 Half Moon Bay Riptide Sportfishing & Whale Watching November 4, 2000 Over the past two weeks I was privileged to attend Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) meetings in Portland OR and Vancouver WA. The Portland sessions were the ad hoc allocation committee meeting focusing primarily on the reduction of the canary rockfish harvest. At the Vancouver meetings PFMC was responsible for adopting the year 2001 fishing regulations for the California Recreational Fishery. These meetings establish the guidelines that all three states (CA, OR, WA) must adopt. For California, these regulations will come before the California Fish & Game Commission for approval at their meeting on December 7th and 8th in Eureka. The regulations are summarized below: 1. Move southern management line to Point Conception; retain Cape Mendocino line. 2. Bag limits: two bocaccio, one canary, two lingcod, ten rockfish, no cowcod retention. 3. a. Minimum size: lingcod 26”bocaccio 10”cabezon 15”scorpionfish 10”greenlings 12” 3. b. Retain filet lengths and skin-on for cabezon, lingcod and rockfish. 4. Hooks: Two (down from three) 5. 2001 anticipated recreational catches (coastwide):bocaccio 48 mtcanary 44 mtlingcod 350 mtcowcod 1.7 mt (bycatch south of Point Conception) 6. Season for rockfish including scorpionfish and lingcod:South: Closed January through February (and November through December if necessary to stay within bocaccio and cowcod Oys, except open for nearshore minor rockfish inside 20 fathoms around islands and long coast. Cowcod closure in effect all year.Central: Closed March through June except open for nearshore minor rockfish inside 20 fathoms during May and June. This includes:Northern: Same as Oregon. 7. Cowcod closure: Alternative 2 in Exhibit C.1.c. Supplemental CDFG Overheads (8 sided); Closed to all federal groundfish except open to nearshore minor rockfish, cabezon, and greenlings (inside 20 fathoms) Nearshore RockfishOpen May & June Shelf RockfishOpen January & February and July-December Black RKFBlack and yellow RKFBlue RKFBrown RKFCalico RKFChina RKFGopher RKFGrass RKFOlive RKFQuillback RKFKelp RKFTreefish RKF Canary RKF (until quota met)Bocaccio RKF (until quota met)Ling Cod (until quota met)Yellow Eye RKFVermillion RKFCopper RKFBronze Spot RKFChameleon RKFGreen Blotched RKFGreen Spot RKFSpeckled RKFStarry RKFStriped Tail RKFFlag RKFGreen Stripe RKFDwarf Red RKFFreckled RKFHalf Banded RKFHoneycomb RKFMexican RKFPink RKFPink Rosy RKF Pigmy RKFRed Stripe RKFRosethorn RKFRosy RKFSilvergrey RKFSquarespot RKFSwordspine RKFTiger RKFYellowtail RKFChili Pepper RKFShortbelly RKFWidow RKF The limit is 10 fish all year but of the right species and at the right time and in the right location (see regulations above). The rules are very specific and must be followed carefully by all anglers. The canary, boccacio and lingcod are “shelf” fish and are the species with specific quotas. When the quotas are reached the season WILL CLOSE FOR ROCK FISHING FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR. The closure to ling cod fishing we are experiencing during November/December 2000 is just a taste of what is to come. As stated, once it is determined in 2001 that the quota for any of the three identified species is reached, the entire fishing season closes for rock fish and ling cod. This will be a hardship for all of us which is why the Commission established closures in part based upon species. This forces us to fish in the shallow (nearshore) waters which limits the impact on these shelf species (canary, bocaccio, etc.). As it stands we can only fish in 20 fathoms (120 ft) or 1 mile from the beach during May and June. I came away from the meetings feeling that they are very well organized and I was provided ample opportunity to contribute public comment, participate in sub committee and ad hoc committee meetings, and had access to the many volumes of research provided to the Commission. My public comments included my own statements as well as those provided to me for presentation by the Monterey Bay Sportfishing Assn. and the Noyo Harbor (Ft. Bragg) Sportfishing Assn. In addition, I presented a prepared statement from 30 other commercial passenger vessels and seven bait shops. This latter group was an ad hoc group brought together through the efforts of representatives from all Bay Area harbors. Rebuilding Plans for Canary Rockfish and Cowcod This one agenda item consumed an entire day with reports from committees and agencies. At the ad hoc allocation committee meeting (Portland) it was determined that the canary catch for 2001 would be reduced to 60 tons. This 60 tons represents a hardship to both commercial and recreational fishing. Upon consideration by the Council, the total allowable canary rockfish catch will be 93 tons. This number is further broken down to 44 tons for the recreational and 44 tons for the commercial; with 5 tons in reserve for research vessels to catch. This 44 tons for recreational is further divided up between California (26 tons), Oregon (16 tons) and Washington (2 tons) This reduction to 26 tons canary rockfish is the driving force behind our season closures and reduction of limits. This is just the second year of a rebuilding plan that will take 40 to 120 years. During the proceedings, Mr. L. B Boydston, Director of Inter-Governmental Affairs directed both recreational representatives present, Darby Neil from Virges Landing(Morro Bay) and William Smith from Riptide Sportfishing (Half Moon Bay) to attend committee meetings made up of the groundfish advisory members and commercial fishermen. This was a difficult committee to work in as the commercial fishermen are fighting for their rights to catch enough fish to survive. After several consultations with the scientists to try and massage the numbers we crafted a way for most of us to keep our businesses alive. This was a difficult process and the clear winner was the recreational fisherman. Additional Items – State Regulations: There are 3 more species that are going to have to be dealt with on the state level. They are cabazon, greenling/seatrout and sheepshead. These fish stocks are in bad shape. The PFMC has chosen to let the State of California deal with these specific nearshore species so be on the lookout for regulations coming from California DFG on these three species. In California we have what is called an “aggregate bag limit” (combination of different species). That limit is 20 fish overall – for instance: 10 rockfish and 10 cabezon; or 2 ling, 9 rockfish and 9 cabezon; or any combination not to exceed 20 (with lings always only a maximum of 2 and rockfish at a maximum of 10). Because of the depleted status of these fish (cabezon, greenling and sheepshead) we know that their allowable numbers are going to change. All of the literature and research indicate that the fish stocks are declining and that the time it takes some of these fish to mature and spawn is over15 years. This is coupled with the fact that a lot of fish only spawn when the water is cold. As you can see, the establishment of fishing regulations is a very complex issue that has many factors to consider. Only through education and understanding will we be able to save the fishery for our children to enjoy. |
Our Outdoors Guide includes hundreds of links for Camping, Campgrounds, Hiking, Fishing Guides, Lodging & Conference Centers, Trailriding, Outfitters, Canoeing, Kayaking, Rafting, Bed & Breakfasts, Cycling, Diving and more! Watch us as we expand our listings. fisher-of-man.com P.O. 6616, Branson, MO 65615 Copyright Jan. 2001 fisher-of-man.com |