Groundfish Regulations and Background Information

2002 brought several major changes to groundfish management. As a result, measures for 2003 are much more restrictive than in past years. This web page provides links to information on 2003 regulations, information on how groundfish are managed, and other background information.

Note:  We try to keep this page up to date, but be sure to look under "What's new" to see any groundfish information that has not yet been posted here.

Some of these documents are PDF files. If you cannot read them, download Adobe Acrobat Reader for free here.

2003 Season

• 2003 Season (background, regulations and resources)
• Federal regulations
• State regulations
• Stock assessment schedule

More Groundfish Links

Hot topics:

• Assistance and transition information for fishing families and businesses
• Groundfish trawl buyback information
• Experimental fishing permits
• Vessel monitoring systems
• Individual transferable quotas (ITQs)
• Information sheet:  Understanding Rebuilding Plans
• Information sheet:  Questions and Answers About Rebuilding Plans
• Schedule and Process for Developing 2005-2006 Groundfish Fishery Specifications and Management Measures

General information:

• A primer on groundfish. Basic information on the fish, how they are caught, how they are managed, and how to get involved in groundfish management
• Rockfish species listed by location (shelf, slope, and nearshore), with diagram of shelf, slope and management areas
• Link to October 2002 newsletter, which contains more information about 2003 management measures
• Newsletter archives
• 2002 Season archives

Technical and regulatory information:

• Environmental Impact Statement for the 2003 groundfish annual specifications
• Stock assessments
• Calendar for 2003 stock assessments
• Groundfish fishery management plan
• Groundfish Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) document
• Groundfish Strategic Plan (2000) PDF file
• Rebuilding Plans
• Essential fish habitat description for groundfish (1998) PDF file

2003 Season

Background

At its September 2002 meeting in Portland, Oregon, the Council adopted harvest levels and management measures for the 2003 West Coast groundfish fishery. The decisions are likely to have large-scale economic impacts to West Coast fishing communities. Conservative area and season restrictions were adopted to rebuild stocks of bocaccio, canary rockfish, cowcod, darkblotched rockfish, and yelloweye rockfish. Fisheries that have a significant bycatch of these species will be dramatically restructured. The centerpiece of Council actions was the adoption of depth-based restrictions that seasonally move fisheries that catch these overfished stocks out of the depth zones the stocks inhabit. The Council requested an electronic Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) be phased in starting in 2003 to track the locations of fishing vessels to ensure compliance with area closures. Gear modifications were also prescribed to reduce bycatch.

The Council worked from a set of alternatives that had been developed at its June 2002 meeting. The changes were analyzed in an environmental impact statement (EIS) which describes the biological, physical, and socioeconomic effects of the options.

While there is no one area that is closed to all fishing, all areas from 0 to 250 fathoms are likely to feel the effects of these changes. Fishing effort will shift to nearshore and deeper water areas, which will require that more care be taken to manage groundfish in those areas.

Federal regulations:

• Commercial management measures for March-December 2003 (from NMFS; PDF file; includes trip limits)
• Recreational management measures for March-December 2003 (from NMFS; PDF file)
• Estimated mortality of West Coast overfished groundfish species under Council-preferred management measures (PDF)

State regulations:

• Washington commercial fishing regulations
• Washington sport fishing regulations
• Oregon commercial fishing regulations
• Oregon sport fishing regulations (PDF)
• California commercial fishing regulations
• California sport fishing regulations

Stock assessment schedule

Two series of stock assessments are planned for 2003. The first series, available for the June 2003 Council meeting, will be used to set 2004 groundfish specifications. The second series, available for the November 2003 meeting, will be used to set groundfish specifications in the first biennial period (2005-2006) under multi-year management. The total number of stock assessments proposed for 2003 is ambitious. The Council wants to conduct assessments at least once every three years for overfished species, and to begin the first biennial period of multi-year groundfish management with new assessments for the most vulnerable stocks.

*NMFS = National Marine Fisheries Service; SWFSC = Southwest Fishery Science Center (part of NMFS); NWFSC = Northwest Fishery Science Center (part of NMFS); UW = University of Washington; CDFG = California Department of Fish and Game; WDFW = Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife; TBA = to be announced

PFMC
02/13/04