Final Report
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NORTH COAST PRE-MLPA COMMUNITY-BASED SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERIZATION AND RISK ASSESSMENT - Final Report - Prepared for The County of Humboldt Headwaters Fund by IMPACT ASSESSMENT, INC. 2166 Avenida de la Playa, Suite F La Jolla, California 92037 [email protected] December 2010 IMPACT ASSESSMENT, INC. 2166 Avenida de la Playa, Suite F La Jolla, California 92037 Ms. Dawn Elsbree, Coordinator Humboldt County Headwaters Fund 520 E Street Eureka, California 95501 December 31, 2010 Dear Ms. Elsbree: We are pleased to submit this Final Technical Report for the project entitled North Coast Pre- MLPA Community-Based Socioeconomic Characterization and Risk Assessment. The attached report documents the human and physical environmental context within which the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) is being implemented along the North Coast, and it assesses the potential effects of the candidate MPAs delineated in the Revised Round Three North Coast Regional Stakeholder Group Proposal (the Revised North Coast Proposal or RNCP). The descriptive materials and analyses provided in this report are intended to enable well- informed decisions regarding the RNCP and/or any proposed configuration of marine reserves that may be considered for implementation along the North Coast per stipulations in the MLPA. Please note that we have exerted extensive time and energy to make the report as useful as possible for planners and other decision-makers who seek to maximize the social and economic benefits of the MLPA process across the North Coast region. We hope that the materials may also prove useful to Headwaters Fund staff and representatives of other North Coast agencies and entities who require valid information for various other near-term and long-range planning purposes. Please feel free to contact us should you have any questions about the attached report, or regarding any current or future needs you may have regarding this important project. Sincerely yours, John S. Petterson, Ph.D. Edward W. Glazier, Ph.D. Principal Investigator Project Manager NORTH COAST PRE-MLPA COMMUNITY-BASED SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERIZATION AND RISK ASSESSMENT - Final Report - John S. Petterson, Ph.D., Principal Investigator Edward W. Glazier, Ph.D., Project Manager Adam Wagschal, M.S., Consulting Marine Ecologist Carrie Pomeroy, Ph.D., Consulting Social Scientist Leila Madge, Ph.D., Ethnographer and Field Director Laura Stanley, Ph.D., Lead Analyst Rusty Scalf, B.S., GIS Specialist Julia Stevens, B.A., Human Geographer Pam Godde, ABD, Ethnographer Melissa Stevens, M.A., Consulting Ethnographer i Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 1 Background ............................................................................................................................... 1 Impact Assessment and the Headwaters Fund .......................................................................... 2 1.1 Overarching Goal and Underlying Rationale ................................................................................... 2 1.2 Scope of the Project .......................................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Project Objectives, Associated Research Methods, and Pertinent Research Questions ................... 5 Project Objectives and Research Methods ................................................................................ 5 Pertinent Research Topics and Questions ................................................................................. 7 1.4 Organization of the Document ......................................................................................................... 9 2.0 Socioeconomic and Demographic Aspects of Humboldt and Adjacent Coastal Counties ................... 11 Regional Demographic Overview ........................................................................................... 11 North Coast Regional Economic Overview ............................................................................ 12 2.1 Humboldt County ........................................................................................................................... 13 Geographic Overview .............................................................................................................. 13 Population Trends .................................................................................................................... 13 Current Economic Trends ....................................................................................................... 15 Key Sectors of the Humboldt County Economy ..................................................................... 15 Timber ..................................................................................................................................... 16 Commercial, Recreational, and Subsistence Fishing............................................................... 16 Agriculture .............................................................................................................................. 17 Tourism ................................................................................................................................... 17 Current Employment Trends ................................................................................................... 18 Major Employers ..................................................................................................................... 19 2.2 Del Norte County ........................................................................................................................... 21 Geographic Overview .............................................................................................................. 21 Population Trends .................................................................................................................... 21 Current Economic Trends ....................................................................................................... 22 Key Sectors of the Del Norte County Economy ..................................................................... 23 Timber ..................................................................................................................................... 23 Commercial Fishing ................................................................................................................ 23 Agriculture .............................................................................................................................. 24 Tourism ................................................................................................................................... 24 Current Employment Trends ................................................................................................... 24 Major Employers ..................................................................................................................... 27 2.3 Mendocino County ......................................................................................................................... 28 Geographic Overview .............................................................................................................. 28 Population Trends .................................................................................................................... 28 Current Economic Trends ....................................................................................................... 29 Key Sectors of the Mendocino County Economy ................................................................... 29 Timber ..................................................................................................................................... 30 Commercial Fishing ................................................................................................................ 30 Agriculture .............................................................................................................................. 30 Tourism ................................................................................................................................... 31 Current Employment Trends ................................................................................................... 31 Major Employers ..................................................................................................................... 33 ii 3.0 Commercial and Recreational Fisheries of the North Coast ................................................................. 35 3.1 Participation and Production .......................................................................................................... 35 Overview ................................................................................................................................. 35 Resident and Non-Resident Commercial Fishing Vessels Combined ..................................... 35 Small Commercial Vessels Registered to Residents ............................................................... 36 Recent Challenges, North Coast Commercial Fisheries .......................................................... 36 North Coast California Study Region: Landings from 1981 to 2009 ...................................... 38 Seafood Processors, Wholesalers, Receivers, and Dealers ..................................................... 39 Fishing