Fisheries & Conservation Biology Lab (MLML)

The Fisheries and Conservation Biology Lab at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories has been conducting marine ecological research collaboratively with fishermen for more than 15 years. For the past six years, we have been conducting collaborative fisheries projects (e.g. California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program) to utilize the expertise of both scientists and fishermen to better understand the health of the fish stocks and marine ecosystems in California.

Our research program has several broad goals:

• to utilize the extensive expertise of fishermen and skippers to develop and execute a scientifically sound research program;

• to collect data to assess the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas on the nearshore fish assemblage;

• to collect data that can be utilized in federal stock assessments of nearshore species;

• to engage the public in research and education about marine conservation and stewardship.