MOSS LANDING, Cal. — January 14, 2014 — Fishermen in Moss Landing said they're being slapped with too many regulations on how much black cod fish they can catch, which is hurting their bottom line. Black cod is one of the more popular and sought after fish on the coast. As a result, there's just not enough to go around and regulators are trying to prevent over-fishing.
"This is kind of our bread and butter fish," said Roger Whitney, fish buyer at Bay Fresh Seafood in Moss Landing.
Because of all the federal regulations over the last several years on the fish, many of the vessels at the Moss Landing Harbor aren't even untied.
"The price went down to where it's not worth it," said fisherman John Amaral. "We get less for the big fish now than we used to get for the small, so it cuts the overall price in half."
Amaral said he was forced to walk away two years ago and turned to crabbing.
"We were fishing like 17 miles out of the harbor. Now we have to go about 50 to 60 miles out of the harbor, so we're pretty much getting fished out," he said.
From Eureka down to Point Lopez, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration only allows 2,850 pounds of black cod to be caught in two months, something fishermen said they can do in one day. Because there's been a 27 percent decline of the fish since 2006, NOAA said the regulations are needed for the stock to sustain itself.