Document
2021 Pacific Hake/Whiting Scientific Review Group Report
This document reports the 2021 Pacific Hake/Whiting Treaty’s Scientific Review Group meeting,…
Pacific Whiting
Pacific Whiting
Mercluccius productus
Also Known As
Pacific hake
Quick Facts
Weight
Approximately 1.4 pounds
Lifespan
Around 15 years
Length
Up to 3 feet
Threats
Predation (by Humboldt squid),
Overfishing
Region
West Coast
About the Species
Pacific whiting, or hake, is a ray-finned fish species found off the West Coast of the United States and Canada. They are a semi-pelagic schooling species of groundfish. There are three stocks of Pacific whiting: a migratory coastal stock, ranging from southern Baja California to Queen Charlotte Sound; a central-south Puget Sound stock; and a Strait of Georgia stock. While the latter stocks have declined substantially, the coastal stock remains large and healthy and is the most abundant commercial fish stock on the Pacific Coast. Pacific whiting are night-time predators that move up the water column to feed and then migrate back down during the day.
Population
Above target population levels.
Fishing Rate
At recommended levels.
Habitat Impacts
Mid-water trawls used to harvest Pacific whiting have minimal impact on habitat.
Bycatch
Bycatch is low because mid-water trawls target schools of whiting.
Population Status
- There are three stocks of Pacific whiting: a highly migratory coastal stock, a central-south Puget Sound stock, and a Strait of Georgia stock.
- According to the 2020 stock assessment, the coastal stock of Pacific whiting is not overfished, and is not subject to overfishing based on 2018 catch data. Summary stock assessment information can be found on Stock SMART.
- The Puget Sound and Strait of Georgia stocks are considered species of concern. There has been no directed commercial fishery for these stocks since 1991.
Appearance
- Pacific whiting is a round fish.
- They are silvery in color with black speckles on the back and black inside the mouth.
Biology
- Pacific whiting grow fast, up to 3 feet in length, and can live to more than 15 years old.
- Relatively little is known about their spawning season and locations. They are known to spawn in large numbers from January through March off south-central California, and were traditionally thought to migrate seasonally. However, recent studies have also shown that they may spawn as far north as Canada.
- In the spring, they travel nearshore and to the north to feed along the continental shelf and slope from northern California to Vancouver Island.
- In the summer, they form large schools along the continental shelf break. In years with warmer water temperatures, whiting tend to move farther north during the summer. Older whiting tend to migrate farther than younger fish.
- Female whiting are able to reproduce when they reach 2 to 4 years old (13 to 16 inches long). Males mature by 3 years of age (11 inches long).
- Females release their eggs, which males then fertilize externally. Eggs hatch in 5 to 6 days.
- They feed on shrimp, krill, and pelagic schooling fish, such as eulachon and Pacific herring. As whiting grow larger, fish make up a greater part of their diet.
- Many fish-eating species, such as lingcod and Humboldt squid, prey on Pacific whiting. Sablefish, albacore, pollock, Pacific cod, rockfish, sharks, and marine mammals also feed on Pacific whiting.
Where They Live
- Pacific whiting is found off the West Coast from Southern Baja California and the Gulf of California to the Gulf of Alaska.
Fishery Management
- The coastal stock of Pacific whiting is managed through the bilateral Pacific Whiting Agreement between the United States and Canada.
- The agreement allocates a harvest quota to American and Canadian fisheries. The United States is allocated nearly 74 percent of the annual quota and Canada the remaining 26 percent.
- NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council manage the Pacific whiting fishery on the West Coast, in U.S. federal waters (3 to 200 miles offshore).
- Managed under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan:
- Permits and limited entry to the fishery.
- Certain seasons and areas are closed to fishing.
- Gear restrictions and area closures help reduce bycatch and impacts on habitat.
- Managers use annual harvest quotas to regulate the coastwide catch of Pacific whiting.
- There are several sectors of the U.S. whiting fishery, and managers divide allowable catch among them. Sectors include:
- Non-tribal catcher boats delivering to shore-based processing facilities.
- Non-tribal catcher boats delivering to at-sea mothership processors.
- Non-tribal vessels that both catch and process the catch at sea.
- Tribal harvesters.
- The shore-based trawl fishery, which includes vessels targeting Pacific whiting, is managed under the trawl rationalization catch share program that includes:
- Catch limits based on the population status of each fish stock and divided into shares that are allocated to individual fishermen or groups.
- Provisions that allow fishermen to decide how and when to catch their share.
- Total catch accounting and 100 percent observer coverage.
- The Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative was established in 1997 by fishing companies owning trawlers in the catcher/processor sector of the fishery.
- They allocate their catch quota among cooperative members to allow them to use the quota more efficiently. The result is a less wasteful, more environmentally friendly fishery that produces a higher quality product..
Harvest
- In 2019, commercial landings of Pacific whiting totaled more than 697.5 million pounds and were valued at more than $64.6 million, according to the NOAA Fisheries commercial fishing landings database. These figures may not match other agency sources of data due to confidential information.
- Gear types, habitat impacts, and bycatch:
- Mid-water trawls are primarily used to catch Pacific whiting.
- Mid-water trawling has minimal impact on habitat and low incidental catch of other species.
- Fishermen follow a number of regulations to reduce potential bycatch in the fishery.
- Mesh on the narrow, back end (codend) of their nets must be at least 3 inches to prevent bycatch of small fish.
- Regulations restrict where fishermen may harvest Pacific whiting to reduce bycatch of Chinook salmon.
- Each sector’s catch is restricted by limits on bycatch of Chinook salmon and depleted rockfish species.
- There is 100 percent observer monitoring on at-sea processors and catcher vessels.
- Recreational fishermen do not target Pacific whiting but sometimes catch them incidentally while fishing for other groundfish and salmon.
Featured News
Commercial Fishing Regulations
NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council manage the Pacific whiting fishery on the West Coast in U.S. federal waters (3 to 200 miles offshore) under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (PDF, 158 pages).
On May 15, 2018, NOAA Fisheries published a final rule (83 FR 22401) for the 2018 Pacific whiting fishery under the authority of the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and the Pacific Whiting Act of 2006. This final rule set the 2018 U.S. total allowable catch of 441,433 metric tons of Pacific whiting, established a tribal allocation of 77,251 metric tons, established a set-aside for research and bycatch of 1,500 metric tons, and announced the allocations of Pacific whiting to the non-tribal fishery for 2018.
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Domestic Fishery Management
The domestic non-tribal Pacific whiting fishery consists of catcher boats delivering to shore-based processing plants and to at-sea mothership processors and by large catcher-processor vessels. Catcher boats delivering to shore-based processing plants are participants in the shore-based trawl fleet. Catcher boats delivering to the mothership processors and large catcher-processor vessels are collectively referred to as the âat-seaâ whiting sectors and may participate in cooperatives under the trawl catch share program
Regulations
- Shorebased IFQ Program 50 CFR 660.140. NOAA Fisheries has released a General Provisions Affecting the Pacific Whiting IFQ Fishery Small Entity Compliance Guide (PDF, 3 pages) explaining the regulations most relevant to vessels fishing in the Pacific Whiting shore-based IFQ fishery.
- Mothership (MS) Coop Program 50 CFR 660.150.
- Catcher/processor (C/P) Coop Program 50 CFR 660.160.
Groundfish Trawl Catch Share Program
The Pacific whiting fishery is part of the West Coast Groundfish Trawl Catch Share Program, a management system implemented by NOAA Fisheries in 2011. The trawl catch program, also called the trawl rationalization program, consists of an individual fishing quota program for the shore-based trawl fleet. The at-sea whiting sectors target Pacific whiting and consists of cooperatives for the mothership and catcher/processor trawl fleets.
Commercial Gear Information
The Pacific whiting fishery is composed of vessels utilizing groundfish trawl gear, specifically limited entry midwater trawl. It is unlawful for any person to fish on a Pacific whiting IFQ trip with gear other than midwater groundfish trawl gear.
More detailed gear rules and regulations can be found in the General Provisions Affecting the Pacific Whiting IFQ Fishery Small Entity Compliance Guide (PDF, 3 pages).
Subsistence Fishing Regulations
NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council manage the Pacific whiting fishery on the West Coast, in U.S. federal waters (3 to 200 miles offshore) under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (PDF, 158 pages).
The Makah Tribe has an active fishery for Pacific whiting entirely within their usual and accustomed fishing grounds off the Olympic coast.
Of the five sectors of West Coast groundfish fisheries covered under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (PDF, 158 pages), the tribal sector is made up of tribal commercial fishers who have a federally recognized treaty right to fish for federally managed groundfish in their âusual and accustomedâ fishing areas. These tribes, all located in Washington state, include the Quinault, Hoh, Quileute, and Makah. Formal allocations to these tribes exist for sablefish and Pacific whiting.
On May 15, 2018, NOAA Fisheries published a final rule (83 FR 22401) for the 2018 Pacific whiting fishery under the authority of the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and the Pacific Whiting Act of 2006. This final rule set the 2018 U.S. total allowable catch of 441,433 metric tons of Pacific whiting, established a tribal allocation of 77,251 metric tons, established a set-aside for research and bycatch of 1,500 metric tons, and announced the allocations of Pacific whiting to the non-tribal fishery for 2018.
Management Overview
NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council manage the Pacific whiting fishery on the West Coast, in U.S. federal waters (3 to 200 miles offshore) under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (PDF, 158 pages), which covers the following measures.
- Permits and limited entry to the fishery.
- Certain seasons and areas are closed to fishing.
- Gear restrictions and area closures help reduce bycatch and impacts on habitat.
- Managers use annual harvest quotas to regulate the coastwide catch of Pacific whiting.
- There are several sectors of the U.S. whiting fishery, and managers divide allowable catch among them. Sectors include:
- Non-tribal catcher boats delivering to shore-based processing facilities.
- Non-tribal catcher boats delivering to at-sea mothership processors.
- Non-tribal vessels that both catch and process the catch at sea.
- Tribal harvesters.
- The shore-based trawl fishery, which includes vessels targeting Pacific whiting, is managed under the trawl rationalization catch share program that includes:
- Catch limits based on the population status of each fish stock and divided into shares that are allocated to individual fishermen or groups.
- Provisions that allow fishermen to decide how and when to catch their share.
- Total catch accounting and 100 percent observer coverage.
The Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative
The Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative was established in 1997 by fishing companies owning trawlers in the catcher/processor sector of the fishery. They allocate their catch quota among cooperative members to allow them to use the quota more efficiently. The result is a less wasteful, more environmentally friendly fishery that produces a higher quality product.
The Pacific Whiting Treaty
The coastal stock of Pacific whiting is managed through the bilateral Pacific Whiting Treaty between the United States and Canada. The agreement allocates a harvest quota to American and Canadian fisheries. Currently, the United States is allocated nearly 74 percent of the annual quota and Canada the remaining 26 percent. Traditionally, domestic commercial fishermen harvested Pacific whiting with midwater trawl gear between May and September along northern California, Oregon, and Washington.
NOAA Fisheries has released the Pacific Hake/Whiting Treaty Meeting Dates for 2019 Agreement.
Endangered Species Act Petition
On November 24, 2000, NOAA Fisheries published a rule (65 FR 70514) detailing a status review for Pacific cod, Pacific hake, and walleye pollock populations from the eastern North Pacific Ocean between Puget Sound, Washington, and southeast Alaska. This review was in response to a petition (64 FR 33037) to list eighteen species of marine fish in Puget Sound, Washington. After careful review, NOAA Fisheries denied the petition but decided to add the Georgia Basin Pacific hake to the list of candidate species because of remaining uncertainties about its stock structure and status.
Domestic Fishery Management
The domestic non-tribal Pacific whiting fishery consists of catcher boats delivering to shore-based processing plants and to at-sea mothership processors and by large catcher-processor vessels. Catcher boats delivering to shore-based processing plants are participants in the shore-based trawl fleet. Catcher boats delivering to the mothership processors and large catcher-processor vessels are collectively referred to as the âat-seaâ whiting sectors and may participate in cooperatives under the trawl catch share program.
Regulations
- Shore-based IFQ Program 50 CFR 660.140.
- Mothership (MS) Coop Program 50 CFR 660.150.
- Catcher/processor (C/P) Coop Program 50 CFR 660.160.
At-Sea Pacific Whiting Processing
The at-sea Pacific whiting, also known as hake, processing sector operates off the U.S. West Coast from the U.S./Canadian border to the Oregon/California border. It consists of large factory vessels that process catch at-sea. Regulations for the sector are set by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. This sector consists of the following three components:
- Motherships: vessels that receive catch from catcher vessels to process.
- Catcher-processors: vessels that catch and process their own catch.
- Tribal: the fraction of the coast-wide hake harvest set aside for native tribes. All tribal hake fishing occurs in each tribe's Usual and Accustomed Areas located in northern Washington waters and can include at-sea processing.
Science Overview
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Northwest Fisheries Science Center
Catch Share Observer Program
All vessels participating in the West Coast Groundfish Trawl Catch Share Program are required to carry a NOAA-certified fishery observer during all fishing trips. An observer is an independent field biologist who monitors commercial fishing activities by collecting and recording scientific, at-sea catch data. The high-quality data they collect is used to monitor fisheries, assess fish populations, set fishing quotas, and inform management. Observers also support compliance with fishing and safety regulations. The Northwest Fisheries Science Center Observer Program trains, certifies, and equips catch share observers, ensures data quality, and stores, maintains, and analyzes data collected by observers.