Transition to a Low Carbon Fishing Fleet
Putting fishermen at the helm of our own energy transition
OVERVIEW
The Goal
To put fishermen at the helm of their own energy transition.
The Challenge
2022’s record-high diesel fuel prices gave fishermen a preview of what the future of their businesses might look like in a world that’s reducing its dependence on fossil fuels. As policy makers undertake ambitious programs to support decarbonization of every sector in the U.S. economy, we want to make sure that fishermen aren’t left behind.
How Fishermen Are Mobilizing for Action
Through the Fishery Friendly Climate Action Campaign, commercial fishermen are tapping into our collective expertise to ask: what kind of targeted public programs and policies are needed to enable bottom-up, locally appropriate innovation and put the fleet on track to a low-carbon future?
This project is taking place in phases, as follows:
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1. RESEARCH
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2. POLICY
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3. FEDERAL ACTION
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4. STATE ACTION
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5. KNOWLEDGE
2025
Mobilizing Knowledge
Coming Soon
PHASE I: RESEARCH
Interviews with Fishermen & Other Experts
METHOD
Five fishing-industry affiliated researchers fanned out across Alaska, the West Coast, and New England in 2023 to interview fishing vessel owners, port managers, intermediaries with experience acquiring and managing funding for vessel energy improvements, and administrators of existing state and federal programs related to vessel energy improvements.
Their mission was to assess fishermen’s familiarity, perceptions, and direct experience related to technological pathways to a low carbon fishing fleet, including:
efficient diesel engines,
a wide variety of load reduction (demand efficiency) strategies,
electrification of vessel propulsion,
alternative liquid and gaseous fuels, and
energy generation on fishing vessels.
They also evaluated existing state and federal programs capable of facilitating a reduction in diesel consumption on commercial fishing vessels. Most importantly, they asked fishermen: what new and improved state and federal programs would you like to see made available to support a safe and affordable transition to a low carbon fishing fleet?
RESULTS
Keep an eye out for our data synthesis reports in early 2025:
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Policy Pathways to a Low Carbon Fishing Fleet
Evaluation: California’s Carl Moyer and Related Programs
Evaluation: EPA’s National Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Program
Evaluation: EPA’s Tribal Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Program
Evaluation: State-Administered Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Programs
Evaluation: USDA’s Rural Energy for America (REAP) Program
Recommendations for future policy pathways
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Fishing vessels: the energy baseline
Reducing energy consumption through efficient diesel engines
Reducing energy consumption through load reduction
Electrification of vessel propulsion
Alternative liquid and gaseous fuels
Energy generation on fishing vessels
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Contextual barriers to innovation and adoption
Opportunities and constraints in fishing ports
Interview Participants
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146
Vessel Owners
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23
Incentive Program Recipients
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14
Intermediaries
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10
Port Managers
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7
Program Administrators
Meet the Research Team
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Kinsey Brown
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Kinsey lives and works in Cordova, Alaska with her husband and daughter. She and her husband operate a family fishing business on their vessel, the F/V Lucid Dream, harvesting pink and chum salmon in Prince William Sound. Kinsey holds a Masters of Anthropology from the University of Hawai'i where she studied the role of local knowledge in fisheries management and social communication systems amongst fishermen.
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Tim Rovinelli
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
Tim is a quahogger who bullrakes in Narragansett Bay and has a background in environmental science. Previously, he crewed on an oyster farm and set-netted salmon, as well as worked for US Fish and Wildlife, the National Park Service, and the Rhode Island Division of Marine Fisheries on various fishery projects. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from Brown University in 2013.
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Sarah Schumann
PROJECT MANAGER
Sarah fishes in Rhode Island and Alaska, and has been a salmon cannery machinist, farmers market sales associate, and deckhand on gillnet boats, lobster boats, a seine boat, and an oyster farm. To Sarah, being a fisherman goes beyond catching fish; it means standing up for the ecosystems that produce wild seafood and the communities who depend on them. Sarah holds a Masters of Science in Environmental Policy from Oxford University.
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Erika De la Rosa
INTERVIEW ENUMERATOR
Erika received her Master’s in Marine and Environmental Affairs from the University of Washington and earned her Bachelors in Political Economy and Social Entrepreneurship at Western Washington University’s Fairhaven College. Erika has fished commercially for fourteen years and has worked as a commercial fisheries advocate for watershed conservation, led maritime business organizations, and launched her own company for repurposing salmon trimmings into dog treats.
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Hattie Train
INTERVIEW ENUMERATOR
coming soon
“If the federal government is serious about providing funds to different industries for action on climate change, we are serious about ensuring its maximum efficiency, accessibility, and usability for American commercial fishermen.”
– Erika De la Rosa, interview enumerator
Policy Analysis of Existing Programs
PHASE II: POLICY
METHOD
Through a collaboration with the Marine Affairs Institute at Roger Williams University, the Fishery Friendly Climate Action campaign procured a thorough policy analysis of existing state and federal programs, and a how-to guide on navigating the policymaking processes associated with these programs.
Roses Laughlin
Policy Analyst
Roses Laughlin is a Research Attorney with the Marine Affairs Institute and the Rhode Island Sea Grant Legal Program. She came to MAI after graduating from the University of Oregon School of Law with a concentration in Environmental and Natural Resources Law.
RESULTS
Read the resulting Policy Analyses:
PHASE III: FEDERAL ACTION
Prioritizing Federal Policy Pathways
METHOD
To set the stage for a coordinated federally-focused advocacy campaign supporting a fishermen-led transition to a low-carbon fishing fleet, the Fishery Friendly Climate Action Campaign will convene a diverse think tank of fishermen and fisheries leaders to translate findings from our research project into an actionable policy framework that we can present to elected officials and federal agencies.
Participants will work together over the course of several months to identify bicoastal fishing industry priorities and strategize on the best approach for bringing these priorities to the attention of policy makers. More information about this opportunity will be available in January 2025.
Cultivating Community Leadership at the State Level
PHASE IV: STATE ACTION
METHOD
The Fishery Friendly Climate Action Campaign is offering a set of state-specific fellowship opportunities to emerging leaders in the commercial fishing industry. These fellowships aim to develop fellows' capacities in community-based peer leadership and fishing vessel energy innovation and policy. Fellows will take the knowledge already compiled through the Fishery Friendly Climate Action Campaign’s Transition to a Low Carbon Fishing Fleet project and turn it into forward movement by producing actionable roadmaps for advancing fishing community-led visions of a low carbon fishing fleet within their states.
