Guide for Commercial Open Access Groundfish Fishermen off Washington, Oregon, and California
May 10, 2023
A plain language guide designed for commercial fishermen that want to start retaining Pacific Coast Groundfish and who fish in (or transit through) federal waters with groundfish on board.
This guide was published by NOAA Fisheries, acknowledging that fishermen may be looking to diversify their commercial fishing opportunities and begin retaining groundfish for the first time in recent years.
This guide provides an overview of the variety of federal rules and regulations that would apply to a commercial fishing vessel that is taking and retaining, possessing, or landing any Pacific Coast groundfish species, as defined at 50 CFR 660.11 “Groundfish”. These rules apply to persons operating a vessel that fishes in (or transits through) federal waters with groundfish on board.
This guide may be updated periodically with new information, and we recommend bookmarking this web page for future reference rather than downloading and/or printing the guide.