262 



Fishery Bulletin 101(2) 



Number of trawls 

 500 1000 1500 



4 6 



Metric tons 



Figure 2 



Distribution of cowcod landings by depth from 224 commer- 

 cial bottom trawl tows during trips off southern California 

 during 1981-97. Also shown is the distribution of total fish- 

 ing effort (number bottom trawl tows) from all logbook data 

 for trips in the same area and during the same years. 



record for cowcod in the recreational fishery is about 10 kg, 

 but specimens as large as about 15 kg have been confirmed 

 in recent years (Wertz^). 



CPFV fishing effort targeting multiple rockfish species 

 was probably the most important recreational fishery 

 component for cowcod prior to new restrictions on rockfish 

 during 2000, although anglers on private vessels were also 

 important. Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistical Sur- 

 vey (MRFSS, http://www.psmfc.org/recfin) results in the 

 RecFIN (PSMFC3) database indicate that CPFV vessels 

 accounted for approximately 60% of recreational fishing 

 effort in southern California during 1980-89 and 1993-97. 

 Young's ( 1969) list of preferred species in the southern Cali- 

 fornia CPFV fleet during 1963 did not include rockfish, but 

 they were listed as an important part of the catch. By 1974 

 attitudes had apparently changed, probably in response to 

 declining catch rates for traditional sportfish, and fishing 

 effort for rockfish increased (MacCall et al.'*). 



Although actively sought by anglers during recent de- 

 cades, cowcod comprised less than 1% of the CPFV total 

 rockfish catch in number during 1961 (Miller and Gotshall, 

 1965), 0.4% of the total during the 1970s, (Collins^), and 

 0.3% of the total during 1985-87 (Young, 1969; Golden, 

 1992). Limited data for 211 cowcod (Fig. 3) sampled dur- 

 ing MRFSS creel surveys (PSFMC^) indicate that the 

 southern California CPFV fishery takes cowcod that are 

 mostly 30-80 cm FL. 



Less is known about cowcod catch taken by private fish- 

 ing vessels, but MRFSS survey data indicate that trends 

 in catch and effort are similar to those in the CPFV fishery. 

 Cowcod catch rates were low in the private boat fishery 

 during 1975-76 when cowcod accounted for only 179 out 

 of 140,296 fish sampled by the California Department of 

 Fish and Game in a survey of private boats in the southern 

 California sport fishery (Wine and Hoban^). 



Commercial fishermen use hook-and-line, set nets, and 

 trawl gear to catch cowcod, typically while targeting a 

 group of species. Set nets accounted for 48%, trawls 27%, 

 and hook-and-line 25% of cowcod landings in California 

 during 1980-96 (Butler et al., 1999). Trawling accounted 

 for 80% of landings north of 36°N, whereas hook-and-line 

 and set nets accounted for 92% of landings south of 36°N 

 (Butler et al., 1999). Differences in principal fishing gear 

 north and south of 36°N are due to bottom topography in 

 southern areas that makes bottom trawling impractical. 



Recreational fishery 



Due to their large size, and despite low catch rates (about 

 0.1 fish per angler day in recent years), cowcod are a highly 

 prized trophy fish in the recreational fishery. Recreational 

 fishing effort is undertaken from the commercial passenger 

 fishing vessel (CPFV) fleet (Young, 1969; Golden, 1992) and 

 private fishing boats. CPFV vessels include charter boats 

 (contracted by a group of anglers), and party boats (open 

 to the general public without reservations). Anglers take 

 cowcod with hook-and-line gear using multiple baited 

 hooks per rod, or single treble hooks. The official California 



Fishery management 



The Pacific Fishery Management Council manages 

 cowcod and other rockfish under its fishery management 

 plan (FMP) for groundfish (PFMC, 1982). The California 



^Wertz.S. 1999. Personal commun. California Department of 

 Fish and Game, 4665 Lampson Ave., Suite C. Los Alamitos, CA, 

 90720. 



3 PSMFC (Pacific States Marine Fishery Commission), 45 SE 82 

 Drive, Suite 100, Gladstone, OR 97027-2522. 



■» MacCall, A. D., G. D. Stauffer, and J-P. Troadec. 1975. Report 

 on CDF&G-NMFS cooperative stock assessment, fishery evalu- 

 ation, and fishery management of southern California recre- 

 ational and commercial fisheries. Admin. Rep. LJ-74-24, 144 p. 

 Southwest Fisheries Center, NMFS, La Jolla, CA. 



■• Collins, R. 1999. Personal commun. California Department 

 of Fish and Game, 20 Lower Ragsdale Rd., Suite 100, Monterey, 

 CA 93940. 



<^ Wine, v., and T. Hoban. 1976. Southern California inde- 

 pendent sportfish sampling survey annual report — July 1, 

 1975-,Iune 30. 1976. Calif Dept. Fish and Game, Mar. Res. 

 Div. Admin. Rep. No. 76-14, 299 p. lAvailable from: California 

 Department of Fish and Game, Marine Region Library, 4665 

 Lampson Ave., Suite C, Los Alamitos, CA 90720] 



