Participants from Crescent City conveyed that it has been a difficult time in the port community recently with few bright spots. They described the health of the marine resource base as a key strength and noted that Crescent City does have some representation on key management bodies which allows their perspective to be considered in management decisions. Their adjacency to the Oregon border gives them the ability to land fish in either state, increasing their market and fuel options.

Fishermen noted that the lack of a diversity of fisheries to participate in has been an ongoing challenge which was precipitated by the near loss of two key fisheries in the port: the decline of the salmon fishery due to mismanagement of the fishery and habitat degradation and the loss of the California pink shrimp due to the state not being MSC certified. They described that both internal and external social relationships were a challenge with low levels of trust and civic engagement among the fleet and a need for more support from the local port and community. Fishermen described challenges related to infrastructure, markets and the future local resources. One major lacking resource includes  a processing plant in Crescent City which means products must be trucked out and landed in other ports, increasing business costs, competition with Oregon fishermen who can transport their business across  the border, and concerns about changing ocean conditions and future management. The compounding of these numerous challenges has meant that it is difficult to make a living from fishing and participants noted that most fishermen from the port must have other additional jobs to support their livelihoods.