UNIT 14 



PACIFIC COAST AND ALASKA PELAGIC FISHERIES 



62 



INTRODUCTION 



Several pelagic species provide important 

 fisheries for food, bait, and industrial fish- 

 ery products. One, the Pacific sardine, was 



fished to the point of collapse and only now 

 begins to show signs of improvement 

 (Table 14-1). 



Long-term potential yield (LTPY) = 61 4, 1 00 1 



Current potential yield (CPY) = 23 1 , 1 00 1 



Recent average yield (RAY) 1 = 1 20,400 1 



Table 14-1.— Recent average, 

 current potential, and long-term 

 potential yields in metric tons (t), 

 and status of utilization of Pacific 

 coast and Alaska pelagic species. 

 The LTPY, CPY, and RAY for the 

 unit equals the sum of the 

 species' LTPY's, CPY's, and RAY'S. 

 Where the species' LTPY is 

 unknown, the species' CPY is 

 substituted in the sum. 



1 1 988-90 average 



2 U S. yield = 7,000 t, Mexican yield = 53,000 t. 



3 1988-89 average. 



4 198 1-89 average. 



SPECIES AND STATUS 



Northern anchovy, Pacific sardine, jack 

 mackerel, and Pacific herring are import- 

 ant fisheries off the Pacific coast and 

 Alaska. The northern anchovy, Pacific sar- 

 dine, and jack mackerel are harvested by 

 purse seiners off southern California and 

 Baja California, Mexico. U.S. anchovy fish- 

 eries are managed under the Northern An- 

 chovy Fishery Management Plan (FMP), 

 while Pacific sardine and jack mackerel are 

 managed by the State of California. All 

 three species will be managed by the 



Coastal Pelagics FMP now being devel- 

 oped. 



Pacific herrings are taken as bycatch in 

 the groundfish fisheries in the Gulf of 

 Alaska and the Bering Sea. Cinder ground- 

 fish FMP's for those two areas, the Pacific 

 herring is a prohibited species and cannot 

 be landed by groundfish fishermen. Large 

 commercial herring fisheries also exist in 

 Alaska coastal areas, but they are man- 

 aged by the State of Alaska. 



Northern Anchovy 



Northern anchovies are small, short-lived 

 plankton eaters and typically school near 

 the surface in waters of 54°-71°F (12°- 

 21.5°C).They rarely exceed 4 years of age 

 and 7 inches total length. The species 

 ranges from the Queen Charlotte Islands, 

 B.C., to Magdalena Bay, Baja Calif. The 

 "central subpopulation," which supports 

 U.S. fisheries, ranges from about San Fran- 

 cisco, Calif, (lat. 38° N), to Punta Baja, Baja 

 Calif, (lat. 30°N). The central subpopula- 

 tion has been fished in both California and 

 Mexico for "reduction" (conversion to fish 



meal, oil, and soluble protein), bait (live or 

 frozen) for anglers, fresh or canned fish for 

 human consumption, animal food, and an- 

 chovy paste. 



Northern anchovy biomass (Fig. 1 4-1 ) in 

 the central subpopulation averaged 

 400,000 t during 1964-70, increased rap- 

 idly to 1,800,000 t in 1974, and then de- 

 clined to 490,000 t in 1978. Although total 

 anchovy harvests since 1983 have been 

 less than the theoretical maximum sustain- 

 able yield and the historical levels before 

 1983, abundance continues to decline 



