UNIT 14 

 PACIFIC COAST AND ALASKA PELAGIC FISHERIES 



separate fisheries: the California commercial 

 fishery, a sport fishery, and a Mexican commercial 

 fishery. The recent U.S. harvest history is shown 

 in Figure 14-4. From 1980 to 1989, the Clilifornia 

 recreational catch averaged 1 ,462 t/year. 



The trend in chub mackerel biomass is also 

 shown in Figure 1 4-4. Recent peak abundance was 

 754,000 t in 1982. Abundance has since declined 

 to about 20,000 t by 1995 and has stabilized there. 

 Analyses of fish-scale deposits in ocean bottom 

 sediments off southern California indicate that the 

 prolonged period ot high chub mackerel biomass 

 levels during the late 1970s and 1980's may have 

 been unusual and would only be expected to occur, 

 on average, about once every 60 years. In 1985. it 

 was estimated that chub mackerel might sustain 

 average yields between 26,000 and 29,000 t/year 

 under management systems similar to that 

 currently used to manage the stock by the State ot 

 Calitornia. The commercial catch is currently 

 restricted by a quota of about 32,000 t. If the 

 biomass dips below 18,000 t, commercial fishing 

 will be stopped. 



Pacific Herring 



Pacific herring are fished primarily off 

 California. The fishery in Puget Sound, Wash., is 

 small by comparison. The fishery off California 

 has peaked three times during this century: during 

 19 16-1 9 near 3,600 t, during 1947-53 near 4,500 

 t, and above 10,000 t in 1982 (Figure 14-5). In 

 the earlier years, herring were harvested for 

 reduction into fish meal and for pet food and bait. 

 Some were canned to supplement the declining 

 supply of sardines. Canned herring proved to be a 

 poor substitute for sardines, and the fishery for 

 human consumption ended in 1954. 



Since 1973, herring in California have been 

 harvested primarily tor their roe tor export to the 

 Japanese market. Landings declined in 1984 when 

 El Nino caused a corresponding decline in the 

 herring population. However, most stocks have 

 recovered somewhat and so have catches. The 

 herring roe fishery is limited to California's four 

 largest herring spawning areas: San Francisco Bay, 

 theTomales-Bodega Bay area, Humboldt Bay, and 

 the Crescent City harbor. San Francisco Bay has 

 the largest spawning population of herring and 



Landings (t) 



200 - 



180 - 



160 - 



MO - 



ll'O - 



100 - 



80 - 



60 - 



40 - 



20 - 



- 



Roe on kelp 



Year 



supplies over 90 percent of the state's herring catch. 

 The four spawning areas are managed separately 

 by the California Department of Fish and Game, 

 with catch quotas based on population estimates. 



Another lucrative phase of the herring industry 

 is the roe-on-kelp fishery. Beginning in 1965, 

 scuba divers harvested species of marine vegetation 

 with herring eggs attached in Fomales and San 

 Francisco Bays. This product is exported to Japan 

 as a holiday delicacy. The fishery has evolved into 

 the present roe-on-kelp fishery. Giant kelp is 

 harvested from the Channel Islands off southern 

 California, brought to San Francisco Bay, and 

 suspended from 60x40 foot floating rafts. The rafts 

 are towed to areas where herring spawning is 

 expected to occur and are anchored. After 

 spawning has ended, the kelp with herring eggs 

 attached is removed from the rafts and packed in 

 salt. Catches have been generally low (Figure 14- 

 6) but valuable. 



The herring spawning populations in Tomales 

 and San Francisco Bays are estimated annually 

 from hydroacoustic and spawning ground surveys. 

 The spawning biomass has fluctuated widely in 

 both areas since the 1983 El Nifio thtough the 

 more recent 1997-98 El Nino. The 1996-97 

 season estimates were a relatively low 1,331 tons 

 in Fomales Bay and a relatively high 81,260 t in 

 San Francisco Bay. Humboldt Bay supports a 



Figure 14-6 



Landings of herring roe and 

 kelp from the roe-on-kelp 

 fishery in California, 1988- 

 97, in metric tons (t). 



w 





Pacific herring and roe-cov- 

 ered kelp. 



1 7 1 



