3.8 Socioeconomics
grounds. Also according to interviews, vessels working the area may have several hundred traps per
vessel, up to perhaps 600 to 700 traps per boat for the larger operations. As gear sets and hauls can be
six days apart, it is not necessarily the largest vessels that work the greatest number of traps, as small vessel
owners can increase their effective gear capacity by making more frequent sets. According to local
fishermen, an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 traps are set during peak season (October through November),
with progressively fewer traps set as the season continues past the peak.
The nature of the fishery has reportedly changed with the implementation of a limited entry regulatory
system several years ago. Prior to limited entry, there were apparently a larger number of part-time lobster
fishermen than is the case today. According to interviews, approximately one-half the fishermen who fish
lobster do so exclusively, and do not switch to other species after the lobster harvest starts to decline or
the season ends but, rather, discontinue fishing until the next lobster season. Those who do keep fishing
transition into a variety of other fisheries, including spot prawns, sheephead, rock crab, the live eel fishery,
or gillnetting. While levels of dependency vary, lobster is clearly the central element of the typical year's
economic base for participants, especially for the smaller boats that have less flexibility in their ability to
change gear types and move between fisheries.
The market for locally caught lobster has varied considerably over the last few years. Lobster are not
landed at central processing facilities, rather, both the fishermen and the buyers are mobile and sales can
take place wherever appropriate harbor facilities are available. While a significant portion of the local catch
reportedly goes to the local restaurant market, it is not uncommon for larger operations to sell catch to Los
Angeles-based entities. Reportedly, a larger proportion of the catch was going to Far East until the recent
Asian economic crisis; in the wake of that set of events fishermen have had to rebuild local market
relationships.
Juvenile lobsters usually spend their first one to two years in nearshore surfgrass and eelgrass beds. Adults
are found in rocky habitats, though they will move onto sand in search of food. It takes about seven to
eleven years for lobsters to reach legal size. Fishermen expressed concerns about the impact that project-
related turbidity may have on these nursery areas and its effect on juvenile lobster. There are only few
studies on the effects of turbidity and sand burial on juvenile lobsters (e.g., Engle 1979, Perry 1999).
Perry's work in New Zealand on juvenile rock lobster found that they could survive suspended sediment
of 363 mg/l for four days with no adverse effects. Juveniles of this species were also observed to bury with
no apparent detrimental effect. Thus, juvenile rock lobster appear capable of tolerating high turbidity and
suspended sediments. There may be benefits as well as high turbidity may reduce visual predation.
Regional Beach Sand Project EIR/EA
Page 3.8-21
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