4.8 Socioeconomics
the North County halibut (with a 83 percent decline) and sheephead (with a 71 percent decline) fisheries.
None of these conditions are considered likely to result from the proposed project.
Setting aside the halibut, sheephead, and urchin fisheries as having relatively low levels of effort in the North
County, it is possible that there would be localized impacts on the lobster and rock crab fisheries. That is,
if fishermen are displaced from certain areas, effort will be directed toward other areas. This shift in effort
could result in a marked increase in fishing pressure on the areas to which the effort was redirected and
cause localized overfishing of these resources. This type of impact, except for small areas, is not
considered likely for several reasons. First, the model-predicted sand movement shows a concentration
of longer term sand deposits in relatively few, relatively small areas. These are typically near the mouths
of lagoons (there are several in the North County) and/or where the coast contains a feature that is irregular
enough to disrupt the smooth flow of sand in the nearshore area (North Carlsbad and Moonlight Beach
areas). Second, fishermen will attempt to avoid reducing their catch per unit by not placing too much gear
in any one area. Third, fishermen move traps that are not productive, so that effort is redistributed based
on relative level of success.
Preclusion in the Local Level Perspective. Using available quantitative data to examine small, localized
impacts within the North County area is difficult. In general, there is an inherent difficulty in using available
quantitative data to assess localized impacts to the fishery. CDFG data are collected by two separate
geographies: fish block data for catch and port data for landings. Landings data are useful for a look at
fisheries in a general area, but (particularly in the case of larger ports) may include data from resources
caught considerable distances away from the port. Fish block data, while more closely tied to the actual
distribution of resources, is less useful in understanding localized impacts. Fish blocks encompass an area
that is 10 minutes longitude by 10 minutes latitude, except as reduced in size where a particular block
intersects the coastline (Figure 3.8-1). In general, these areas are too large to capture localized project
impacts. While the CDFG data have inaccuracies, they are the best available data and are supplied by
local fishermen (and fish buyers) themselves. Potential inaccuracies are somewhat minimized, however,
by using data from more than one block, and checking San Diego port data against Oceanside port data.
Another problem in quantifying potential impacts attributable to the project is the inherent variability of the
fishery from year to year. The relatively large (normal) fluctuations seen from year to year could serve to
either dampenor accentuate project-related impacts. For example, lobster landings at Oceanside dropped
approximately four-fold volume and value from 1997 to 1998. In this case, the trend is generally attributed
Regional Beach Sand Project EIR/EA
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