These data are the result of a collaborative effort led by the Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization, involving fishermen from San Diego to Santa Cruz, to map commercial fishing grounds between Point Sur and Point Conception, California. With support from the state’s Ocean Protection Council, the fishermen have created this information resource, which they own and can use to inform decision-making in multiple contexts. For additional details, please refer to the story map that accompanies this data: Story Map Link .

The primary goals of this effort are to:

The Central Coast Fishing Heritage Story Map depicts commercial fishing grounds located within the boundaries of NOAA nautical chart 18700, although the fisheries mapped typically extend beyond the chart's boundaries. The chart area includes waters off San Luis Obispo County and adjacent portions of Monterey and Santa Barbara Counties, latitude 36° 32’ N to 34° 32’ N, longitude 120° 47’ W to 122° 28’ W. Depth contours and soundings are in meters (m).

The maps provide a historically informed snapshot of the area’s fishing grounds, some of which are expanding, declining or limited due to environmental, regulatory and/or socioeconomic factors.

The Story Map and Web Application include separate layers depicting some of the many areas subject to increased management scrutiny or closed to commercial fishing overall as of July 2022. This information is included to give the viewer an additional opportunity to understand some of the factors that limit the fishing community’s access to the region’s fishing grounds. Note that it is impractical (and beyond the scope of this project) to depict the many, diverse and variable measures that affect that access.

The fishing community project leads, together with the University of California Santa Cruz project staff and M.A Consulting, sought inclusiveness coupled with accuracy. More than 30 fishermen from Morro Bay, Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Diego, Monterey, and Santa Cruz participated in the mapping effort. They created 18 map layers including a map of anchorages used by fishermen seeking rest and/or shelter while at sea. A minimum of two fishermen provided input on each fishery map. The project leads reviewed the maps and contextual data, then provided them to GHD spatial analysts, who had assisted with the North Coast Commercial Fishing Grounds Mapping Project. The resulting maps were digitized by GHD staff, reviewed further by the project leads and other participating fishermen, and then integrated with supporting data generated by the fishermen to produce a Story Map and associated Web Application.