Bocaccio Archives - Saving Seafood

Key Southern California Rockfish Species Survive Capture Over the Longer-term Following Release

October 26, 2021 — Deep-water rockfish reeled quickly to the surface often emerge from the water with eyes and organs bulging like alien beings—due to the sudden change in pressure—a condition known as barotrauma.

Now new research shows that if fishermen return fish to their natural depths quickly, their bodies return to normal and they can survive any ill effects. The research focused on cowcod and bocaccio, two historically overfished rockfish species caught off the coast of Southern California. They were returned to the depths using special descending devices that are now standard for many recreational fishermen.

Prior to this research and the use of descending devices, it was widely assumed that deep-dwelling rockfish could not survive catch and release due to their extensive barotrauma injuries. “We now know that these deep-dwelling rockfish species can survive,” said Nick Wegner, a research scientist at NOAA Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center and lead author of the new research. “That is good news for the fish, and good news for the fishermen who go to the trouble of trying to release them properly.”

The research was published in ICES Journal of Marine Science. Scientists used acoustic transmitters to track released cowcod and bocaccio for up to a year on an underwater seamount approximately 40 miles off the coast of San Diego, California. They were captured at depths of 75 to 183 meters, or about 250 to 600 feet. By tracking the fish for extended periods, researchers found that most fish survived beyond 30 days. Of those fish that died, 40 percent died beyond the typical 2-day tracking window used in many fish survivorship studies.

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

West Coast fishery rebounds in rare conservation ‘home run’

December 26, 2019 — A rare environmental success story is unfolding in waters off the U.S. West Coast.

After years of fear and uncertainty, bottom trawler fishermen ” those who use nets to catch rockfish, bocaccio, sole, Pacific Ocean perch and other deep-dwelling fish ” are making a comeback here, reinventing themselves as a sustainable industry less than two decades after authorities closed huge stretches of the Pacific Ocean because of the species’ depletion.

The ban devastated fishermen, but on Jan. 1, regulators will reopen an area roughly three times the size of Rhode Island off Oregon and California to groundfish bottom trawling ” all with the approval of environmental groups that were once the industry’s biggest foes.

The rapid turnaround is made even more unique by the collaboration between the fishermen and environmentalists who spent years refining a long-term fishing plan that will continue to resuscitate the groundfish industry while permanently protecting thousands of square miles of reefs and coral beds that benefit the overfished species.

Now, the fishermen who see their livelihood returning must solve another piece of the puzzle: drumming up consumer demand for fish that haven’t been in grocery stores or on menus for a generation.

‘It’s really a conservation home run,’ said Shems Jud, regional director for the Environmental Defense Fund’s ocean program. ’The recovery is decades ahead of schedule. It’s the biggest environmental story that no one knows about.”

The process also netted a win for conservationists concerned about the future of extreme deepwater habitats where bottom trawlers currently don’t go. A tract of ocean the size of New Mexico with waters up to 2.1 miles (3.4 kilometers) deep will be off-limits to bottom-trawling to protect deep-sea corals and sponges just now being discovered.

‘Not all fishermen are rapers of the environment. When you hear the word ‘trawler,’ very often that’s associated with destruction of the sea and pillaging,” said Kevin Dunn, whose trawler Iron Lady was featured in a Whole Foods television commercial about sustainable fishing.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at News Chief

US fisheries report reveals all-time-low numbers of overfishing, overfished stocks

May 21, 2018 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 2017 Status of Stocks report, released on 17 May, indicates that the number of stocks facing overfishing or that are overfished is at an all-time-low since reports began in 2000.

Just 30 of the 317 stocks with known overfishing status were subject to overfishing, representing nine percent of the total stocks. Of the 235 stocks with known overfished status, just 35, or 15 percent, were considered overfished.

“Over 90 percent of our stocks are not subject to overfishing,” said Alan Risenhoover, director of NOAA”s Office of Sustainable Fisheries during a press conference. “This progress, outlined in the report, is the result of shared efforts of many partners.”

NOAA considered the report to also show a boon for the economy. Nationwide, the seafood industry represented USD 208 billion (EUR 176 billion) in value for the U.S. economy, and accounted for roughly 1.6 million jobs.

Risenhoover reported three previously overfished stocks are now considered to have been rebuilt: bocaccio, darkblotched rockfish, and Pacific ocean perch. All three were rebuilt ahead of schedule. The addition of those three species now makes 44 stocks that have been rebuilt since 2000. NOAA tracks 474 stocks in total, in 46 different fishery management plans.

Conservation organizations welcomed the news that stocks that are overfished or subject to overfishing has reached new lows.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Another Important West Coast Groundfish Stock is Rebuilt

December 12, 2017 — PORTLAND, Ore. — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

An important West Coast groundfish stock that was formerly overfished has now been rebuilt.

Pacific ocean perch, which is managed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS or NOAA Fisheries), has constrained the West Coast trawl fishery for decades. Pacific ocean perch has been overfished since the mid-1960s when foreign fleets targeted groundfish stocks, in particular Pacific ocean perch, off the U.S. West Coast. The mandates of the 1976 Magnuson-Stevens Act, the primary law governing U.S. fisheries management, eventually ended foreign fishing within 200 miles of the U.S. coast. The first Federal trip limits to discourage targeting and to conserve a U.S. West Coast groundfish stock were implemented for Pacific ocean perch in 1979 by the Pacific Fishery Management Council and NMFS. Rebuilding plans for Pacific ocean perch were adopted in 2000 and 2003.

Managing groundfish fisheries under rebuilding plans has been an immense challenge for the Pacific Council and the NMFS. These plans required sharp reductions in commercial and recreational fisheries targeting groundfish, and included widespread fishing closures through the establishment of Rockfish Conservation Areas off the West Coast and other measures.

“We are pleased to see that our management strategies have been successful in rebuilding this important groundfish stock, and want to acknowledge the industries’ cooperation and sacrifice in this effort,” said Council Chair Phil Anderson. “We also want to recognize NMFS for committing the resources to monitor and research groundfish stocks to improve the science used to sustainably manage these stocks.”

Since 2003, managing overfished species through area closures such as the Rockfish Conservation Areas has helped to reduce fishing impacts and rebuild overfished groundfish species. In addition, the groundfish fleet has had to limit fishing for other more abundant species to avoid unintentional catch of the overfished stocks. “It is remarkable that the rebuilding of Pacific ocean perch was accomplished 34 years ahead of schedule,” said Barry Thom, Regional Administrator of NMFS’ West Coast Region. “It is the strong partnership between fishery managers and industry and the strong commitment to catch limitations that allowed it to happen.”

These strategies have been used to successfully rebuild eight groundfish stocks, including Pacific whiting, bocaccio, darkblotched rockfish, lingcod, canary rockfish, widow rockfish, petrale sole, and Pacific ocean perch. Canary rockfish was declared rebuilt in 2015 and earlier this year, bocaccio and darkblotched rockfish were also declared rebuilt. These successes reflect the support and sacrifice of West Coast ports and fishermen who recognized the difficult actions and fishing cutbacks necessary to restore the stocks.

Only two overfished stocks—cowcod and yelloweye rockfish—continue to be managed under rebuilding plans. Both have shown dramatic rebuilding progress, with cowcod projected to be rebuilt by 2019 and yelloweye rockfish as soon as 2027. Improvements in the status of these two stocks, coupled with the successful rebuilding of the other eight groundfish stocks declared overfished in the past, will lead to increased fishing opportunities beginning in 2019. The Pacific Council is scheduled to make their final decisions on 2019 and 2020 groundfish fisheries next June at their meeting in Spokane, Washington.

Process

The Pacific ocean perch assessment was developed by NMFS scientists at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center and was reviewed in the Council’s stock assessment review process with a final endorsement by the Council Scientific and Statistical Committee. On December 11, NMFS formally determined the stock’s status as rebuilt.

Council Role

The Pacific Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional fishery management councils established by the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 for the purpose of managing fisheries 3‐200 nautical miles offshore of the United States of America coastline. Altogether, the Pacific Council manages more than 100 species of groundfish. The Pacific Council recommends management measures for groundfish and other ocean fisheries off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington.

On the Web:

Pacific Fishery Management Council: http://www.pcouncil.org
Pacific ocean perch stock assessment: http://www.pcouncil.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/10/F4_Att1_Full_E-only_PacificOceanPerch2017_Assessment_NOV2017BB.pdf
NOAA Fisheries article on rockfish rebuilding: https://go.usa.gov/xNvCV

Two rockfish species make a comeback as conservation limits pay off

June 24, 2017 — For fishermen and seafood lovers, there is good news about two species of rockfish.

Stocks of bocaccio and the darkblotched rockfish have been rebuilt after years of conservation restrictions to protect populations knocked down by a combination of poor ocean conditions and overfishing.

The actions included major closures of some fishing areas and reductions in the numbers of these fish that could be caught — even accidentally — by commercial fleets. Recreational fishermen also faced reductions in harvests.

Such protections helped to protect the stocks until years when survival rates of young fish improve dramatically for reasons that scientists are still trying to understand.

“By working together, we’ve brought bocaccio and darkblotched rockfish back to where they will again be part of a sustainable West Coast groundfish fishery” said Barry Thom, regional administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries West Coast Region, in a statement.

The bocaccio, a rockfish that can grow up to 3 feet in length and live for a half century, was declared to be overfished in the 200-mile federally managed zone back in 1999. The smaller darkblotched rockfish, which can live for more than a century, got the designation in 2000.

Scientists say there is still a lot to learn, including what changes in ocean conditions contributed to the resurgent populations.

“We wish we knew, and that’s one of the questions that has yet to be very well answered for most of our groundfish species,” said Jim Hastie, a Seattle-based NOAA Fisheries official involved with assessing fish stocks.

Read the full story at The Seattle Times

TWO IMPORTANT WEST COAST GROUNDFISH STOCKS REBUILT

June 20, 2017 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

Two important West Coast groundfish stocks that were formerly overfished have now been rebuilt.

Bocaccio and darkblotched rockfish, which are managed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council, were under strict rebuilding plans that have constrained West Coast fisheries for more than a decade. Bocaccio was declared overfished in 1999, and darkblotched rockfish in 2000; both were rebuilt well before their original target dates.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional fishery management councils that manage ocean fisheries in the United States. Altogether, the Pacific Council manages more than 100 species of groundfish.

Managing groundfish fisheries under rebuilding plans has been an immense challenge for the Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries). These plans required sharp reductions in commercial and recreational fisheries targeting groundfish, which included widespread fishing closures through the establishment of Rockfish Conservation Areas off the West Coast and other measures. Since 2003, managing overfished species through area closures such as the Rockfish Conservation Areas has helped to reduce fishing impacts and rebuild overfished groundfish species.

In addition, the groundfish fleet has had to limit fishing for other more abundant species to avoid unintentional catch of the overfished stocks.

“The rebuilding strategies used to achieve this conservation success, coupled with favorable environmental conditions for groundfish productivity, have paid huge dividends in rebuilding our overfished groundfish stocks and resurrecting West Coast groundfish fisheries,” said Council Chair Herb Pollard.

The successful rebuilding of these species reflects the support and sacrifice of West Coast ports and fishermen who recognized the difficult actions and fishing cutbacks necessary to restore the stocks. The rebuilding of bocaccio and darkblotched rockfish will lead to increased harvest opportunities beginning in 2019.

“By working together, we’ve brought bocaccio and darkblotched rockfish back to where they will again be part of a sustainable West Coast groundfish fishery that creates renewed opportunity for the fishing fleet, as well as more options for seafood consumers,” said Barry Thom, Regional Administrator of NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region.

Between 1999 and 2017, ten West Coast groundfish stocks were declared overfished, as surveys documented their declining numbers. Pacific whiting, for example, was declared overfished in 2002. The Council, working with NOAA Fisheries and the fishing industry, reduced commercial harvests. Combined with strong reproduction and recruitment, the fishing cutbacks led to the rapid rebuilding of Pacific whiting by 2004. The Council and NOAA Fisheries developed rebuilding plans for the other nine overfished stocks—bocaccio, darkblotched rockfish, lingcod, canary rockfish, cowcod, Pacific ocean perch, widow rockfish, petrale sole, and yelloweye rockfish.

Lingcod was declared rebuilt in 2005, and widow rockfish in 2012. Both petrale sole and canary rockfish were declared rebuilt in 2015. Rebuilding plans remain in place for three remaining overfished species: cowcod, Pacific ocean perch, and yelloweye rockfish. New assessments for Pacific ocean perch and yelloweye rockfish will be reviewed this summer and may be adopted in September. Cowcod is expected to be rebuilt by 2019.

“The Council is a transparent, science-based, inclusive approach to fisheries management,” said Council Executive Director Chuck Tracy. “Our progress in rebuilding overfished stocks shows the effectiveness of this approach. West Coast fisheries are a model of sustainable resource management, and they will continue to provide healthy seafood, jobs, and support for coastal communities, as well as access to this resource for all Americans.”

Process

The bocaccio and darkblotched rockfish assessments were developed by scientists at NOAA Fisheries and were reviewed by the Council’s scientific advisory bodies. NOAA Fisheries confirmed the stocks’ status as rebuilt on June 16.

Council Role

The Pacific Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional fishery management councils established by the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 for the purpose of managing fisheries 3‐200 nautical miles offshore of the United States of America coastline. The Pacific Council recommends management measures for fisheries off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington.