Pacific Coast 

 Groundfish Fisheries 



Unit 



15 



JEAN BEYER ROGERS 

 TONYA L BUILDER 



NMFS Northwest Fisheries 



Science Center, Hatfield 



Marine Sciences 



Laboratory 



Newport 

 Oregon 



INTRODUCTION 



The groundfish fishery off Washington, Ore- 

 gon, and Cahfornia is conducted across a diverse 

 range ot hahitats and involves tens ot species and 

 several fishing gears. Domestic landings averaged 

 about 30,000 metric tons (t) per year prior to the 

 early 1970's (PFMC, 1997). A foreign fishery be- 

 gan in the early 1960s Kir Pacific ocean perch and 

 Pacific whiting. The long-lived Pacific ocean perch 

 stock is still recovering from the excessive foreign 

 harvest that occurred during the 19(i()'s, but the 

 fishery tor the more productive Pacific whiting 

 stock evolved into a healthy joint venture, then to 

 a wholly domestic fishery in 1991. 



By 1977, when work by the Pacific Fishery 

 Management Council on the Groundfish Fishery 

 Management Plan began, domestic landings of all 



groundfish h,id increased to 60,000 t, and by 1 982, 

 when the fishery management plan was imple- 

 mented, landings peaked at 1 16,000 t (PFMC, 

 1 997). The recent yield of groundfish (other than 

 Pacific whiting) has returned to an .iverage ot about 

 S6,000 t.' Present yields may be sustainable tor 

 some species involved, but several ot the stocks 

 are depressed. Many stock assessments do not have 

 sufficient data to be precise, and substantial natu- 

 ral fluctuations occur in some species. 



Several assemblages offish contributed to the 

 $98,S00,0()() groundfish fishery in 1997 (Figure 

 1 S- 1 ). The midwarer trawl fishery tor Pacitic wliit- 



'landiiigs and value data since 1981 are available Irom the 

 PacFlN data b.ise, Seattle office of the Pacific States Marine 

 Fisheries Commission. 7600 Sand Point W,iy NF,. Se.ittle, 

 WA, 9811S. 



Canary rockfish. 



1 75 



