4. Fishery proﬁles

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4 . F I S H E R Y P R O F I L E S

4. Fishery profilesFisheries in North-central California, including those utilizing the waters of the Cordell Bank and Gulf of the Farallones, have experienced significant changes in fishing gear, environmental conditions, and regulatory environment over the study period. In this section, we provide summary statistics for several of the most important fisheries in the study area and discuss the importance the sanctuaries relative to the fishermen-identified fishing grounds. We also compile a regulatory timeline from a variety of sources and provide a brief overview of market forces.

Past and present of North-central California fisheriesThe most important commercial fisheries in the study area are California halibut, Dungeness crab, groundfish (especially rockfish), herring, nearshore species, salmon, squid, tuna, and urchins. These nine fisheries account for 92% of landings and revenues per year, over the 1981 – 2004 time period. In this section we synthesize information from several key publications and, to the extent that they cover an overlapping time period, compare their research to the landings and other data used in the remainder of the study.23 We present summary statistics in graphic format on landings, revenues and vessels participating in each fishery, based on the analysis of landings made in study-area ports from Bodega Bay to Half Moon Bay. All time series are through the end of 2003.

The nine fisheries each demonstrate marked declines in the number of participating vessels, as the graphs below illustrate. Notice the difference in scale between fisheries such as salmon, where in the early 1980s over 1,800 vessels made landings in study-area ports, and fisheries such as herring and crab, in which participation ranges in the hundreds of vessels. The salmon fishery is typical of many fisheries in the study area in that in any given year only a fraction of the vessels account for most of the landings. In other words, the actual fishing fleet is much smaller than the gross number of vessels making landings would suggest. This is illustrated in Table 12. Fisheries with very low vessel numbers, such as urchin and squid, are shown in a separate graph (Figure 14) to highlight their trends.

23 The main sources used for this section include U.S. Department of Commerce (1980 and 1989), McEvoy (1990), Leet et al. (1992 and 2001), Dewees (2004), Dewees et al. (2004), Hackett et al. (2003), Barsky (1990), Diamond and Vojkovich (1990), Lenarz (1987), Vojkovich (1998), Hansen (2003), Pomeroy and FitzSimmons (2001), Wild (1990), and sources cited therein.

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Table 12. Study-area number of vessels landing 50% and 90% of total pounds of salmon troll catch, 1981 – 2003

Year Total 50% 90%

1981 1,531 161 10.52% 600 39.19%

1982 1,622 193 11.90% 692 42.66%

1983 1,134 127 11.20% 487 42.95%

1984 1,185 125 10.55% 468 39.49%

1985 1,314 153 11.64% 554 42.16%

1986 1,113 123 11.05% 465 41.78%

1987 1,239 163 13.16% 590 47.62%

1988 1,408 220 15.63% 724 51.42%

1989 1,458 209 14.33% 735 50.41%

1990 1,117 154 13.79% 520 46.55%

1991 994 135 13.58% 455 45.77%

1992 686 89 12.97% 302 44.02%

1993 740 106 14.32% 354 47.84%

1994 698 104 14.90% 325 46.56%

1995 711 116 16.32% 358 50.35%

1996 531 74 13.94% 250 47.08%

1997 488 72 14.75% 235 48.16%

1998 373 55 14.75% 187 50.13%

1999 460 77 16.74% 235 51.09%

2000 461 80 17.35% 241 52.28%

2001 426 66 15.49% 217 50.94%

2002 394 62 15.74% 182 46.19%

2003 306 44 14.38% 140 45.75%

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Figure 13. Number of fishing vessels for select fisheries, 1981 – 2003��

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These numbers contain double counts for vessels that participate in more than one fishery.

Figure 14. Number of vessels for select fisheries, 1981 – 2003��

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These numbers contain double counts of vessels that participate in more than one fishery.

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C A L I F O R N I A H A L I B U TThe commercial halibut fishery began in the late 19th century, when fishermen in San Francisco Bay Area began using trawl gear as well as set gill and trammel nets to target the species. The largest recorded commercial landing of halibut was in 1917 at 4.7 million pounds and was followed by an overall decline to just under 1 million pounds in 1932. Fishing restraints during WWII are thought to have resulted in a rebound in the population, resulting in peak landings in the late 1940s. Periodic fluctuations in response to fishing pressure and changing environmental conditions culminated in the lowest recorded landings of just over 250,000 pounds in 1972. Since then, landings reached a new peak of 1.26 million pounds in 1981, and landings have exceeded one million pounds annually in most years since then. Once a lucrative fishery, with the value generally increasing, ex-vessel values have begun fluctuating greatly since 1980, most likely because of a glut of Mexican-caught halibut in the summer months. Commercial fishing for halibut has been regulated with a series of minimum size requirements, area restrictions, and seasonal and depth closures. More recently, in 2004, the governor signed SB 1459, which restricts trawling for halibut in the state waters (0 – 3 miles). Perhaps as a result of these restrictions, fishermen have switched gear types, and landings of California halibut by hook-and-line have increased in North-central California. Halibut is also important in the recreational fishery, and CPFVs in the San Francisco Bay Area land the majority of halibut caught by this sport mode statewide. In general, however, private recreational anglers exert the greatest pressure on the California halibut population, and are estimated to account for 75% of recreational fishing effort.

Figure 15. California halibut landings and revenues in study-area ports, 1981 – 2003

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The commercial fishery in North-central California is concentrated around Bodega Bay, with catches highest in the spring and summer. It is a state regulated fishery, and has historically been conducted with trawl gear outside of state waters (3 miles), entangling nets (trammel and set gill nets), and hook-and-line gear. Fishermen began using set nets to catch halibut in the 1880s. Trawling accounted for the highest

California halibut catchPhoto: Gulf of the Farallones NMS

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landings between the 1930s and 1970, when area and season closures went into effect. Between 1980 and 1986, the gillnet fishing effort for halibut roughly doubled, with the number of nets used in the San Franciso area peaking at 4,300 in 1983. That year over 500,000 pounds of halibut were landed in ports from Half Moon Bay to Bodega Bay. Entangling nets were first prohibited above the 38th parallel, the northern part of Cordell Bank. Successive time and area closures further constrained the use of nets, resulting in a complete ban on entangling nets in 1990. Since then, the halibut fishery in North-central California has mainly been conducted with trawl and hook-and-line gear. Landings of halibut have fluctuated widely over the period of exploitation, with a steady decline from the highest recorded commercial landing of nearly five million pounds statewide in 1919 to around one million pounds currently.

In the study area, halibut landings were dominated by the gillnet fishery. When the use of nets was constrained and eventually prohibited altogether in major parts of the study area, the use of trawl gear increased again, albeit not to historic levels, and hook-and-line gear emerged as the other major gear type for targeting halibut. As of 2003, the last complete year for which data are available, trawl gear accounts for roughly twice the landings and 50% more revenues than associated with hook-and-line gear.

Figure 16. California halibut landings in the study area made with different gear types, 1981 – 2003

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Figure 17. California halibut revenues in the study area from different gear types, 1981 – 2003

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D U N G E N E S S C R A BThe commercial Dungeness crab fishery began in San Francisco around 1848, expanding northward and growing to 200 – 230 boats by the 1950s. It continues to be the most important of several crab species that are targeted by North-central California fishermen, and accounts for the vast majority of crab landings in the study area. By the time the GFNMS was designated, the fleet had declined to 10 – 20 vessels, all home-ported in the San Francisco Bay Area, but has rebounded to comprise more than a third of all crab vessels statewide. The sanctuary waters around San Francisco are part of the major production area in California, which covers some 400 square nautical miles and includes most of the Gulf of the Farallones north to the Russian River. Since the 1980s, the fishery has expanded coastwide, from an estimated 130,000 traps in Washington, Oregon, and California in the 1975 – 76 fishery to 375,000 currently. At least half of those are fished off the coast of California, with reason to believe that this number increased again in the wake of groundfish fleet restructuring measures, which prompted an influx of Oregon and Washington vessels into California waters. The 1992/93 season was the first to rely on individual crab permits, after which the California legislature placed an issuance moratorium, effectively restricting the number of vessels to 600 statewide.

Figure 18. Dungeness crab landings and revenues in study-area ports, 1981 – 2003

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Dungeness crabPhoto: Gulf of the Farallones NMS

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G R O U N D F I S HGroundfish comprise several dozen groups of flatfish, roundfish, and rockfish. Rockfish were part of the diet of California natives, and have been utilized commercially since the mid 1870s. Prior to World War II, most rockfish were caught with hook-and-line gear, and trawlers accounted for only 5% of landings. The original type of trawl used in California, the paranzella, was towed by two vessels. It was introduced in San Francisco in 1876, and was a standard for the next 50 years. So-called balloon trawls were introduced in the 1940s and were later replaced by otter trawls. Until recently, the groundfish fishery has been dominated by trawlers.

Trawl effort, especially for widow rockfish, increased in the wake of financial incentives accompanying the “Americanization” of the fisheries in the 1970s when the United States declared its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and passed the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Landings of widow rockfish peaked in 1982, when boats from Oregon and Washington fished in North-central California, north of Pt. Reyes, many using mid-water trawls. Bocaccio/chilipepper complex was the most abundant rockfish group in the trawl fishery between Morro Bay and Fort Bragg until the mid-1980s. According to local fishermen, from 1983 to 1985 over a million pounds of rockfish were offloaded at the Tides Wharf in Bodega Bay by 10 – 12 boats that often received no more than three cents per pound. In contrast, live rockfish, including cabezon and greenlings, have been part of a lucrative local fishery since the late 1980s, with hook-and-line caught fish fetching around $1 – 2 per pound on average, and frequently more than $4 per pound in several ports. Restrictions for widow and other rockfish were first introduced in 1983, and the entire groundfish fishery was restricted as a limited entry fishery in the mid 1990s. Rockfish are also an important part of the recreational fishery in North-central California, historically accounting for the vast majority of CPFV landings recorded from what are now sanctuary waters. Recreational anglers appreciate the diversity of the species complex, and numbers of recreational anglers have increased steadily since World War II. Since the late 1990s, the recreational fishery has gained increasing attention from the federal fishery management process, with rockfish allocations shifting towards recreational and away from commercial fisheries. This shift was prompted by the rockfish rebuilding plans adopted by federal fisheries managers and the resulting fishing constraints on the rockfish fishery. Recreational anglers have become more engaged in the federal fishery management process in order to secure an allocation that allows for continued fishing.

BocaccioPhoto: Linda Snook, Cordell Bank NMS

Kelp greenlingPhoto: Michael Carver, Cordell Bank NMS

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Figure 19. Groundfish landings and revenues in the study area, 1981 – 2003

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As the following two figures illustrate, the summary figures for the groundfish complex as a whole mask substantially different trends in several of the major fisheries, notably rockfish and sablefish. We consider these three important target fisheries in turn.

Figure 20. Groundfish landings in the study area, 1981 – 2003

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Rosy rockfishPhoto: Tony Chess, Gulf of the Farallones NMS

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Figure 21. Groundfish revenues in the study area, 1981 – 2003

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Among the roundfish, sablefish and lingcod are particularly important species, the former commercially and the latter both commercially and recreationally. Sablefish have been fished commercially since the early 20th century, and annual landings rose to 3 million pounds by the mid 1930s, when sablefish livers commanded a high price because of their high vitamin A content. Foreign fishing fleets — mostly from Japan, Korea, and the then Soviet Union — began fishing the waters off California intensively for sablefish in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These nations, especially Japan, then became the main importers of sablefish caught by American vessels after the establishment of the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone. Japanese demand for sablefish helped drive California landings to a record high of over 30 million pounds in 1979. Sablefish have been actively managed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council with ever smaller coastwide quotas allocated between the trawl and non-trawl sectors. Most of the landings of sablefish made in the study area are from vessels using trawl gear. Lingcod have been archeologically documented as a key component of the diet of coastal inhabitants of California as far back as 6200 BC, and the fishery remains commercially and recreationally important in North-central California. Commercial landings of lingcod in the first half of the 20th century ranged from 400,000 pounds to 1 million pounds annually, and peaked at 1.3 million in 1930. After World War II, the fishery grew in response to strong markets for liver oil, and landings averaged 1.2 million pounds. After the west coast trawl fishery took off in the 1970s, landings tripled until depressed fish populations prompted rebuilding measures. In recent years, hook-and-line gear account for more than half of the landings, not least in response to the lucrative market for live fish that developed in the 1990s. Recreational landings have also increased considerably, and now constitute around 50% of all lingcod landed, up from 20% in the 1970s.

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Figure 22. Sablefish and lingcod landings and revenues from the trawl fisheries, 1981 – 2003

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Among the other major gear types used for sablefish and lingcod, there are several interesting patterns that emerge from the landings made in study-area ports. In the case of lingcod, both hook-and-line and net landings increased in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with the increase in net landings perhaps partially the result of fishermen targeting lingcod in lieu of halibut, for which restrictions became effective at that time.

Figure 23. Lingcod landings and revenues for select gear types, 1981 – 2003

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LingcodPhoto: Kip Evans, Cordell Bank NMS

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In the case of sablefish, it appears that the trap fishery, which once made up the bulk of non-trawl landings of sablefish virtually disappeared from the study area after the implementation of the limited entry system in the groundfish fishery. Hook-and-line landings of sablefish are constrained by catch allocations, but exhibit healthy revenues on a per-pound basis.

Figure 24. Sablefish landings and revenues for select gear types, 1981 – 2003

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SablefishPhoto: Commander John Bortniak, NOAA

Corps

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H E R R I N GCommercial fishing for pelagic species has focused on herring since the early 1950s when the anchovy fishery, which was a hallmark of the region, became primarily a bait fishery. The California anchovy fishery peaked in 1975 at 143,799 metric tons, but between 1983 and 1999 the average California catch was less than 6,000 metric tons per year. In the study area, anchovies are mainly fished for bait now, since a large reduction fishery has been banned within sanctuary waters.24 Since 1973, herring has primarily been harvested for roe, mostly for the Japanese export market. Landings peaked in 1982 at 23 million pounds. During the herring spawning season from November to March, the fishery is conducted in both San Francisco and Tomales Bay by a large fleet of visiting vessels. Between 1983 and 1991, only five new permits were issued, and some 400 permits were issued for San Francisco Bay at that time. Since the GFNMS was designated, the herring fishery in Tomales Bay has been expanding, although only 93 vessels made landings in the study area in 2003.

Figure 25. Herring landings and revenues in the study area, 1981 – 2003

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24 www.pcouncil.org/cps/cpsback.html

Herring catchPhoto: Richard Allen, Gulf of Farallones NMS

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N E A R S H O R E S P E C I E SThe nearshore fishery was established by the state in 1998, through the California Marine Life Management Act (MLMA). The goal of the MLMA is to achieve sustainability through a comprehensive management plan of marine life resources. The MLMA provides guidance in regards to the development of the fishery management plans that support management decisions and adoption of regulations. Since there is significant overlap between state-managed waters and the sanctuaries, we recognize that this fishery needs to be considered when profiling fisheries that are valuable to the study area. There are 19 reef species that are actively managed in this fishery and are listed in Appendix C. Figure 30 illustrates the nearshore fishes that were caught and landed in the study area from 1981 – 2003. The rather large landings in 1981 are largely associated with Brown Rockfish, of which just over 1 million pounds were landed in Bodega Bay. After 1981, total landings decreased dramatically to less than 200,000 pounds. From 1985 to 1993, average landings for the study area totaled approximately 50,000 pounds. In 1994, there was a substantial increase in catch and associated value for the study area. This trend continued throughout the late 1990s, peaking in 1998 at 194,000 pounds and $395,000 ex-vessel dollars. The increasing trend in catch and value over this time period is often associated with the development of the lucrative live fish market. Since there were concerns of declines in nearshore species before the establishment of the Nearshore Fishery Management Plan in 1999, federally mandated catch quotas and new state management measures for both recreational and commercial nearshore species were implemented. These measures resulted in a precautionary 50% reduction in catch, in which the average commercial catch in the study area declined from 151,000 pounds to 49,690 pounds, when comparing the periods 1995 – 98 and 1999 – 2002. After the adoption of the Nearshore Fishery Management Plan in 2002, restricting access in the commercical fishery, reducing the number of boats, the total catch for the study area was only 15,000 pounds in 2003. Even though this period experienced a significant decrease in catch, there was an increase in value or price associated with the nearshore fishery, which averaged $3.40 compared to an average of $1.80 from 1994 – 98 and $0.80 from 1985 – 93.

Figure 26. Nearshore species landings and revenues in study-area ports, 1981 – 2003

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Black rockfishPhoto: Kip Evans, Monterey Bay NMS

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S A L M O NSalmon have been one of the most important resources in North-central California for a long time. Pre-European contact, Native Americans are estimated to have caught more than 8.5 million pounds of salmon annually. The commercial salmon fishery in North-central California dates back to the 1850s, and peaked in 1988 at almost 15 million pounds, predominantly of Chinook. Originally dominated by gill nets in the early years, the fishery has been conducted mainly with troll gear since the early 1900s. Beginning in the late 1980s, mooching, or drifting with a baited hook lowered to the depth of feeding fish increased in popularity and is used by many commercial fishermen in the study area. This area, from Bodega Bay to Half Moon Bay, continues to be the center of the commercial salmon fishery. A limited entry program for the fishery replaced open access in 1983. Low salmon abundance has led to the designation of restricted take zones, the largest of which is the Klamath Management Zone in Northern California. At the time of this writing, the 2005 commercial salmon fishery was set to be the most restrictive in many years, with the fishery limited to two months, beginning July 4th. Ocean sportfishing for salmon became increasingly important after World War II. Most of these charter boats operate out of San Francisco Bay, mostly in sanctuary waters. At the time of the designation of the GFNMS, charter boats (CPFVs) from San Francisco Bay consistently fished over half of the state’s annual sportfish salmon catch, with some 400,000 annual angler days in pursuit of salmon estimated at that time. Similarly, in the waters of Cordell Bank, salmon has been one of the five species most sought by recreational fishermen since well before the designation of the sanctuary.

Figure 27. Salmon landings and revenues in the study area, 1981 – 2003

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Weighing salmon catchPhoto: MaryJane Schramm, GFNMS

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S Q U I DThe California fishery for market squid was established over 130 years ago in Monterey Bay, and expanded to Southern California in the 1950s. It has grown from supplying dried product to China during the 1880s – 1930s into a fishery providing frozen product worldwide since the 1980s. Initially, Chinese fishermen used small skiffs and lit torches to attract the squid to the surface, where they were caught with purse seines. In 1905 Italian immigrants introduced the lampara net into the fishery. Both the purse seine and lampara net are round haul nets. The webbing of the nets is laid out to encircle a school of squid. A purse seine net has metal rings sewn along its bottom edge, and a cable is passed through the rings. When the cable is drawn tight, the net “purses”. The lampara net does not have rings, but rather tapered “wings” of webbing on both sides so the body of the net tends to form a bag. When the wings of the net are drawn simultaneously toward the vessel, the bottom of the net essentially closes together and the fish are herded toward the bag portion of the net.

North-central California is believed to be one of the areas of greatest squid spawning activity. The squid fishery is highly susceptible to environmental changes, with landings plummeting during El Niño events. Since the 1990s, the fishery has been conducted by larger vessels (typically ranging between 60 – 80 feet in length) and off-loaded using pumps that empty the fishhold. It is thus constrained by offloading capacity rather than the distribution of the resource. Reflecting the keen competition in this fishery, participants report that actual landings of squid may be up to 15% higher than recorded landings because of processors “concessions.” After having been largely unregulated, CDFG adopted a fishery management plan in 2004 that, starting with the 2005 fishing season, makes permanent a 1999 moratorium on new permits and prohibits the use of squid-attracting lights in the GFNMS.25

Figure 28. Squid landings and revenues in study-area ports, 1981 – 2003

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Humboldt squid catchPhoto: Gulf of Farallones NMS

25 Dale Sweetnam, pers. comm., 16 February 2005.

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T U N AFor the majority of the 20th century, tuna dominated landings statewide, often accounting for half or more of the total catch. The fishery started in 1903 when an experimental pack of 700 cases of albacore spurred the development of the U.S. tuna canning industry. By the 1920s, bluefin, yellowfin, and skipjack tunas were also being canned. The fishery is conducted with a variety of gear types and vessels, ranging from trolling jigs, used closer to shore, to longlines and purse seines, used at high sea, to target bluefin and yellowfin. The recreational fishery originally sought bluefin tuna in the Channel Islands, and now comprises hundreds of party boats (CPFVs) and private vessels that await the annual migration of albacore through the inshore waters of California. Since the 1960s, a growing CPFV fleet has been targeting albacore in Mexican waters off Southern California. In the early 1980s, the tuna canning industry faced increasing labor costs, aging processing facilities and increasingly stringent effluent regulations. By 1985, the tuna processors had left California for American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Thailand and elsewhere. More recent landings are supplying markets for fresh tuna in the metropolitan areas of California, especially San Francisco in our study area. As such, we display only post-1985 data in the following graph (Figure 29). As the Map 7 (Appendix E) illustrates, sanctuary waters comprise significant fishing grounds for the local tuna fleet.

Figure 29. Tuna landings and revenues in study-area ports, 1985 – 2003

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Yellowfin tunaPhoto: Monterey Bay Aquarium

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U R C H I N SSea urchins have been fished by humans for thousands of years, but a commercial fishery for urchins only developed in the 1970s in response to a National Marine Fisheries Service program to develop the fishery for trade with Japan. Initially, the fishery gained success north of Half Moon Bay in the mid-1980s, when landings jumped from 2 million pounds in 1985 to 5.2 million pounds in 1988, the majority of which came from virgin fishing grounds north of Half Moon Bay. The fishery is considered fully exploited, and landings hit a low in 1996. Since 2000, urchin landings north of Half Moon Bay have risen to over 4 million pounds, with a significant proportion of this catch coming out of the waters in the vicinity of the Gulf of the Farallones NMS. The marked decline in the early 1990s is associated with the sporadic recruitment of the species and, most likely, the impacts of the intense fishing effort in the late 1980s. The more recent decline of landings appears to be mainly market-driven, with regions outside the US supplying an increasing share of the world market. At of the time of this writing, there is no urchin buyer in the study area.

Figure 30. Urchin landings in study-area ports, 1981 – 2003

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Red sea urchin

Photo: Gulf of the Farallones NMS

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O T H E R F I S H E R I E SWhile there are many other species that are commercially fished in the study area, we focus on the species identified by the Fishing Activities Working Group. The figure below shows some trends in select regional fisheries. Detailed information about their histories and relevance can be found in the two most recent “Blue Books”.26

Figure 31. Landings of other species in study-area ports, 1981 – 2003

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Figure 32. Revenues from other species, 1981 – 2003

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White abalonePhoto: Channel Islands NMS

Northern anchovyPhoto: OAR/National Undersea

Research Program (NURP)

Leopard sharkPhoto: Kip Evans, Monterey Bay NMS

26 Leet, W. S., C. M. Dewees and C. W. Haugen, Eds. (1992). California’s Living Marine Resources and Their Utilization. Davis, California Seagrant Program.

Leet, W. S., C. M. Dewees, R. Klingbeil and E. Larson, Eds. (2001). California’s Living Marine Resources: A Status Report. Berkeley, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.

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Regulatory timelineWhen considering the numerous regulations affecting fisheries in the study area, it is useful to distinguish categories that have different implications for fleets along different parts of the coast. Due to biophysical characteristics of the ocean area, a fleet operating out of one port may be more affected by area based management than by size restrictions. Such restrictions, in turn, may affect another fishery or fleet more than gear regulations. Below we present a timeline of regulatory events and changes adapted from Starr et al. (2002). We have extended this timeline to the present day and augmented it with information on the recreational fishery.27 Rather than an exhaustive treatment, we have attempted to incorporate the key features of regulations, and follow Starr et al. in distinguishing between gear, permit, quota, size limit and area regulations.

The major commercial and recreational regulations affecting species caught within the study area are as follows:

A . G E A R R E G U L AT I O N S

<1981 Ban on trawling within state waters, with exceptions for Southern California halibut trawl grounds (1953), the bay shrimp fishery in San Francisco Bay, the pink shrimp fishery in Northern California between 2 and 3 miles, and (until 2004) between 1 and 3 miles from shore from Yankee Point to Point Sur.

1981 Restrictions on fishing season, mesh size, and maximum count of shrimp per pound (CDFG).

1984 Limit on the number of hooks on a troll line in the recreational rockfish fishery.

1986 Elimination of drift gillnetting within 12 nautical miles of the coast north of Point Arguello and near Gulf of Farallones.

1989 Prohibition of drift gill net fishery within 75 nautical miles of shore from May to July, effectively eliminating the thresher shark fishery in California.

1992 Ban on use of gill and trammel nets to take rockfishes.

1995 Time closure restrictions on commercial set lines, vertical fishing lines, and troll lines.

1996 Restrictions on the number of hooks for recreational hook-and-line in the recreational rockfish fishery.

1998 Prohibition of fin fish traps in waters within 750 ft of any pier, breakwater, or jetty, along with 50 trap limit from California-Oregon border to Pt. Arguello.

2000 Restrictions on the number of hooks per line (3 in 2000, decreased to 2 in 2001) while recreationally fishing for rockfish.

2000 Prohibition on commercial gill nets in waters less than 60 fathoms from Pt. Reyes to Pt. Arguello.

B . P E R M I T R E G U L AT I O N S

1980 Permits required for gill and trammel nets.

1980 Moratorium on new permits into the ocean salmon commercial fishery.

1983 Limited entry program in ocean salmon commercial fishery enacted, capping the fishery at just over 4,600 commcercial vessels.

1985 Regulation prohibiting issuance of new gill and trammel net permits.

1986 Herring gillnet permits established for resident and non-resident participants in fishery.

27 Several other sources were consulted, notably the Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation documents prepared by the Pacific Fishery Management Council for each fishery, each containing voluminous appendices, with a more detailed history and timeline than would be practical here. Also, groundfish regulations include rolling in-season closures that differ for recreational and commercial fisheries and have become so complex that the recreational overview matrix for the past four years alone runs to 10-pages (D. Wilson-Vandenberg, pers. comm., 17 December 2004).

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1987 Moratorium on issuance of permits in the red sea urchin fishery (CDFG).

1994 Commercial groundfish divided into open access and limited entry, with differential trip limits that vary by season.

1994 Moratorium on new permits in the Pacific ocean shrimp fishery (CDFG).

1995 Moratorium on new permits in the Dungeness crab fishery (CDFG).

1996 Prohibition on open access landing of thornyheads north of Pt. Conception.

1996 MSFCMA reauthorized, specifying the precautionary approach to fishery. management. Permit required to take finfish in traps.

1998 Three year moratorium on previously unregulated commercial squid fishery, which restricted the number of vessels in the fishery, established a $2,500 permit fee to fund research, and provided the Fish and Game Commission with regulatory authority over the fishery for the duration of the moratorium.

1999 MLMA promulgated on January 1, 1999. Nearshore fishery permit required for 10 nearshore species.

2003 Nearshore Fishery Management Plan (NFMP) restricted access, reducing the number of permits in nearshore fishery.

C . Q U O TA A N D O T H E R R E G U L AT I O N S

<1981 Various biomass-based annual catch quotas (Pacific mackerel, Pacific sardine, and many groundfish) adopted.

1982 First commercial limits imposed on sablefish.

1983 Coastwide 40,000 lb trip limit established for the Sebastes complex. Nearshore rockfish managed as part of Sebastes complex.

1984 Temporary closure of spot prawn trawl fishery (CDFG).

1986 First targeting of sardine fishery since 1974 closure (CDFG).

1986 Sablefish allocation first divided between trawl and non-trawl gear.

1989 Sacreamento River winter-run chinook is the first anadromous fish to be listed under California and federal endangered species acts; ESA “jeopardy standards” become major constraint on all salmon ocean fisheries.

1989 – 90

Deep-water complex defined as Dover sole, sablefish, arrowtooth flounder, and thornyheads; landing limits imposed and regulated throughout the year.

1991 Trip limit set at 25,000 lb for Sebastes complex south of Coos Bay.

1991 Trip limit set at 5,000 lb for bocaccio.

1991 Thornyheads separated from deep-water complex; coastwide weekly limit of thornyheads established at 7,500 lb, then increased to 12,500 lb in July.

1992 Limit of 50,000 lb every two weeks for Sebastes complex.

1992 Limit of 10,000 lb of bocaccio every two weeks south of Cape Mendocino.

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1992 – 2000

Thornyhead limits reduced each consecutive year from 25,000 lb every two weeks (1992) to 1,000 to 1,500 lb every 4 weeks (2000, depending on gear type); also mid-season reductions of limits each year.

1994 Commercial groundfish divided into open access and limited entry. Open access limit of 10,000 lb per trip, not to exceed 40,000 lb per month. Limited entry of 80,000 lb per month, then increased to 100,000 lb in September.

1994 Limit of 30,000 lb per month of yellowtail rockfish, south of Cape Lookout.

1994 Retention of coho salmon prohibited.

1994 Restriction on season, no commercial fishing for female Dungeness crabs, and minimum size restriction on male crabs.

1995 No limit on the quantity of yellowtail rockfish caught within the 100,000 lb monthly limit in the limited entry fishery.

1995 Limit of 6,000 lb per month of canary rockfish in the limited entry fishery.

1995 Separate limits for shortspine and longspine thornyheads.

1995 Open access hook-and-line and pot fishery limited to 10,000 lb of rockfish per month.

1996–97

California coho stocks listed under ESA

1997 Two-month cumulative limit in the limited entry fishery reduced to 150,000 lb for the Sebastes complex.

1997 Two-month cumulative limit in the limited entry fishery for bocaccio reduced to 12,000 lb. Limit decreased to 5,000 lb per month in October. Open access fishery restricted to 300 lb bocaccio, not to exceed 2,000 lb per month.

1997 All fishing for abalone closed south of San Francisco until populations have sufficiently recovered to support fisheries (CDFG).

1998 Beginning of fishery management by individual species.

1998 Open access Sebastes two-month limit set at 40,000 lb, then reduced to 33,000 lb in July, then to 15,000 lb per month in October.

1998 Open access widow rockfish limit set at 3,000 per month.

1999 Marine Life Management Act becomes law, establishing basis for the development and adoption of a Nearshore Fishery Management Plan.

1999 Three-phase cumulative limit imposed on the limited entry fishery for Sebastes complex as follows: Phase 1: 13,000 lb for January 1 through March 31; Phase 2: 6,500 lb for 3 two-month periods of April to May, June to July, and August to September. This limit for June to July and August to September periods then reduced to 3,500 lb in May; Phase 3: 500 lb per month for October, November, and December. Open access limit set for Sebastes at 2,000 lb per month.

1999 Coastwide canary rockfish limits set for each phase at 9,000 lb, 9,000 lb, and 3,000 lb Phase 2 reduced to 6,500 in April, then again reduced to 3,500 lb in May.

1999 Bocaccio limit in open access fishery set at 500 lb per month. For setnet and trammel net gear, 1000 lb per month allowed.

1999 Pacific sardine, Pacific mackerel, market squid, jack mackerel, and northern anchovy managed under the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan.

2000 Two-month closure (March to April) of recreational fishing for all rockfish and lingcod north of Lopez Point. In-season closure for lingcod in November and December.

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2001 Two month closure (March and April) for recreational fishing for all rockfish, lingcod and California scorpion fish; additional closure (May and June) for shelf rockfish and lingcod, with nearshore rockfish and scorpion fish take limited to less than 20 fathoms; nearshore rockfish, scoprionfish, sheephead, cabezon, and greenlings take limited to less than 20 fathoms during November and December, with shelf rockfish and lingcod take prohibited during that time.

2002 Nearshore Fishery Management Plan adopted.

2002 Four month recreational closure (March/April, November/December for all rockfish, scorpionfish and lingcod; in-season closures for greenlings (starting July), cabezon (starting August), and sheephead (starting November) for the remainder of the year; all rockfish, scorpionfish, and lingcod limited to inside 20 fathoms.

2003 Recreational fishery for all rockfish, cabezon, greenlings, and lingcods closed from January through June, then limited to inside 20 fathoms for remainder of year; in-season closures for sheephead, cabezon, greenlings in October, for all rockfish and lingcod in December and for remainder of year.

D . S I Z E L I M I T R E G U L AT I O N S

<1981 Restriction on season, no commercial fishing for female Dungeness crabs, and minimum size restriction on male crabs.

1981 22 in. size limit established for lingcod in recreational fishery.

1982 12 in. size limit established for cabezon in recreational fishery.

1982 Recreational bag limit for lingcod changed from 10 to 5 fish. Size limit of 22 in.

1983 Minimum size limit implemented for sablefish in commercial fishery.

1988 Minimum size limit established for red sea urchin; reduction in the number of permits issued (CDFG).

1994 Restriction on season, no recreational fishing for female Dungeness crabs, and minimum size restriction on male crabs in the CPFV recreational fishery for crabs.

1999 Minimum size limit established for several nearshore fishes by Nearshore Fisheries Management Act.

1999 Minimum size limit of 14 in. (356 mm) total length established for cabezon in recreational fishery; bag limit of 10 California scorpionfish, with a minimum size of 10 in. (254 mm) total length; bag limit of 10 each of kelp and rock greenlings, with a minimum size of 12 in. (305 mm) total length.

2000 Size limits for cabezon and sheephead increased.

2000 Daily recreational bag limit of rockfish reduced from 15 to 10 fish.

2000 Recreational bag limit of 10 cabezon, with a minimum size of 14 in.

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E . A R E A R E G U L AT I O N S

<1981 Prohibition of trawling in state waters, 0 – 3 miles, with a few localized exceptions.

1990 Various time and area closures for gill and trammel nets, eventually out to 60 fathoms.

2001 – present

Rockfish conservation area implemented to facilitate rebuilding of several rockfish species, eventually (2005) prohibiting:

• trawl gear between 75 and 150 fathoms south of Pt. Reyes, and between 75 and 200 fathoms north of there;

• non-trawl gear between 60 and 150 fathoms south of Pt. Conception;

• trawl gear between 30 and 150 fathoms from Pt. Conception to Cape Mendocino;

• trawl gear between shoreline and 100 fathoms from Cape Mendocino to the US/Canada border; and

• recreational rockfish take between shoreline and the border of the Exclusive Economic Zone.

2003 Trawl gear prohibited in the spot prawn fishery.

Market forcesIn addition to regulations, fisheries in North-central California and the sanctuaries are affected by economic forces and environmental impacts, some more so than others. This is particularly true for species with large export markets, such as herring, squid, and urchin, or that face competition from aquaculture, notably salmon. Dungeness crab is more insulated from international markets, as it is largely sold to west coast markets. Sometimes ecological and market effects reinforce each other, while in other years they cancel each other out. While it is beyond the scope of this study to offer a comprehensive analysis of these effects, it is instructive to consider several key events and price trends over the last 23 years.28

For example, the severe El Niño event in 1982/83 led to plummeting crab catches, and the diminished landings were associated with higher prices, which peaked at almost $3.60 per pound (in 2003 dollars) in 1984. Since then, crab prices have gradually declined and are now below $2 per pound. Similarly, salmon catches also dropped, with a corresponding high price of $4.80 per pound. Other price peaks also appear to be related to ocean conditions, with strong El Niño events in 1992 and 1997, and lesser ones reported for 1986 – 87, 1993, 1994, and 1997 – 98.29

With the rapid growth of aquaculture since the late 1980s, however, prices for California salmon have mostly declined in response to the low price of farmed salmon, rather than to environmental conditions. Globally, farmed production of salmon began outpacing wild capture fisheries in the mid-1990s.30 Price recovery in recent years is most likely attributable to a resurgence in demand for wild salmon, and consumers’ apparently sustained willingness to pay more for wild-caught salmon even in years when retail prices rise to over $10 per pound.

Prices for herring, squid and urchin are strongly influenced by demand for these species in foreign markets. They generally follow economic trends in Japan and other parts of Asia, both the booms of the 1980s – ’90s and the contractions of the mid- to late 1990s, when banking and currency crises led diminished demands for seafood imports.

28 We estimate prices by dividing the ex-vessel revenues reported for catches by the landed volume, and adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index tables published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

29 Timeline of El Niño events from Leet et al. (2001) and NOAA (www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/elnino/el-nino-story.html#recent)

30 For a discussion of global salmon aquaculture trends, see Bjørndal et al. (2003).

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Figure 33. Price per pound for select fisheries, 1981 – 2003

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The groundfish fishery illustrates some of the combined effects of market forces and gear restrictions on local fisheries over the last 23 years. Looking at the long-term averages in 2003 dollar terms, the following trends emerge:

• Prices for trawl caught species like flounders, soles, thornyheads and sanddabs have remained relatively constant at around $0.50 per pound.

• The increasing price per pound for sablefish since the 1990s reflects increased market demand from Asia, where the majority of the catch is currently exported, the mid-1990s economic downturn notwithstanding. The average price masks the effects of price premiums for fish caught with hook-and-line gear and traps; on average, the price per pound for these gear types is 50% higher ($1 and $1.10, respectively) than for trawl caught sablefish ($0.70).

• Similarly, increasing prices for rockfish and lingcod reflect market demand arising from the restaurant and ethnic retail markets of the San Francisco Bay Area. Since the late 1990s, more rockfish and lingcod landed in study-area ports were caught using hook-and-line gear than trawl gear. These gear types also command higher prices per pound. For example, in the case of lingcod, hook-and-line or trap caught fish are, on average, 70% more valuable (in terms of revenues per pound) than trawl caught fish, at $1.11 and $1.06, respectively, compared to the trawl average price of $0.66.

• The price of halibut has declined somewhat since the mid-1980s, when the fishery was largely conducted using set gill and trammel nets. This may be a function of the majority of landings stemming from trawl gear, which tends to command a lower price than hook-and-line or troll caught halibut. On average, from 1981 through 2003, the price per

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pound for trawl caught halibut was $2.81 in constant 2003 terms, while the price of hook-and-line caught halibut was $3.36 per pound.

Figure 34. Price per pound for select groundfish species, 1981 – 2003

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No whiting was landed in the study area between 1997–99, and in 2003.

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Chapter 4: Findings

4 The most important commercial fisheries in the study area are Dungeness crab, groundfish (especially rockfish), California halibut, herring, salmon, squid, tuna, and urchin. These seven fisheries account for 92% of landings and revenues per year, over the 1981 – 2004 time period.

4 The eight fisheries all demonstrate marked declines in the number of participating vessels.

4 In addition to regulation, fisheries in North-central California and the sanctuaries are affected by economic forces and environmental impacts, some more so than others. This is particularly true for species with large export markets, such as herring, squid, and urchin, or that face competition from aquaculture, notably salmon. Dungeness crab is more insulated from international markets, as it is largely sold to west coast markets.

4 Increasing prices for rockfish and lingcod reflect market demand arising from the restaurant and ethnic retail markets of the San Francisco Bay Area. Since the late 1990s, more rockfish and lingcod landed in study-area ports were caught using hook-and-line gear than trawl gear. These gear types also command higher prices per pound.

4. Fishery proﬁles

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