FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 85, NO. 1 



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Figure 13.— Monthly percentile distribution of the com- 

 mercial California scorpionfish catch. Based on 1970-84 

 California commercial landings. 



mackerel, or other fish) are usually set about 1 h 

 before sunrise and pulled 1-2 h later. Fishermen 

 report that the fish do not seem to feed well before 

 or after this time. 



Traditionally, the Newport fishermen sell their 

 catch to the public on the beach next to the New- 

 port Pier. However, fishermen specializing in 

 scorpionfish often sell their entire catch to fish pro- 

 cessors in San Pedro, receiving a relatively high 

 $1.98-$2.75/kg (90<i;-$1.25/lb). All commercially 

 caught scorpionfish are sold whole and fresh. 

 Demand is particularly strong within the Asian 

 community. 



Over the past 38 yr, commercial landings of 

 California scorpionfish have exhibited considerable 

 fluctuation (Fig. 14), though from relatively high 

 postwar levels, landings have gradually declined, 

 sinking to lowest levels in 1984. Daugherty (1949) 

 noted that fluctuations in California scorpionfish 

 landings seemed more a reflection of fishing effort 

 than of stock size. Certainly, some of the patterns 

 of the last 38 yr reflects fewer fishermen targeting 

 this species. The situation is confounded by a lack 

 of historic population data. However, using the 

 SCCWRP and Orange County Sanitation trawl data 

 (Fig. 4), we note that the rise in scorpionfish popu- 

 lation, which peaked in 1982, was matched by a peak 

 in the commercial catch. Conversely, the sharp 

 decline in numbers of trawl-caught fish in 1983-84 

 was also reflected in the commercial fishery. At least 



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