. . . Pacific Coast and Alaska Pelagic Fisheries 



64 



, . Pacific Sardine 



bait, and human consumption. Currently, 

 there is no fish meal (reduction) fishery, 

 but some sardines are still taken for human 

 consumption and bait. 



Pacific sardine numbers off southern Cal- 

 ifornia are now increasing. Since 1986, 



stock biomass has increased about 

 40%/year, and the current biomass is 

 about 100,000 t. Commercial demand for 

 sardines is strong, and as catch quotas 

 grow, the fishery is expected to thrive. 



Figure 14-2.— U.S. Pacific sardine 

 landings from the 1932-33 to 

 the 1990-91 seasons and 

 biomass (age 2 and older) from 

 1945 to 1965. 



700 



- 500 



landings Blomaat 



1 I ' ' " I ' " ' 



800 

 700 

 600 



o 



500 o 

 o 



400 » 

 a 



E 



300 | 



200 

 100 







1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 



Jack Mackerel 



The jack mackerel is similar to several 

 other species of "horse mackerels" found 

 worldwide in temperate marine waters. 

 This species spawns from central Baja Cal- 

 ifornia to British Columbia during spring 

 and summer. Juveniles spend several 

 years in their nursery grounds in the South- 

 ern California Bight, while older fish move 

 northward, sometimes ranging hundreds 

 of miles from shore, especially off the Pa- 

 cific Northwest. Jack mackerel reach sex- 

 ual maturity early in life. Most begin 

 spawning as 1-year-olds, and individuals in 

 offshore waters may live for 30 or more 

 years. 



The southern California jack mackerel 

 stock has been fished since the late 1 940's 

 when it began to substitute for the failing 

 sardine fishery. The purse seine fishery for 

 it has continued at a low level. Jack mack- 

 erel and Pacific (or chub) mackerel are not 

 identified separately on landings receipts 

 and are considered commercially equiva- 

 lent. Jack mackerel is slightly less favored 

 by purse seine fishermen, however, be- 

 cause it ranges farther from port and fre- 

 quents rocky bottom areas which can 



damage nets. There is currently no catch 

 limit. 



The large adults found offshore are 

 sometimes caught incidentally by trawlers, 

 particularly those targeting Pacific whiting. 

 During the 1970's, the foreign whiting 

 trawlers may have caught 1,000-2,000 t 

 annually, but the foreign and joint-venture 

 catches in the 1980's dropped to 100 t or 

 less. The foreign trawl fisheries of the 

 1970's resulted in jack mackerel manage- 

 ment being placed in the Groundfish FMP. 

 An incidental catch of 1 2,000 t/year (north 

 of lat. 39°N) was set to account for the 

 incidental take; restrictions on fishing for 

 other groundfish species, like whiting, were 

 thus avoided. In 1991, interest by foreign, 

 joint-venture, and domestic industries in- 

 creased, and the catch limit was raised to 

 52,000 t to allow a mackerel fishery to 

 develop. While that fishery failed to mate- 

 rialize, strong signs of commercial interest 

 continue. 



Jack mackerel have a rather broad dis- 

 tribution, and their stocks consist of a wide 

 variety of ages and sizes. This makes their 

 assessment and management difficult. 



