Owner/Client: California Fish and Game Commission
The California spiny lobster is an important natural resource managed by the state of California for over 100 years. The species supports a valuable commercial fishery and a significant recreational fishery, and acts as an important keystone predator within the southern California nearshore ecosystem. Beginning in the spring of 2012, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife conducted a comprehensive review of the California spiny lobster fishery to develop a management framework in the form of a Fishery Management Plan (FMP) as required by the Marine Life Management Act. The goal of the FMP is to formalize a management strategy for spiny lobster that will be responsive to environmental and socioeconomic changes and establish the basis for informed decision-making to achieve a sustainable fishery considering the entire ecosystem.
Ascent led preparation of the Initial Study/Negative Declaration for the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) to evaluate potential environmental effects resulting from implementation of the FMP and proposed regulatory amendments for the California spiny lobster in waters off the coast of California. The FMP would serve as the framework for managing the recreational (sport) and commercial fisheries for California spiny lobster upon adoption by the California Fish and Game Commission (California Fish and Game Code Section 7078).