Carter and others 



Chapter 27 



Mortality in Gill Nets 



Puget Sound Area M 



Columbia River Area (2 



South - Central 

 California 



Southern 



California 



Figure 5 Locations of gill-net fisheries along the coasts of California, Oregon 

 and Washington. Numbers refer to fishing areas referred to in the text. In central 

 and southern California, numbers 3, 4, 5, and 6 refer to California Department of 

 Fish and Game fishing districts D10, D17, D18, and D19/D20, respectively. 



December 1981; and (2) one bird off San Gregorio Creek, 

 San Mateo County, on 21 November 1986. More than 100 

 dead murrelets also were found on beaches in the Monterey 

 Bay area (regions 4A and 4E)(fig. 5) during the winter of 

 1980-1981. Carter and Erickson (1988, 1992) estimated that 

 at least 150 to 300 birds were killed from 1979 to 1987. 



A series of small, patchwork fishing closures were 

 implemented by CDFG from 1982 to 1984 in an attempt to 

 reduce seabird mortality. These efforts proved to be 

 ineffective. Following consideration of the problem for several 

 years (Atkins and Heneman 1987, Salzman 1989), severe 

 restrictions were implemented by CDFG in 1987 which 



closed waters less than 40 fathoms (80 m) in regions 3 and 

 4A (fig. 5) to gill-net fishing. These regulations eliminated 

 most fishing in these areas, although a small gill-net fishery 

 for rockfish still exists outside of the Farallon Islands. Fishing 

 was further restricted in the Monterey Bay and south-central 

 coast area in 1990 to further reduce mortality of marine 

 mammals (especially sea otters Enhydra lutra) and seabirds. 

 Fishing was prevented in waters shallower than 30 fathoms 

 (60 m), as well as in much of inner Monterey Bay, in regions 

 4B and 5A (fig. 5). 



Most murrelets from the Central California population 

 (that nest in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties) forage 



282 



USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-152. 1995. 



