Abalone Advisory Group Project Update (Fall 2007-Spring 2010)

CONCUR partnered with the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) staff to support the work of the San Miguel Island Abalone Fishery Advisory Group (AAG) – a broad-based stakeholder group convened to develop management alternatives for a potential red abalone fishery at San Miguel Island. The Advisory Group, comprising commercial fishing, recreational diving, marine conservation and fisheries science representatives, was asked to develop a bounded range of alternatives to address the following considerations: 1) a “total allowable catch” for San Miguel Island red abalone, 2) alternatives for allocation between recreational and commercial take, 3) alternative regulations to achieve the total allowable catch and allocation, and 4) potential management, enforcement and monitoring techniques.

From 2007 to 2010, CONCUR served as lead facilitator for the project. CONCUR provided process design guidance, strategic planning assistance and oversight of technical experts, and also served as the primary technical writer of the final AAG Report entitled, “Management Options for a Potential Red Abalone Fishery on San Miguel Island” (CONCUR Inc., January 29, 2010). This Report describes the management options developed by the stakeholders, the collaborative process used to guide the collaboration and the technical information that informed the management options.

At its March 2010 meeting, the California Department of Fish and Game approved the Marine Resource Committee’s recommendation to perform a supplemental modeling analysis examining the risk of total allowable catch levels. This, along with staff cost estimates of each alternative, will be used to inform its decision regarding a potential fishery for red abalone.

Visit the DFG AAG project website for more information.