Chris Voss is a California native and a life-long commercial fisherman. He has fished in California waters for rock crab, shrimp, sea cucumber, sea urchin, abalone, nearshore live fish, and lobster. For 26 years he also spent his summers in Bristol Bay, Alaska fishing for sockeye salmon. He is currently the President of Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara (CFSB) and former President of the California Abalone Association. He is an active member of the California Lobster and Trap Fishermen’s Association and a former member of the Alaska Fishermen’s Marketing Association and the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Marketing Association. He has a Bachelor of Arts from UCSB in Aquatic Biology and is working on a number of projects that aim to build stronger relationships between fishing communities, state managers, and NGOs.

 

Chris has been serving as CFSB’s President since 2016. Chris and his wife Leslie have a son and daughter, who are both in the commercial fishing industry, and have 4 beautiful grandchildren all currently based in Santa Barbara, CA.