1999 

 OUR LIVING OCEANS 



Landings (t) 

 26 - r 



J 1 



Figure 15-2 



Total landings and estimated 

 stock biomass (fish over 2 

 years of age) in metric tons 

 (t) of sablefish off the US. Pa- 

 cific Coast. 



Landings 



Biomass (t) 



- 350 



- 300 



- 250 



- 200 



- 160 



- 100 



- 50 



I 



Kelp greenling. 



80 86 90 95 



Year 



ity in the 40-100 year range, the annual exploita- 

 tion rates that achieve the spawning biomas.s per 

 recruit goal are often as low as 5-10'^ii. Thus, it 

 has taken man)' years tor these low exploitation 

 rates to reduce the stock abundance from the 

 hghtly exploited levels of the 1960's to the fully 

 exploited levels of today (Figure 15-2). Reductions 

 in reconinieiided annual harvest amounts over the 

 past decade lor sablefish, widow rockfish, and some 

 other species has been a direct result ot this "fish- 

 ing down" of the surpKis biomass. In no case has 

 the fishing down been smoothly along a constant 

 rate of exploitation. Rather, imprecise stock assess- 

 ments, insufficient staff to revise assessments fre- 

 quently, and natural fluctuations in abundance 

 contribute to changes in recommended harvest 

 levels. 



The groundfish stocks are generalK- fulK' uti- 

 lized, although a few species such as shortbclK- 

 rockfish remain essentially underutilized because 

 of a lack of market. Pacific whiting is fully uti- 

 lized, but its abundance has been on a decline be- 

 cause of a lack of strong recruitment since the 1 ')cS4 

 year class. 



The four species in the deep-water fishery are 

 near full utilization. Within this set, sablefish abun- 

 dance may be below the level needed to produce 

 the long-term potential yield, due in part to a re- 

 cent series ot weak year classes. Dover sole abun- 

 dance is slightly increasing as a result of an esti- 

 mated abo\e-average 1 990 year class and reduced 

 catch levels in 1994-96. The abundance ot 



shortspine thornyheads appears to be below its tar- 

 get level, and the deeper living, smaller bodied 

 longspine thornyhead has not \'et been fished down 

 to its target level. However, the assessments for all 

 four of these species have considerable uncertainty, 

 and the sablefish and shortspine thornyhead as- 

 sessments have been subject to a high level of scru- 

 tiny and criticism from the fishing industry. 



Within the set of rockfish, widow rockfish is 

 estimated to be below the target level of abun- 

 dance, based on estimates of low recent recruit- 

 ments to the fishery. Off California, the chilipepper 

 rockfish stock is declining with the passing of the 

 extremely large 1984 year class, while bocaccio is 

 at a low stock level with reduced recruitment lev- 

 els since the 1977 year class (PFMC, 1997). Off 

 Oregon and Washington, the canary rockfish is 

 estimated to be below or close to the level needed 

 to produce the long-term potential yield, based 

 on an estimated downward trend in recruitments 

 during 1987-95. 



In that same area, yellowtail rockfish stock bio- 

 mass also apparently continues to decline, but there 

 is substantial uncertainty in the recent stock esti- 

 mates. Pacific ocean perch appears to be only 

 slowly rebounding from overharvest that occurred 

 in the 1960's. The current level of catch, intended 

 as bycatch in other t;roundfish fisheries, is close to 

 the overfishing level. Black rockfish, an important 

 recreational species off Oregon and Washington, 

 appears fully utilized and probably is near its tar- 

 get level ot abtindance. 



An assessment of eight additional rockfish spe- 

 cies indicated that some species have catches much 

 greater than their current potential yield, while 

 others mav be underutilized due to market restric- 

 tions. However, the precision ot all these rockfish 



1 78 



