 

2. Theresa also says if they have folks that have some experience but want to get more qualifications this would also be a good fit for them

3. Ray wants it to happen and would like to see it happen soon

4. Gary asks who teaches the fishing-related classes (need to have someone with experience)?

1. Theresa says it’s mostly in-house - Ashleigh does the fisherman’s first aid training, Carrie Culver does part of the training, Theresa does some of the training herself, and another woman named Emily does the business class, but they are very open to fishermen wanting to be involved and if someone wanted to design a workshop and teach any part of the course they would be open to that  

2. The ~120 hrs of workshop training, there’s a 1000 hr on-the-job training requirement too 

6. Kim and the group thank Theresa and Ashleigh for their time and we will follow up with them accordingly based on the positive feedback we got during this presentation

2. USDA Grant - 5 Minutes 

1. Kim and Ava (mostly Kim!) scrambled to get a LFPP grant submitted a couple weeks ago that would help aid the funding of the apprenticeship program discussed above - We will find out if we will receive an award by the end of the summer

3. Ocean Collective - 5 Minutes

1. Kim gives an update:

1. We have been in talks with SBCC (they want to revive their marine diving program because there’s a lack of local jobs; Most of their grads go to the Gulf)

2. Kim met with the principal of Carp High with Jaime Diamond and they were really interested, though that would take more capacity building

3. Cal State wants to do a symposium that the Carp High program could funnel into

4. Mike Nelson is preparing letters of Interest for site evaluation for a storage yard at SBCC next to the diving program

1. Harry asks “For just that little chunk?” Kim says yes

2. UCSB Proposal - 5 Minutes

1. They’re interested in connecting their engineering labs to commercial fishermen (i.e. what are problems engineers can solve? etc.)

2. UCSB would provide payment to CFSB for organizing this

3. We could get some help from our summer intern as well (Riley, discussed further below)

4. Update on Dos Pueblos Institute - 5 Minutes 

1. They want to know what we’re willing to pay for 15,000 sq ft of fenced yard 

1. Ray says as a landlord they should be willing to establish a price before we make an offer

2. Harry wants to know where on the property it is?

1. Doug says if you get off the freeway going north and go around the bridge and down the road there’s a 30000 sq ft yard that’s been previously used by a small operator that’s currently using about half, and there’s no utilities; They have their own gate 

2. Kim says water/electricity is nearby and Ray says it likely won’t be difficult to bring that in if they’re willing to have us do that

3. Kim wants to know if $2,500 or $3,000 a month? They don't want to spend a lot of time analyzing until they know we’re serious

1. Chris asks Garrett to chime in 

1. Chris met with Jeff a couple weeks ago and he’s awaiting a response on timing; Garrett says he has pretty specific needs with his cold storage so they’re looking at a couple different options and he’s awaiting more information from them; Garrett said they sounded like they were ready to engage with CFSB 

2. Kim asks if Garrett would be in the same place? Kim sent an email Friday with the location information that can be referenced 

5. Q1 Financials - 5 Minutes

1. The goal is to run through the Q1 books to get board approval 

2. We got a good amount from rent/storage yard fees 

3. Grant funds have been pretty slim

1. We’ve gotten a reimbursement from Seasketch and another one on the way

2. Cable Grant isn’t included because it came early April

3. Saturday Market now has their own self-funding

4. Gary asks about the quota bank groundfish permit because it’s worth over $201K and Gary wants to know how it got valued at that amount and can it be sold?

1. Michael Harrington says it is the value it was set at when they gave it to us so it could have appreciated or depreciated (Garrett and Ray say it likely has depreciated)

2. Michael confirms we can sell it if we want

3. Garrett says Michael should talk to Jamie or Aaron at Dock Street Brokers - Michael says he will call Jamie at (206) 789-9516 and follow back up with us (likely will have an update on this by the next board meeting)

5. Kim runs through the rest of the activity statement for 2024 

1. Staff costs for Q1 are ~$17,000

2. We are losing money but hoping we get the SK NOAA grant which would change everything (should find out within the next few weeks, any day now really)

6. Harry makes a motion to approve the Q1 financials, Ray seconds, unanimous approval 6-0-0 vote stands

6. CFSB Higher Interest Savings Account, Michael Harrington - 5 Minutes

1. Michael Harrington says Live Oak Bank (a bank he has not heard of until recently) will pay 4% and give a $300 cash bonus for opening a savings account, so we could transfer $1000 to that and get 4% APY plus $300 bonus; He is of the mindset that it’s really easy to move money around so he suggests we transfer some money into one of these savings accounts because it’s not making any money at US Bank

1. Kim asks if anyone wants to make a motion with an amount to start with? 

1. Harry makes a motion to have Michael Harrington move whatever he thinks is appropriate to move it over - Michael says $10,000 or $15,000 

1. Chris says 4% of $20,000 is still fairly conservative

2. Michael Harrington says the funds that are being transferred might take a while to transfer but shouldn’t be more than 3 days 

3. Kim says the summary is that we never draw down our general funds/bank account because we try to fund everything through grants; It never dips below $70,000

1. Kim thinks it would be safe to move $40,000 into that account

2. Michael Harrington agrees because it won’t be spent it just will help us make money

3. Chris says if we can withdraw without a penalty it sounds worth it 

4. Harry makes a motion to move $40,000 to this new account in the bank Michael wants, Gary seconds, unanimous approval 6-0-0 vote stands

5. Michael asks whose name should be on the account? Kim says put Chris’ name on it 

7. Prop Replacements, Andy Rasmussen - 5 Minutes

1. Andy paid $3,000 for a 24x18 prop

2. Andy says you can get better fuel economy, better speed with new props 

1. His old prop with rounded ears was less efficient; When he switched to the new one, he went from 4 gallons to 3.5 gallon fuel efficiency and picked up half a knot (he’s getting 8 knots easier than he ever has)

2. Chris says the APCD made a presentation at the harbor commission meeting last Thursday night and they might be willing to fund efforts like this (Ava will send the notes out from that meeting)

3. Andy bought his prop from Valley Prop in Ventura and recommends them for business if anyone is curious about doing this

4. Ray says newer boats have meters that can document this stuff 

3. Andy says CARB is pushing for a $1.20 climate tax on diesel fuel

1. Andy says CFSB should vehemently oppose this 

2. Ray says there’s a federal tax subsidy for diesel marine use that ought to be taken advantage of (can go back 7 years)

1. Ray says his expert CPA was a field auditor for the IRS and she told Ray “You have the same benefits farmers have” but no one really taps into this so you can save a few thousand dollars from this subsidy 

4. Jeff says he just spent $8,000 on a new prop; Says he did it too soon if there is funding coming down the pike?

5. Kim says CFSB should try to get a grant to fund new prop replacements

1. Harry says we need to write a letter to CARB too

8. Ocean Rainforest Meeting Recap - 10 Minutes

1. We sent the meeting minutes out from last Thursday’s meeting

1. Everyone was frustrated 

2. We are really cautious about who we show the SeaSketch maps to because the heat map technology is really specific and even if certain areas aren’t super dark red, they are still important and ought to be avoided by these kinds of efforts

3. Ray says he was unable to attend the meeting but has some issues with it

1. From a whale entanglement perspective, it’s crazy that they are allowed to use 1.5 inch rope for their downlines when fishermen are being chastised for the line we use; He wonders where the environmental impact report is?

2. Eliza says they are required to have an environmental mammal observer every time they go out and check their current demo site

1. She says all their lines are tensioned so there’s “No opportunity for the lines to wrap” and they have marine mammal observers to regulate that 

2. Ray says a tensioned line will tangle a whale just as easily as an untensioned line

1. Eliza says NOAA has used a simulator that shows that tension does not cause entanglements

1. Ray says that’s data created in a controlled environment, not out on the water, not form fishermen

2. Eliza asks Ray to send her any data he has 

2. Tony asks what a tensioned line is according to them? Eliza says their outer cultivation lines are 2000 lbs and their inside lines are tensioned to 1000 lbs

3. Garrett says they will have data on this very soon because it’s only a matter of time before an incident happens because there’s very little aquaculture on the west coast 

4. Eliza touches upon last week’s meeting response:

1. She acknowledges our request to have their CEO meet and speak with us and will coordinate that soon (Ava will send a notice out when this is scheduled)

2. She reiterates that their site needs to be positioned in more than 30 meters of water 

3. Primary squid fishermen transit area is within 1 mile off the coast so that poses an issue according to her in regard to moving the proposed site inshore

4. Eliza emphasizes that they are seeking a larger permitted area because it is the only permanent site they plan to apply for 

5. Eliza speaks to the environmental “benefits” -

1. She says it’s the least impactful form of aquaculture, she says it will support biodiversity by providing a kelp habitat, she says it’s a powerful feed alternative for pigs and cattle 

6. Gary asks about Santa Monica Bay because they don’t allow fishing in there and San Pedro is close?

1. Eliza says they did not look at Santa Monica Bay - NOAA told them there wasn’t enough space 

7. Jeff Maassen says his perspective as an urchin diver leads him to the conclusion that there are more benefits than just more yellowtail coming through

1. Kim says kelp spores won’t go 3 miles 

2. Jeff says when the kelp at miguel died in 1982 where did those spores come from? Kim says yes that’s true but that kind of event isn’t something we can plan on 

8. Eliza says they would have the capacity to support kelp restoration efforts elsewhere in the channel if those opportunities arose 

9. Andy asks where they’re at in the permitting process with the Army Corps?

1. Eliza says they are poised to submit in the “coming weeks”

1. Eliza is aware it’s vague, but she says hopefully end of May, definitely by mid-June

10. Jeff Hepp asks is there any way that they could consider putting it inside Santa Monica Bay? 

1. Eliza says no

2. Jeff says he understands it’s complicated to find a spot but inside the 1 mile line would be ideal 

11. Jeff Hepp also asks what happens if an anchor breaks off when the demo site is being extracted and he catches it in his net? Is there a contingency fund if his $10,000 net is shredded? 

1. Eliza says in the event there is an incident like this where they don’t execute a full, clean removal, there is money that is already reserved in a Coastal Commission account. So if an anchor breaks there would be money to support the retrieval of that no matter what 

12. Jeff says they’re not opposed to their kelp farm, just pick the right spot

1. Andy says 2000 acres that Ventura fishermen won’t be able to fish

2. The 2400 acres is the full area that’s available nad gives space to potentially design transit lanes, but they are only looking to permit 2000 acres within that 

5. Eliza’s follow up comments can be found here 

9. Jeff Maassen Slip - 10 Minutes

1. He received a certified letter from the waterfront dept evicting him from his slip in the next 30 days

2. Jeff says he has been dealing with health issues over the past few years and hasn’t been able to dive 

3. Jeff says he has been diving recently as a sort of last min effort and was late by 5 or 6 days but was able to produce $15,000 in landings 

4. He says he’s been doing this since 1972 and this is his life and that he actually does want to be a fisherman still 

5. He asks that CFSB write a letter of support for him to keep his slip from the board 

6. Ray says this is a regrettable situation and puts our association in a difficult position because we typically do not take these types of positions 

1. Ray says it’s difficult to conceive that he could not produce $15k in 3 years 

2. He is not sure how much Jeff is using the boat because he has a trailer and a space at the yard? Ray does not feel like he can completely support this type of thing because it violates waterfront policy 

3. Harry says Jeff is already kicked out of his slip before he’s done with his appeal which is not appropriate - Ray says he doesn’t agree with this

1. Harry says he’s in his 3rd year of the cycle, so the concern if we write the letter is we lose credibility 

2. Harry wonders if the waterfront department will ask Jeff for the next 3 or 4 years can you show landings annually? Jeff says not likely because they’d have to change policy 

4. Ray says we have put pressure on the waterfront department to prioritize those who fish over those who don’t and are just taking up space so this would be contradictory if we support this

5. Garrett asks if Jeff made an effort to show his other sources of income from other jobs (i.e. the Navy, Ocean Rainforest, etc.)?

1. Jeff says yes but they did not count it because you need pre-approval and they didn’t count as commercial fishing 

6. Jeff Hepp asks if he can sell the slip?

1. Jeff Maassen says yes but he isn’t going to do that he is going to risk losing it and take it all the way to the harbor commission

7. Gary says Mick Kronman wrote this 20 years ago and how come some people got grandfathered in, he is in a situation where he’s getting older but still wants to fish, so he’s concerned about having to sell his boat and slip in the future too 

8. Jeff Hepp says his dad has been there since the dock was built and the Waterfront Dept. is forcing a transfer fee that’s absurdly high - He wants to know what other harbor’s policies are?

9. Gary asks Mike Nelson how he thinks this will go with the Harbor Commission? 

1. Mike Nelson said 4 months ago Mike Wiltshire briefed the Commercial Fisheries Work group and explained that a commercial fishing slip termination was likely without mentioning Jeff’s name. He said the Waterfront Department had reported that three years had passed and no evidence of the required $15000 in landings had been presented. Mike N. stated that because it was the Work Group's  understanding that Department policy and the municipal code granted no exceptions for research and  specifically stated that a slip holder must be recognized as a commercial fishermen or aquaculturist by CDFW to be eligible for one of the 45 discounted slips designated for commercial fishermen. In addition, occupancy of those slips required proof of $15000 in landings every two years. Consequently, since the current occupancy requirements for  a commercial slip seemed more than reasonable,the Commercial Fisheries Workgroup informally endorsed the Department's efforts to enforce the municipal code.

2. Mike als mentioned that the Harbor Commission did entertain an appeal to a slip assignment termination for a slip holder who was unable to maintain an “operable vessel” as required by the municipal code. And following a presentation by the slip holder to the Harbor Commission of  his family’s extenuating circumstances, the Commission recommended that the slip holder be given two additional months to comply, before the slip assignment was terminated. 

3. Gary thinks a letter of support won’t do much

1. Jeff says a member of the harbor commission told him that a letter of support from CFSB would carry weight 

4. Gary is in favor of crafting a letter of support while also respecting the policy; Emphasizing that this is an extenuating circumstance; Jeff Maassen asks for us to help aid the accommodation of his non-termination

1. Gary makes a motion for us to write this letter (detailed above), Harry seconds, unanimous approval 5-0-1, Chris abstains

10. Platform Holly Decommissioning, Mary Nishimoto - 10 Minutes

1. Mary’s aim is to work with fishermen to refine the information that she’s collecting from CA Fish and Game landings data so that the CA State Lands commission has a good understanding of the importance of the Platform Holly area (block 653 and 654) amd both of those areas will be more impacted than they are now 

1. Tony Luna is helping Mary with interviews - They’re trying to find out fishing impacts to the blocks where the decommissioning process will be taking place

2. Ray asks if that area where Holly is, is in a reserve? Mary says it’s right in between the MPAs; Tony confirms it is from Coal Oil Point to the Naples line

3. Mary encourages folks to participate in the survey because every fishery will be affected at some point - Important to note there is a $50 stipend for participating

4. The seep tents which they may remove are in the MPA

5. Tony says this is very important in terms of setting precedent because this is the first platform that is being decommissioned so how this goes down will have an ongoing effect 

1. Mary says she is only concerned about Holly but Platforms Gail and Grace (in federal waters) have been plugged and are sitting in the water waiting for plans to decommission to take place; The feds have nothing to do with Holly because it’s in state waters (it’s all State Lands Commission)

6. Jason asks if there has been some decommissioning being done already?

1. Mary says yes, the wells are plugged, conductors are being removed, and the plan is to make platform hardened so no one is on the platform until the decommissioning process rolls along further

7. They think the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will come out in the fall and once that’s out the public process begins which gets the ball rolling for maybe something to happen in 2 years 

1. The EIR will have a lot of SB information because our fisheries are so lucrative 

8. Mary saw some of the SeaSketch heatmaps and made the decision that they won’t use them because it brings up more questions 

9. Mary says the block data for the most part looks pretty good 

10. Mary will be done with the draft at the end of June and she’d like to come back to the next board meeting with a complete summary at the next meeting maybe take 30 min if we’ll allow it

11. Jeff Hepp asks if Mary’s job goes away after this decommissioning process?

1. Mary says she hopes not and says her funding now comes from 3 oil companies and the state.

12. Jeff Hepp asks if Exxon will continue with contingency funding for trawling?

1. Mary says it’s 3 companies* and it will only last until they decommission and this is why it’s important that fishermen (like him) participate in these surveys [*Mary checked this–1 company (not 3) is paying into SB Co.’s Local Fishermen’s Contingency Fund based on 4 platforms near Pt Arguello. Three platforms are being decommissioned. Pay in eventually will be for only Platform Irene. The federal Fishermen’s Contingency fund will continue as is.]

2. Gary asks if the decommissioning happens and something goes wrong, does the state have the liability?

3. The state has to assume liability for Holly if the platform is partially left in place.

11. Santa Cruz Trap Cleanup Recap (Partnered with SB Channelkeeper and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation) - 5 minutes - ran out of time

1. Thank you to the CFSB members who participated - Adrian Stimson took Chris, Nate Starkey, and Ava out on his boat, Randy Hughes took Ryan Wong and the Tidy Seas Team on his boat, and Brian Aresco, John Norris, and Jeff Buchanan were there with their respective crew as well. 

12. Offshore Wind Update - 5 Minutes - ran out of time

13. Other:

1. CFSB Merchandise - 5 Minutes

1. Harry says t-shirts, long-sleeves, and hats 

2. Jeff Hepp says make sure you get a 3X

3. Garrett says t-shirts and hats are a good start 

4. Garrett says maybe long-sleeves for members only?

5. Doug will send Ava his recommended vendor that they use to create their merchandise

6. Ray vehemently suggests using Chava

7. Ava will do more research and circle back. She emphasizes to the group that we would make a profit on this even though it's an upfront cost. 

2. Summer Intern: Riley - 1 Minute - ran out of time

3. VCCFA meeting Sunday 6/2 Mrs. Olson’s Restaurant - 1 Minute

1. Jason says dues will start in June

2. Ava sent a notice and will send a reminder, please RSVP to Dave Colker if you can 

4. Saturday Market Update - 5 Minutes - ran out of time

1. Ab Farm leaving

2. Admin

1. Cable 2024 grant will cover Ava’s staff costs

5. Swap Meet Recap - ran out of time

1. Thank you to Ed Anderson, Freddy Hepp, Chris Voss, and Jim Marshall

Kim ends the meeting at 6:36PM.