INQUIRING MINDS
SJSU Scientists Partner With Students and Fishermen to Study Marine Reserves
By Rhoda Shapiro
In 2007, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) implemented marine protected areas across the state. The designation, covering 124 bodies of water across five different regions, requires that human activity be restricted in an effort to protect marine life, ecosystems and habitats.
That same year, the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program (CCFRP) was launched in an effort to conduct scientific research in collaboration with the recreational fishing community. From the very beginning, San José State’s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) has been deeply involved in the program, working with various partners to collect data and evaluate nearby marine protected areas.
“The purpose is twofold — the first goal is to help evaluate the performance of the network of marine-protected areas in the state of California,” says Scott Hamilton, a fish biologist and professor at MLML. “And the second goal is to collect information to be used to aid fisheries management.”
The CCFRP was initially created by Richard Starr, research faculty at MLML, along with Dean Wendt, a professor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Hamilton is currently the lead investigator for the program statewide.
The CCFRP is funded by both state and federal sources. The California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) has been funding the program since its implementation in 2007; the CDFW has also made contributions over the years.
The CCFRP received nearly $2 million in funding over the past three years. The program recently received an additional $1.38 million from the OPC for next year’s sampling efforts, bringing the total to $3.3 million and extending the current grant through 2027.
Along with SJSU, there are five other universities involved in the program across the state: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly Humboldt, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego and UC Berkeley.
“All of us together are using the same methodology for hook and line sampling,” says Hamilton. “We take our volunteer anglers out to do the work, and work closely with the fishing community to design and implement the program.”
“It never ceases to amaze me how excited our anglers are out on the water, and how they learn through their time with us. And also how marine protected areas can impact the abundance and diversity of fisheries stocks.”
— Kelsey Montalto
Fishing trips
During the summer, Hamilton and his crew begin the sampling process, venturing out on fishing trips to 16 different sites. They typically go back to a single site three times.
To date, across the program, they’ve had 2,500 volunteer fishermen that work with them on fishing trips.
“You don’t necessarily have to have a lot of fishing experience. Some have been fishing their whole lives, and some have just been for the first time on one of these trips,” says Hamilton.
At first, there was a lot of resistance when the marine-protected areas were implemented. Fishermen were concerned about their fishing areas closing.
But when they started participating in the program, their perception began to change.
“When you stop fishing in the area, you get more fish. They get bigger and produce more,” says Hamilton. “Populations are a lot healthier and more diverse. The fishermen have had a chance to see these things for themselves. There are a lot of positive benefits here, and the fishing community has accepted these zones.”
During the fishing tour, there’s always a lead technician and a science crew, which consists of several graduate and undergraduate students. They also take about eight to 12 fishermen out on the boat.
“The students and fisherman are always so excited to see each other,” says Hamilton.
The crew on a fishing trip at the Southeast Farallon Island site, holding up two lingcod fish. Photo courtesy of Kelsey Montalto.
Student Madison Sandquist (left) holding a vermilion rockfish with volunteer angler Megan Mach (right).
Kelsey Montalto, ’25 MS Marine Science, first became involved with the CCFRP the summer before she started graduate school at MLML. For Montalto, CCFRP offered hands-on fieldwork experience and opportunities to connect with others in the program. Over the past four years, Montalto has experienced firsthand just how impactful the program truly is.
“It never ceases to amaze me how excited our anglers are out on the water, and how they learn through their time with us. And also how marine protected areas can impact the abundance and diversity of fisheries stocks,” says Montalto. “Not only that, but the anglers and captains share their personal expertise with us, having us all work together as a unit, helping each other prosper, rather than the disconnect that seems to result from other scientific explorations without such collaboration.”
Sam Perrello, ’26 MS Marine Science, is a graduate research assistant for the program. He feels that CCFRP has really opened his eyes to how fishermen and charter captains see fishing and fisheries science.
“I used to think there would be some animosity towards scientists, but everyone I have talked to has been interested in what we are doing and how we are doing it. And they’ve all shown their concern for protecting these species for future generations,” says Perrello. “And that is sort of the whole point of CCFRP: to bridge the gap between scientists, fishermen and policymakers.”
Within a reserve, the team spends three to four hours fishing in the area. Sometimes they catch as many as 1,000 fish per day.
“We keep track of each fisherman and which fish they catch,” said Hamilton. “When a fish comes onboard, the science crew measures and identifies it. They have to put an external tag on the fish before they release the fish. So if they’re ever caught again, we can get information on how much they’ve grown and where they’ve moved to.”
For every marine-protected area, there’s also a reference site nearby that allows fishing. Fishing tours also take place at the reference sites so that both areas can be measured and compared.
The information gathered helps them understand how certain fishing populations are changing over time in the places where fishing is restricted versus the places where fishing is still allowed. They calculate how abundant the fish are, and they also measure the fish and look at how their body sizes are changing and differences in growth rates.
Throughout the year, Hamilton has training sessions with the other universities to make sure everyone is aligned in using the same methodology. At the end of the year, all of the participating universities combine their data into one big database for the whole project. Every year, they make their findings publicly available.
“I envision the program will continue in the future because it seems to be one of the most important ones for highlighting how these marine reserves are functioning,” says Hamilton. “I think the state agency values the work being done.”
“I envision the program will continue in the future because it seems to be one of the most important ones for highlighting how these marine reserves are functioning.”
— Scott Hamilton
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