|
DATA COLLECTION AND SURVEYS Data for the management of commercial and recreational fisheries
off California, Oregon and Washington comes from various sources
including the three state fishery agencies, scientific research
projects as well as federally funded surveys. This information
is utilized in the stock assessments that in turn lead to the
harvest guidelines established yearly. Datacollection frbm the
states has evolved to contain the following components: 1) fish
receipt systems in which landings are reported by market categories,
2) logbook systems in which fishing hours and locations of fishing
are reported, and 3) sampling programs in which thecomposition
of landings in various market categories is evaluated (Sampson
and Crone 1997). The major difference in the fish receipt systems
between the three states is the divergent number of market categories,
representing different amounts of sorting. Logbooks are a mechanism
that monitors fishing effort in hours of fishing, providing important
information on the geographic location of both catch There has been much criticism from the fishing community of the federal surveys, contending that they fail to cover adequate areas and depths, sample at inappropriate times of the year, and lack the knowledge fishers possess allowing them to locate large aggregationsof species at sea. Indeed, there are inadequacies to the survey. The triennial survey does not cover the entire latitude range of the western U.S. coastline, it utilizes roller gear, but fish preferring very rocky areas or midwater may not be accessible to the gear, and recent videos of the survey gear indicate rockfish may be escaping from the net (Rogers et al. 1996). Dayton et al. (1995) states that "...some research surveys are undertaken in random patterns appropriate for stock analysis, but give a biased perspective of actual commercial and recreational fishing. Good fishermen do not harvest randomly; they are often brilliant in their ability to concentrate their effect on oceanographic systems such as fronts, Langmuir cells, natural reefs and seamounts. Such fishermen are extremely selective. Random surveys of research cruises may underestimate the actual environmental impact of fishing..." These issues have been brought before NMFS and are beginning tQ be addressed by such actions as increasing involvement of industry in survey work. In 1998 several commercial vessels were chartered by the National Marine Fisheries Service for the collections of groundfish survey data. The discussion below is limited to those projects with a broad scope as well as those providing information to the stock assessment process. While the list of research projects and data collection involving rockfishes israther extensive, lack of sufficient data has historically and continues to plague the management process for these species. Much more information is needed for more accurate stock assessments on species `historically assessed and possibly even more importantly, to provide information for those commercially exploited species never assessed. Data remains missing or scant for critical issues such as the identification of essential habitat for rockfishes, quantification of gear impact on habitat, accurate bycatchestimates and a mandatory West Coast observer program, marine refugia for rockfishes, and community economic analysis. A more detailed review of current research and sampling projects on West Coast rockfish is covered in the proceedings from a recent conference on West Coast groundfish "Working together for West Coast groundfish: Developing solutions to research needs in 1998, 1999, 2000 and beyond." Pacific Fisheries Information Network (PacFIN) Groundfish Data This database, run by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries
Commission is the primary storehouse for data collected on the
Washington, Oregon, California commercial rockfish fisheries.
The Commission has, since 1974, been actively working to "improve
the quality and timeliness of data collection, processing, and
analysis of fishery information and working to "improve
the quality and timeliness of data collection, processing, and
analysis of fishery information and to produce dat summaries
required for regional conservation and management purposese"
(Sampson and Crone 1997). Data in PacFIN for the management of
commercially fished rockfish stocks on the West Coast comes from
the four state fishery agencies (WDFW, ODFW, CDEF), the National
Marine Fisheries Service Northwest Regional Office, and the United
States Coast Guard (Sampson and Crone 1997). This data enables
agencies as well as industry to track commercial catches by area,
making in-season adjustments to catch limits when necessary.
TheFIN central database includes fish-ticket and vessel registration
data provided by Washington, Oregon, and California (W-O-C) state
fishery agencies. In addition the WO-C data sources supply species-composition
and catch-by-area proportions developed from their port sampling
and trawl logbook data systems. The highest priority of this
system is to support the Quota System Management (QSM) database,
which provides weekly "real-time" groundfish samples
from port Economic Survey of Marine Anglers of the Pacific Coast This project is being conducted by the NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center with collaboration from NMFS, the RecFIN Socioeconomic Subcommittee, Pacific Fishery Management Council, UC Davis, and UC Santa Cruz. Their objective is a comprehensive socioeconomic profile of saltwater anglers, their fishing activity, as well as an estimation of the economic value of saltwater fishing trips. They intend to accomplish this through a one-year survey of anglers in California, Oregon, and Washington that will lead to the development of models predicting effort shifts in response to changes in catch rates, regulations and other factors. Timing for the project is 1998-1999. Recreational Fisheries Information Nehuork (RecFIN) The RecFIN database, run by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries
Commission (PSMFC), provides for sampling of marine recreational
fisheries in California, Oregon, and Washington. This is accomplished
using the nationwide Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics
Survey (MRFSS) methodology integrated with state sampling programs.
The MRFSS data set resides at PSMFC as the foundation for RecFIN
and includes year-round catch and effort estimates in all modes
of fishing from 1980-1989 for California, Oregon and Washington;
1993-1998 for California and Oregon; and 1996-1998 for Washington.
The goals of RecFIN are to; 1) Develop and implement a State/Federal
cooperative program for a coastwide marine recreational fisheries
data system. 2) Coordinate collection, management, and dissemination
of Pacific coast marine recreational fishery data. 3) Provide
the data in a central location on a timely basis in the Population Genetics and Management of Nearshore Rockfishes (Sebastes) Taken in the Live-Fish Fishery The request for research was initiated by California Department of Fish and Game however, the project is being funded by California Sea Grant as part of the California Ocean Agenda Research Program, Federal, state and academic institutions are assisting with the sampling. The purpose of this study is to collect sampPes from Washington, Oregon, and Northern, Central, and Southern California to learn if there are regional stocks as determined by genetic differences. Juvenile rockfish inventory of Southern and Central California NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center is conducting this research in conjunction with California Department of Fish and Game. The objective is to carry out annual, full water column inventories of late larval and juvenile rockfishes to provide the vertical distribution of key species. Midwater trawl recruitment surveys have been conducted by the NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center's Tiburon Laboratory since 1983 for the purpose of estimating the abundance of pelagic juvenile rockfish along the central California coast. The results show an average number of 100-day old fish taken during a standard trawl, at 36 standard stations along the California coast. This will allow for models to be developed of late stage larvae and juveniles from the open sea to their settlement habitat. This information can be used to measure trends in abundance allowing for better management. California Rockfish Larval Abundance Survey The lead organization is the FMFS Tiburon lab, and this project's objective is to estimate rockfish species abundance by means of larval production. Within the California Current ecosystem CalCOFI data have been collected over a grid of north-south lines and onshore-offshore stations since 1951. Results are transformed into an index of larval abundance which provide an estimate of spawner abundance. This method is capable of producing an estimate of true biomass, instead of an index requiring many years to interpret and can be applied to relatively unfished stocks such as the shortbelly rockfish. Pacific Ocean Interjurisdictional Fisheries Management Plan PSMFC is coordinating, and collaboration is coming from CDFG, ODFW, and WDFW The primary objectives are to develop an interstate management plan for selected nearshore fis~heries, coordinate studies on forage fish in Washington and nearshore rockfish, and determine the biological characteristics of nearshore fishes off Oregon. Determinants of Fishing Strategies: An Empirical Study Using Trawl Logbooks The contact agency for this research is Oregon State University, Hatfield Marine Science Center, with assistance from ODFW. The primary objective is to develop quantitative fishing measures of fishing strategies from Oregon trawl logbooks by analyzing how factors such as fish prices, weather conditions, and regulations influence fishing strategies and to evaluate economic success of the different fishing strategies. The timing for this project is March 1998 -- February 2000. Rockfish Food Habits and Feeding Ecology Oregon State University, Hatfield Marine Science Center has
develbped this research and will coordinate with assistance from
graduate research assistants. The purpose is to further the understanding
of food habits, feeding ecology, and degree of niche overlap
of commercially important rockfish species by: collecting qualitative
information on the food habits and feeding behavior of widow,
yellowtail, and canary rockfish. The timing for this project
is January West Coast Bottom Trawl Groundfish Survey The bottom trawl survey has been run by the NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) on a triennial schedule since 1977 and measures the abundance and distribution of the groundfish resources of the Pacific Coast off California, Oregon, and Washington, and southern British Columbia. These parameters are assessed by; monitoring the abundance, distribution, and biological characteristics of principal rockfish species as well as other key groundfish stocks, collecting biological samples from a variety of commercially important species, and collecting temperature profiles to relate changes in fish distribution among years to changes in oceanographic conditions. The 1998 survey will be conducted by two commercial trawlers contracted by the NMFS for 70 days, June 1 -- August 8. The 1998 survey ranged from Point Conception CA to southwest Vancouver Island and will be conducted at 620 pre-determined stations between 30 and 275 fathoms. The survey results provide time series of population fluctuations for the major groundfish species which will then be incorporated into the stock assessments of the PFMC. This project is ongoing. Bycatch reduction in West Coast Shrimp and Spot Prawn Trawl Fisheries This project was developed by the University of Washington School of Fisheries in conjunction with NFMS Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) and commercial fishers. The objective is to decrease the amount of bycatch, of species such as rockfish, in shrimp and spot prawn fisheries by adapting shrimp/fish separator technology to these fisheries. The project is currently slated to run through the present year (1998). Depth-Specific Sampling of the Deep-water Complex Species The primary agency for this project is the NMFS NWFSC with collaboration coming from commercial fishers, and ODFW. The primary objective is to obtain more detailed fishery-related data than are currently available, such as depth-specific age and length composition data associated with species such as the thornyheads. The project would encourage selected fishers from key fishing ports to provide critical depth-specific biological information as part of their routine fishing effort. The project is scheduled to begin in October 1998 and be ongoing Slope Survey of the Deep-water Complex Species This is an annualsurvey conducted by NMFS NWFSC to collect fishery-independent data on the continental slope to provide critical information needed tp assess the status of the deep-water complex species. Existing survey series for this species complex do not offer sufficient coverage and/or frequency to resolve stock trends at the level of detail or confidence demanded by their present status. The objective of the 1998 survey is to conduct a "new" survey utilizing chartered coihmercial fishing vessels . Coverage will extend from central California to the U.S. -- Canadian border from 50-100 fathoms depth out to 700 fathoms. This began in 1998 and will be ongoing. Relative Abundance Indices of the Deep-water Complex Species Using Commercial Logbook Data NMFS NWFSC is the primary collaborator with assistance from WDFW, ODFW, and CDFG. The purpose of this research is to develop relative abundance indices for the deep-water complex from commercial trawl fishery data. The project is scheduled to begin in 1998. Enhanced Groundfish Data Collection Project The primary agency for this project is ODFW with collaboration by the Oregon Trawl Commission, NMFS, PSMFC, West Coast Seafood Processors Association, Trawl vessels and crews, and Northwest Food Strategies. The primary objective of this project is to measure and determine the reasons for current rates of discard, species composition of discard and rate of halibut survival associated with the U.S. West Coast groundfish trawlfishery. This is accomplished through data collection on discard amount and composition by utilizing logbooks or deployment of observers aboard vessels voluntarily participating in the program. The study area runs from the Canadian border to San Francisco. The project was originally scheduled to run mid 1995--December 1998, but may continue into 1999. Evaluating the Accuracy and Value of Groundfish Stock Assessments Developed at Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center with collaboration from ODFW, this project will; measure the sensitivity of the Stock Synthesis assessment program and the value of stock assessment information, and evaluate the performance of staristical model selection criteria applied to stock assessment models built using the stock synthesis program. This project is scheduled to run from August 1995 to September 1998. Central/Northern California Tuvenile Rockfish Recruitment Survey The primary agency is NMFS Tiburon lab. The objective is to estimate rockfish recruitment strengths annually by utilizing midwater trawls, SCUBA transects, and analyzing the stomach contents of recreationally caught salmon. Oregon State and Coastal Communities Fisheries Economic Assessment This project is conducted by the Oregon Coastal Zone Management
Association with collaboration from The Research Group. The primary
objectives are to prepare an economic profile of Oregon's commercial
fishing industry, including a historical description of changes
in landings, prices, ex-vessel and processor revenues, economic
impacts on total personal income, and associated government revenues.
The information will be utilized to establish trend informa- Developing Basic Information for the Design and Implementation of West Coast Marine Reserves Headed by the Environmental Defense Fund, this project's collaborators include interested fishers, the Scienific Advisory Panel of the Pacific Ocean Conservation Network, UC Santa Cruz, NMFS, Oregon State University, and California Sea Grant. Some of the primary goals of this project are to collect and synthesize all abailable data from West Coast marine reserves and disseminate it to the PFMC, stakeholders and the general public, to develop a hsh population model to investigate the effects of marine reserves on rebuilding times for depleted stocks, construct a GIS base map of the continental shelf/slope showing habitat and suspected sources and sinks for groundfish, and develop a framework foy bioeconomic analysis of marine reserves. West Coast Commercial Fishery Income Impact Estimation This project is being developed primarily by the PFMC with assistance from The Resource Group. This project will attempt to provide key information needed to assess the economic dependence of western coastal communities on the commercial fisheries. This project will provide values to be used to generate community, state and regional estimates of personal income associated with West Coast commercial fisheries. This information is required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the National Environmental Policy Act and is slated to be completed this year. Marine Hanrest Refugia for West Coast Rockfish of Norih America, a Workshop This workshop was organized by Mary Yoklavich, NMFS Pacific
Fisheries Environmental Lab, sponsored by NMFS Office of Protective
Resources, and was attended by 37 biologists, ecologists, social
scientists, economists, and resource managers, representing federal
and state agencies from Alaska to California as well as academic
interests from relevant institutes. The primary objective was
to assess current and future needs, benefits, and implementation
of Analysis of Industry-Scientific Cooperative Fisheries Research Programs: Implications for Research and Management of West Coast Groundfish Fisheries and Management Organized through the Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station
at Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center,
the primary collaborators have been NMFS NWFSC. The principal
objective is to improve the management of West Coast groundfish
fisheries by developing information and approaches for improving
the design and implementation of fisher-scientist cooperative
research projects. Timing for this program is January 1998--October |
||
 |
| Table of Contents | PMCC Homepage | Email PMCC |