The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has announced the launch of the California Fisheries Fund (CFF), a $5 million, first-of-its-kind revolving loan programme to rebuild California''s fishing communities and to develop eco-friendly fishing.
CFF has also announced its first three loans, which collectively support a vertically integrated fish-to-consumer supply chain that extends from fishermen to dockside unloader and buyer to seafood distributor. It is an unprecedented public-private investment in sustainable seafood distribution.
"Without the California Fisheries Fund, these fishing businesses probably wouldn't get loans, and without loans, the entire seafood supply chain, starting with the fishermen, can't make the necessary investments to make fishing more sustainable," said Michael DeLapa, manager of the CFF. "We expect these loans to be paid back because we're confident about the growing market for environmentally-friendly fish and the new value created by management innovations."
Since much of California's fishing industry has, for decades, been unprofitable or marginally profitable, banks have been mostly unwilling to extend loans to fishermen. The CFF provides needed capital to fishermen and businesses that face additional barriers because the experimental methods they use to catch fish and protect the environment are considered risky by lenders.
The CFF will grant Morro Bay Fish Company a $25,000 working capital line of credit, as well as a 5-year, $100,000 loan to remodel its freezer, purchase a delivery truck and build a hoist on the dock. As the primary fish buyer on the dock in Morro Bay, Morro Bay Fish Company will help to deliver and market sustainable fish from local fishermen.
Central Coast Seafood, a leading sustainable fish buyer from Atascadero in San Luis Obispo County, California, will use a $150,000 line of credit from the CFF to invest in black cod inventory, as well as marketing to keep up with the increased supply from local fishing. The fishing quotas for black cod are nearly quadrupling in 2009 - rising to 3 million pounds in the fishing regions surrounding Morro Bay - due to the abundance and health of the stock.
CFF's first loans are in Morro Bay because fisheries managers and fishermen made significant improvements in management and commitments to environmentally friendly business and fishing. In 2005, EDF worked with The Nature Conservancy on a fishing vessel and permit buyout that protected over three million acres of valuable ocean habitat, and a group of Morro Bay fisherman switched from trawling to using more selective and environmentally-friendly gear types, including traps and hook-and-line. Last year, these vessels fully complied with, and even exceeded, stringent catch limits.
CFF is funded in part by the California Ocean Protection Council, which coordinates the protection and management of California's ocean and coastal resources, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which supports communities that are working to improve the sustainability of their fisheries. The state of California has invested two million dollars into the CFF and the Moore Foundation and other private foundations have invested another three million dollars.
