Coastal Pelagic Species
Forage species, such as sardine, anchovy, and squid, serve a critical ecological function in the California Current as a link between the planktonic food web and higher trophic levels. Forage species also support important direct commercial fisheries. The fleet targeting forage species is referred to as the coastal pelagic species (CPS) fleet and composition of its portfolio varies regionally and over time given spatio-temporal variability in forage species composition across the U.S. West Coast as well as market forces. The fishery is the largest, and most diverse in California, with the main target species being market squid, Pacific sardine, mackerels and Northern anchovy. Of these, market squid is the most lucrative, and generates the most revenue. By contrast, the CPS fleet in Oregon and Washington has largely been dependent on Pacific sardine. In 2018 CPS accounted for 22% of total west coast landings by weight, and generated $82 million in ex-vessel revenue. In California, the CPS fishery contributed to 71% of 2018 total state landings. Key issues for this fishery include stabilizing catch from year to year, promoting efficiency and profitability given the high environmentally-driven temporal variability in species availability and portfolio composition, and maintaining adequate forage for predators.
Albacore Tuna
The U.S. west coast commercial albacore fishery operates primarily out of Pacific Northwest ports in Oregon and Washington, using surface gear (hook-and-line and troll). The albacore fishery is economically valuable in all three west coast states; in 2015, hook-and-line vessels landed 11,255 metric tons of albacore to west coast ports, generating $29.3 million in ex-vessel revenue. Of particular interest for management are climate-driven distribution shifts of albacore (for example, in a warmer ocean albacore will likely move to more northern waters along the U.S. and Canadian west coasts) and the role of the albacore fishery, which is not limited entry, as “insurance” when other fisheries are not profitable.
Swordfish
The California Drift Gillnet fishery is a limited entry fishery that primarily targets broadbill swordfish in federal waters off California. In 2015, Drift Gillnet vessels landed 66 metric tons of swordfish, generating $454,000 in ex-vessel revenue. Due to documented bycatch of protected marine species including marine mammals and sea turtles, large-scale closures have been enacted to reduce interactions between fishers and bycatch species. These closures have resulted in lost opportunity and reduced profitability for fishers. To reduce opportunity cost to fishers while protecting bycatch species, we are exploring alternative management scenarios in which closures are enacted dynamically based on the likelihood that individual species are present in a given area.
