Monterey Bay's commercial fishing fleet has lost nearly three-quarters of its vessels since 1981. A report released Sept. 2 by the Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust charts 44 years of change across the region's harbors.

The Moss Landing-based trust found that roughly 1,100 commercial fishing vessels landed at Monterey Bay ports in 1981. From 2010 to 2024, that annual average fell to 313, according to the Monterey Bay Commercial Fisheries: Status and Trends report.

The drop matters beyond the docks. Market squid, the region's highest-volume fishery, generates wharfage fees that help fund harbor budgets and infrastructure maintenance at Santa Cruz, Moss Landing and Monterey, Monterey County NOW reported. Fewer boats and inconsistent squid landings squeeze those budgets.

The report examined seven fisheries: market squid, coastal pelagic finfish, groundfish, Chinook salmon, Dungeness crab, California halibut and spot prawn.

Each faces distinct pressures. Chinook salmon was once a pillar of the local fishing community but has suffered intermittent closures tied to drought, especially after 2008. Tuk Su Yi, owner of F/V Papa Son fishing company at Monterey Fisherman's Wharf, described salmon fishing as the economic backbone of the trade in a September 2025 interview with KION, calling the multi-year commercial ban a blow to wharf businesses.

Dungeness crab grew as a high-value fishery in the early 2000s before domoic acid closures and whale-entanglement regulations cut into seasons. Volume and value of landings across all seven fisheries have fluctuated rather than following a steady decline, according to the report.

Many fishers have responded by diversifying, the report showed. Sablefish, California halibut and certain groundfish fisheries expanded over the past decade. Bluefin tuna has re-emerged in the region, linked to warming ocean conditions.

Melissa Mahoney, executive director of the Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust, said heat waves, El Niño, La Niña and rising ocean temperatures were among the hardest factors to analyze but central to the industry's future.

"I hope this report is seen by the community itself as well as our electeds, as this is where we are right now. Where do we want to go?" Mahoney said. "That is a conversation I hope we will have in the next couple of months."

The full report is available on the trust's website. No public meeting or hearing date has been announced.