CFSB April Board Meeting Minutes - April 7, 2025 4PM

 

Attendees: Mark Brubaker, Jeff Hepp, Andy Rasmussen, Jason Woods, Bernard Friedman, Kim Selkoe, Chris Voss, Ray Kennedy, Mike Nelson, Ed Anderson, Jaime Diamond, Harry Liquornik, Gary Burke, Michael Harrington, Mary Nishimoto, Miles Wallace, Chris Miller
 

Notes: Ava Schulenberg
 

Agenda:

*Housekeeping, time limits, 3 minute maximum policy on individual comments 

  1. Guest speaker by zoom, 10 min: OST Heidi Fisheries Insurance

    1. Meeting on May 2 at UCSB

  2. Financials - 20 min

    1. Update on bookkeeping

    2. 2024 books - Board vote

    3. 2025 Budget - Board vote if its ready in time

    4. Joining other orgs/SBMM Donation?

      1. Join SB Maritime Museum again? Here are the options

      2. SB Chamber of Commerce renewed

  3. Ocean Collective Update - 10 min

    1. Boatyard layout

  4. BlueRobotics Update from Chris - 5 min

  5. Sunflower Star Lab Update from Chris - 5 min

  6. Blue Economy Summit on April 14th - 5 min

  7. Urchin Project Update - 10 min

    1. New potential site

  8. Sea Grant Projects -10 min

    1. Fish Walk Update

      1. New signs installed

    2. Sea Grant Training Program planning

      1. Boat Safety Class, Chumash interest

      2. Recruiting Mentors for Apprenticeship program 

    3. Event recap

  9. FGC Marine Resources Committee Meeting Recap - 5 min

    1. March MRC 3/13

      1. Minutes and recording

      2. July MRC will focus more on MPAs with a designated day to allow for more detailed discussion

      3. Reminder, there is a $200/day travel stipend for any CFSB member who wants to attend meetings

  10. Letter of opposition to AB1056 - 5 min

    1. Bill site

    2. Submit your own letter here

  11. New Vessel Insurance Policy Harbor Commission Meeting Recap - 5 min

    1. 60-day period to show proof of insurance starting January 1, 2026

    2. $300,000 coverage minimum

    3. Just “liability insurance” NOT hull

  12. Halibut Trawl Bycatch meeting in Sausalito - 10 min

    1. In-person workshop: April 30th 9AM - 3PM, at the Bay Model Visitor Center, 2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA 94965

    2. We've been notified that space is limited, so please RSVP by March 30th (I’ve asked for a possible extension, will follow up asap) with your planned attendance to [email protected] and include: Your name and the number of any additional guests that will be attending, and a description of your relationship to California halibut and/or California marine resources. You can visit the Department’s California Halibut Scaled Management Process webpage for more information and subscribe to receive email updates from them directly

  13. Other - 5 min

    1. Jon Gonzalez Memorial

      1. Service is on Sunday, 4/27 at 1PM at Glen Annie Golf Course

    2. 2025 Cable Grant CFSB Application (general) Outcomes

      1. CFSB Sat Market Application

      2. Will know outcomes on 4/8 (ish)

    3. Dive memorial reveal 4/5


 

Kim starts the meeting at 4:10PM upstairs in the harbor classroom. 

Agenda:

  1. Guest speaker by zoom, 10 min: OST Heidi Fisheries Insurance

    1. Kim introduces Heidi Waite - She’s a Science Officer for Ocean Science Trust, a non profit in CA.  They bridge the gap between science and ocean policy and management

    2. She’s trying to assess how needed fishery insurance is and brainstorm what a fishery product would look like and how we would make that useful for our fleet, and other commercial fishing fleets in general

    3. There’s a workshop on risk management in west coast fisheries on May 2nd from 8:30AM-4PM that I(Ava) am attending - We encourage others to go as well if they’re able to - sign up on the weblink above.  If you’re not available, Heidi welcomes correspondence outside of that workshop window

      1. She says they are trying to give stipends/travel funds if there are any financial factors prohibiting you from being able to attend  - reach out to her to set that up.

      2. There will be a happy hour after the event too 

    4. She wonders if insurance could play a role in some way for smaller losses/events that the federal disaster funds don’t cover (they have a bigger threshold)

    5. Ray says he doesn’t see insurance as much of a necessity for the lobster fishery but maybe if there’s an instance of catastrophic loss 

    6. Gary asks about distinguishing between a catastrophic event and a cyclical event?

      1. Heidi says that’s a great question because something that’s insurable can’t be something that’s always happening but that’s something we can flesh out at the workshop and in the future because we need to discover in general what is insurable in this industry

      2. Who holds the policy and how many people pull into it is another question that Gary has and Heidi says this is also something we need to decipher

    7. Ray brings up the topic of marine debris 

      1. He wonders if that’s something that might be covered under this type of insurance

      2. Heidi says she’s not sure she was thinking more like harmful algal blooms, etc. hadn’t thought about traps on the beach but it’s something to think about 

  2. Financials - 20 min

    1. Update on bookkeeping

      1. Kim says they engaged Kirsten McFarland to review the books and right now they’re in really good shape 

    2. 2024 Books - Board vote

      1. Kim goes over the 2024 financials to get a final vote

      2. Harry makes a motion to approve

        1. Chris seconds 

        2. Unanimous approval 6-0-0 vote stands

    3. 2025 Q1 financials - please review and we will approve at the next meeting.

      1. Chris asks Kim for the high level. She says $43,000 total revenue YTD, net revenue $-29K

      2. We have a lot of money in the bank but it’s not balancing out on a month to month basis 

    4. 2025 Budget - Board vote

      1. Chris asks what grants we are pursuing right now?

        1. Coastal Conservancy grant for planning of the Ocean Collective (Coastal Commission, permitting, etc.) - Approximately $400K

          1. Harry asks if we can submit another grant proposal for another location if that comes up? Kim says yes 

        2. Waiting on Cable Committee grant. No other grants planned. Urchin grants and Uplift central coast grants are new and will keep us busy and funded for the next year plus.

      2. Chris says it’s good that we approve this as a declaration of our priorities. It's just a guide to help us evaluate our spending throughout the year.

      3. Ray makes a motion to approve this draft budget

        1.  Jason seconds

        2. Unanimous approval 6-0-0 vote stands

      4. Andy asks about safety gear reimbursement and we discuss reallocating the cable funds in our application this year 

        1. Ava says that we can do this depending on how much we get which we will know tomorrow

        2. Andy says this would be ideal because it’s faster and he had to wait a few months to be paid out from the county funds

        3. Ava says she’s happy to help folks fill out the paperwork of the County funds because she’s done this for fishermen in the past who don’t want to get reimbursed because of annoyance of filling out paperwork 

        4. Mary says she can talk with the County about that level of funding. She’s curious how many people have approached CFSB for safety gear reimbursement. She wants to know if the County funding should be raised?

          1. Harry says for the smaller boats it covers all of it (like flares, etc.) but the bigger boats with the life raft it’s about $1000 or more Mark Brubaker says it’s about $1,400.

          2. Mary asks the room to send her information on how much they’ve spent so she can show that to the County

            1. Chris encourages that Mary ask to up the cost regardless

            2. Ray emphasizes that working with the County is not a streamlined process

          3. Jaime says it has to be done every year. They have a life raft on the Coral Sea and it would be a regulatory change with Coast Guard to get it every other year because the first year you buy a new one you don’t have to bring it in so you get a free year essentially so there’s a way that we could get strong support from all sectors (it’s a pain to drive down to Avalon and pick it up)

            1. Harry says that’s ridiculous and the room agrees

            2. Ed says the hack to not ship your life raft expensively or drive down to LA is call Avalon rafts and tell them that Llewellyn Supply Company will pick up your raft - On Tuesdays the truck comes to Damon’s yard and the Anderson yard and only charges $25

            3. Ava will look into a petition with regulatory change for this 

    5. Joining other orgs/SBMM Donation?

      1. Join SB Maritime Museum again? Here are the options

        1. Harry makes a motion to do the $1000 tall ship membership

          1. Jason seconds

          2. Unanimous approval 6-0-0 vote stands

      2. SB Chamber of Commerce (already renewed)

  3. Ocean Collective Update - 10 min

    1. Boatyard layout

      1. Harry says this location is a good idea for containers but not trailers

      2. Eddie has been very generous with his time helping us with spatial challenges

      3. We had a meeting on Friday after we had a meeting on Thursday with some fishermen and the architects say the big things are the height of the retaining walls, the placement of curb cuts and the workshop positioning. This is the big stuff that constrains the striping & path of travel layouts, but the actual striping can change and is not subject to external approvals.

      4. Eddie says the biggest problem is if you get above 6 ft retaining wall you have to go through significant structural and geotechnical engineering (and it’s much more expensive) to prove it’s safe but under 6ft is easier  

      5. Kim says right now we have 8 boat spaces and 6 containers mapped out but the reality is more gear storage and less boat

        1. Eddie says you can’t fit anything bigger than a 26ft boat right now 

  4. BlueRobotics Update from Chris - 5 min

    1. Emma from SBCC MDT got an underwater tethered robot donated which is great so we can potentially use it for surveying for the kelp removal site etc. you never know

  5. Sunflower Star Lab Update from Chris - 5 min

    1. Chris, Harry, and Ava attended their event at Dargan’s a couple weeks ago and Chris has since followed up with their staff and met to learn more about how we could potentially work together 

    2. We’re a ways out from being able to partner with them but want to in the future for sure when it’s allowed

    3. It’s symbiotic with a lot of what we’re doing

  6. Blue Economy Summit on April 14th - 5 min

    1. 5:30PM SB Maritime Museum next Monday

    2. We’ll hear from Imani Black

  7. Urchin Project Update - 5 min

    1. New potential site

      1. We’re assessing a new site on the backside of San Miguel because the first area was not as viable as we thought it would be. The project is going smoothly so far. 

  8. Sea Grant Projects -10 min

    1. Fish Walk Update

      1. New signs installed

      2. Thanks to all who helped bring this to fruition and helped vetted the information

    2. Sea Grant Training Program planning

      1. Boat Safety Class, Chumash interest

        1. We’ve spoken to a guy named Spencer Jaimes who is a tribal representative who is very interested in commercial fishing and thinks some of his friends would also be interested in doing the course

      2. Recruiting Mentors for Apprenticeship program 

        1. Hardest part about running these types of programs is finding mentors. We are waiting on our Sea Grant partners for more information about potentially holding this in SB. No guarantees yet. 

    3. Event recap

      1. Thanks to Harry, Jason, Jeff, and Greg for doing seafood demos and bringing fish, crab, shrimp, and uni

      2. Was a great event that helped solidify and strengthen our bond with Sea Grant

  9. FGC Marine Resources Committee Meeting Recap - 5 min

    1. March MRC 3/13

      1. Minutes and recording

        1. We primarily focused on engaging on the mariculture farm agenda item, abalone, and lobster tailing

        2. Chris says historically we have been open to bi-valve aquaculture and we will write Bernard a letter of support if he wants 

      2. July MRC will focus more on MPAs with a designated day to allow for more detailed discussion

        1. Harry says the meetings about the Channel Islands MPAs went til 10PM back in the day when those took place in San Diego

        2. All the meetings to date on MPAs have been a trainwreck 

      3. Reminder, there is a $200/day travel stipend for any CFSB member who wants to attend meetings

  10. Letter of opposition to AB1056 - 5 min

    1. Bill site

      1. Your permit will be revoked if you don’t have a certain landing requirement

      2. Jeff says he could be affected by this because of focusing on salmon 

      3. Harry says this would set a really bad precedent of permit revoking

      4. Jason asks if the transfer process for set gillnet is hard?

        1. Andy says it’s not too difficult if you die (he’s been helping Terry’s family since he passed), but if you’re alive it’s more complicated and for drift it’s even more complicated because you have to transfer/sell the permit to someone who has recent experience in the fishery or is able to pass a test, you have to transfer it to someone who checks those boxes 

      5. Gary says legislation should not be how you run fisheries because we have a Commission we have a Department it’s just a terrible Bill and it doesn’t make sense 

      6. Reaching out to Lisa from PCFFA might be helpful to see if their lobbyist could attend the April 29th meeting

    2. Submit your own letter here

  11. New Vessel Insurance Policy Harbor Commission Meeting Recap - 5 min

    1. 60-day period to show proof of insurance starting January 1, 2026

    2. $300,000 coverage minimum

    3. Just “liability insurance” NOT hull

    4. Mandating this for some vessels will be easier than for others

    5. Jeff just got liability (and pollution) insurance on the Gloria Marie and it cost $2K annually

    6. Ray asks if you can even get liability insurance without hull insurance?

      1. Jeff and Eddie say it’s possible and inexpensive 

    7. Mike Nelson says there was a provision for pollution which they removed because it’s often included in general liability

      1. Harry says pollution should be port risk and we should figure out how much a quote would be for port risk only

        1. Matt Liso apparently has harbor-only insurance now because he lost his insurance when the accident happened last year

        2. Mark put a claim in on his engines apparently and they doubled his costs 

          1. So you can buy insurance and never make a claim?

    8. As an organization, Chris says we need to decide our level of opposition to this (if any opposition at all)

      1. Ray says he doesn’t see the City Council not approving this

      2. Jason says it can take a long time to get a policy for commercial fishing

      3. Bernard says he reduced his liability quite a bit 

      4. Chris brings up the idea of a group policy maybe something to think about down the line

      5. Hull insurance requires a haul out and survey which increases the cost tremendously (wooden boats aren’t insurable at all)

      6. We need more documentation about these challenges

  12. Halibut Trawl Bycatch meeting in Sausalito - 10 min

    1. In-person workshop: April 30th 9AM - 3PM, at the Bay Model Visitor Center, 2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA 94965

    2. We've been notified that space is limited, so please RSVP by March 30th (I’ve asked for a possible extension, will follow up asap) with your planned attendance to [email protected] and include: Your name and the number of any additional guests that will be attending, and a description of your relationship to California halibut and/or California marine resources. You can visit the Department’s California Halibut Scaled Management Process webpage for more information and subscribe to receive email updates from them directly

    3. Jeff will be at this, Ava might go

  13. Other - 5 min

    1. Jon Gonzalez Memorial

      1. Service is on Sunday, 4/27 at 1PM at Glen Annie Golf Course

    2. 2025 Cable Grant CFSB Application (general) Outcomes

      1. CFSB Sat Market Application

      2. Will know outcomes on 4/8 (ish)

    3. Dive memorial reveal recap

      1. They acknowledged that they recruited a lot of their divers from the abalone fishery

  14. MPA Update (if there’s time)

*Housekeeping, time limits, 3 minute maximum policy on individual comments 

 

Chris ends the meeting at 6:00PM upstairs in the harbor classroom.