Sport fishing organizations, party boat operators, and individual sport and commercial fishers have expressed concern to the Department of Fish and Game over the expansion of the commercial hook-and-line fishery on the northern and central California coast. Their concerns include the large amount of area used by commercial horizontal set longlines, the efficiency of commercial fishing in taking resources already fully utilized by sport fishing, declining numbers and sizes of fishes, and entanglement of sport divers in commercial longline gear.
The main group of fishes taken by the northern and central California commercial hook-and-line fishery is the rockfish (genus Sebastes). Their relatively late ages at sexual maturity, low growth rates, irregular reproductive success, sedentary natures, and catchability make rockfish populations vulnerable to overfishing. Lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus), kelp greenling (Hexagrammos decagrammus), and cabezon (Scorpaenichthys marmoratus) are also taken. Cabezon and kelp greenling are slow growing, highly residential, and limited to shallow-water areas (less than 40 fathoms), which makes them also vulnerable to overfishing.
The rockfish, lingcod, kelp greenling, and cabezon are mainstays of the northern and central California marine sport fishery, comprising 55% of the total sport catch by weight. About 200,000 to 400,000 sport fishers annually participate in about 700,000 to 1.4 million person-days of sport fishing directed mainly towards the rockfish, lingcod, kelp greenling, and cabezon, spending about $40 to $80 million, not including capital expenditures such as boats. Sport take of those species in 1993 was about 3.25 to 6.5 million pounds.
Historically, commercial hook-and-line take of rockfish, lingcod, cabezon, and kelp greenling was mainly incidental to take of more valuable fishes, or to produce additional income when the seasons for more valuable fishes were closed. However, due to displacement of commercial fishers from reduced salmon and gill net fisheries and to a rise in consumer demand for live and fresh-caught fish, commercial hook-and-line landings of those species have risen about threefold since the early 1980s, and are now equal to or greater than estimated sport landings (Figure 8). The commercial hook-and-line fishery has also expanded geographically; virtually the entire northern and central California coastline is now fished.
In 1993, reported commercial hook-and-line landings of rockfish, lingcod, kelp greenling, and cabezon comprised 6% of the total ex-vessel value (payments by fish dealers to commercial fishers) of all northern and central California commercial fishery landings. About 2000 commercial fishers in 1046 vessels participated in commercial hook-and-line fishing. The top 200 vessels landed 90% of the total weight. Reported ex-vessel value totaled about $3.3 million; retail value is estimated at about $10 million. Reported live fish landings totaled about 930,000 pounds, with ex-vessel value totaling about $1.6 million. Reported 1993 landings of live and dead fish totaled about 5.2 million pounds; the total including unreported landings is estimated at about 7.2 million pounds.
Sport fishery surveys provide the best time trend data on the status of the species of concern. Since the early 1980s, the average weights of nearly all major rockfish species and cabezon taken in the sport fishery have decreased. Commercial and sport fishing is likely the major cause of the size declines; climatic factors and increases in marine mammal populations may also be involved. In southern California, the total weight of rockfish and cabezon caught per hour sport fishing has declined by 46% from sport skiffs, and by 79% from party boats since the early1980s ; the data demonstrate the vulnerability of the rockfish and cabezon, and may foretell their future in northern and central California.
The Department has prepared a report to the State Legislature on the status of the commercial hook-and-line fishery and management alternatives. Fish and Game Code Section 9029.5, which prohibited commercial hook-and-line fishing within 1 mile of shore on weekends and holidays in Fish and Game Districts 7 and 10 (ocean waters from Humboldt Bay to Pigeon Point, San Mateo County) expired January 1, 1995. Legislative action to more stringently or less stringently regulate the commercial hook-and-line fishery may occur during 1995. -DA