WA/OR/CA Groundfish Trawl Fishery - MMPA List of Fisheries
U.S. fisheries are classified under the Marine Mammal Protection Act according to the level of incidental mortality or serious injury of marine mammals.
Current Classification on the List of Fisheries
Category | III |
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Estimated Number of Participants | 118 |
Target Species | Pacific whiting, sablefish, widow rockfish, yellowtail rockfish, thornyheads, Dover sole, petrale sole, lingcod, and other groundfish |
Applicable Take Reduction Plans | N/A |
Observer Coverage | Since 2011, observer coverage of non-whiting non-EM IFQ fishery has been ~100%. From 2015-2018, coverage of the shoreside EM IFQ fishery has ranged from 16-33%. Since 2015, coverage of the shoreside hake sector of the IFQ fishery and the shoreside midwater sector of the IFQ fishery has been ~100%. There has not been any observer coverage in the EM IFQ Shoreside Midwater fishery since 2015. Since 2002, observer coverage of the at-sea hake fishery has been ~100%. |
Marine Mammal Species/Stocks Killed or Injured |
California sea lion, U.S. Dall's porpoise, CA/OR/WA Northern fur seal, Eastern Pacific Harbor seal, OR/WA coast Northern elephant seal, CA breeding Pacific white-sided dolphin, CA/OR/WA Northern right whale dolphin, CA/OR/WA Steller sea lion, Eastern U.S. |
Basis for Current Classification
Classified as a Category III fishery based on the lack of documented mortality or serious injuries of marine mammals based on the available data.
Distribution
The Category III WA/OR/CA groundfish trawl fishery occurs year round in Federal waters (3-200 nm or 5.6-370.4 km) off Washington, Oregon, and California. There are two sectors; namely the Pacific whiting (whiting) and non-Pacific whiting sector. The whiting sector generally targets whiting farther off the coast than other groundfish species. Fishing consists of catcher-processor vessels that catch and process whiting, whereas motherships receive whiting from other vessels and process it. Shore-side vessels catch and deliver whiting to a shore-side plant for processing.
The non-whiting sector targets a variety of groundfish species, with the main and most profitable being sablefish, widow rockfish, yellowtail rockfish, thornyheads, Dover sole, petrale sole, and lingcod. The bulk of the biomass resulting from this fishery is caught off Oregon and Washington. Trawling is not allowed in Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCA), Cowcod Conservation Areas, and essential fish habitat designated areas.
Gear Description
Trawl gear is a cone or funnel-shaped net either towed through the water column or drawn over the ocean floor by the vessel. Two types of trawl gear are used in this fishery: midwater and bottom trawl nets. The gear used to target whiting is midwater trawl nets. In the non- whiting sector, midwater trawl and bottom trawl nets are used to target groundfish. Midwater trawl gear is primarily used to target widow and yellowtail rockfish, while bottom trawlers typically target sablefish, Dover sole, thornyheads and other flatfish species.
Large footrope gear with a diameter larger than eight inches (20.3 cm) allows bottom trawlers to access rockier areas by bouncing the bottom of the trawl net over larger obstructions without tearing. Small footrope gear with a diameter of eight inches (20.3 cm) or smaller is also used on bottom trawls. Pelagic trawl gear has unprotected footrope gear that is not encircled with chains, rollers, bobbins, or other material. Bottom trawl nets are required to have a minimum mesh size of 4 1⁄2 inches (11.4 cm), and pelagic trawl nets are required to have a minimum mesh size of 3 inches (7.6 cm).
Management
The fishery is jointly managed by NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. West Coast states through the Pacific Fishery Management Council. There also exists a bilateral Pacific Whiting Agreement between the U.S. and Canada for managing the Pacific whiting coastal stock. A transferable, limited entry west coast trawl permit known as a “Catch Shares” permit that involves an Individual Fishery Quota system, is required in order to participate in this fishery. Federal observer coverage, logbooks, and vessel monitoring systems are mandatory.
All U.S. commercial fishing vessels are required to have permits from the appropriate state agency in order to land groundfish in Washington, Oregon, and California. The use of bottom trawl footrope gear with a footrope diameter larger than 19 inches (48.3 cm) is prohibited. Only small footrope gear is allowed shoreward of a line approximating the 100 fathom (600 ft or 182.9m) depth contour, which is intended to reduce trawl access to newly-designated overfished species and their rockier habitats. States may implement parallel measures within their state waters (0-3 nm or 0-5.6 km).
Historical Information
Original Category (Year added to the LOF) | III (1996) |
Original Number of Participants | 585 |
Basis for Original Classification | Listed as Category III based on the lack of documented mortality and serious injury of marine mammals based on the available data. |
Past Names | None |
Species/stocks historically documented as killed or injured (but not currently on the list) | None |
Timeline of Changes
2022 |
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2021 |
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2008 |
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2006 |
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