Southern California Shelf Rockfish Hook and Line Survey
The Hook and Line Survey uses rod and reel gear to sample fish in areas that are difficult to survey using traditional research trawl nets.
The Hook and Line Survey uses rod and reel gear to sample fish in areas that are difficult to survey using traditional research trawl nets. These areas include hard seafloor habitats like rocky reefs, boulder fields, and large undersea cliffs and pinnacles.
Our West Coast Groundfish Bottom Trawl Survey targets commercially valuable groundfish species over low relief, or flat, habitats that are easy to trawl. However, we lose vital information on population biology, recruitment, and movement if we also don't sample untrawlable habitats.
We developed the Hook and Line Survey in response to declining rockfish stocks in the Southern California Bight. We sample many rockfish species including:
- Bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis)
- Cowcod (S. levis)
- Greenspotted rockfish (S. chlorostictus)
- Vermilion/sunset rockfish complex (S. miniatus and S. crocotulus)
Canary rockfish (and one yelloweye rockfish) hovering over rocky, untrawlable
habitat. Photo: NOAA Fisheries
We work collaboratively with the local sportfishing industry onboard commercial passenger fishing vessels. Together, we sample approximately 200 fixed sites each year. Our survey biologists collect information about the abundance, biology, ecology, and genetics of species that are important to both the sport and commercial fishing industries.
Stock assessors combine this survey information with data from many other sources to produce a stock assessment. This single document summarizes all we know about the health and biology of a particular population. Fishery managers use stock assessments to inform management decisions and help set sustainable catch quotas and size regulations for harvested marine species.
As of 2019, data from the Hook and Line Survey have been incorporated into 14 stock assessments representing eight species, and will likely be included in several additional assessments in 2021.
Data from fisheries surveys have been instrumental in tracking the groundfish rebuilding. These data have led to several species removals from the overfished list. Continued long-term monitoring of these species is essential as many previously overfished groundfishes like bocaccio, lingcod, and cowcod are still recovering and vulnerable. Cowcod, a large and long-lived rockfish species, were declared overfished in 1999 and were declared rebuilt in 2019, supported in part by findings from the Hook and Line Survey.
Survey Background
The Hook and Line Survey began in 2003, sampling commercially and recreationally important shelf rockfish species over untrawlable habitats in the Southern California Bight. The Survey is a cooperative effort between NOAA Fisheries, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the Southern California sportfishing industry. We work with fishermen to identify sampling sites, species of interest, and to develop standardized methods of sampling so that data collected yearly are comparable.
Between 2014 and 2018, we added about 80 new sampling sites within the Cowcod Conservation Areas (CCAs). The CCA is actually two regions, totaling 4,300 square miles, that has been closed to most sport and commercial bottom fishing since 2001 (see the map of the Survey’s sampling area below). Like other Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), the Fishery Management Council implemented CCAs to help rebuild overfished populations of rockfish, specifically deep-dwelling species like bocaccio and cowcod.
We have been tagging and releasing fish caught within some MPAs since 2016. Because rockfish species all have internal gas bladders, they experience barotrauma where their gas bladders expand when reeled to the surface. We use a Seaqualizer™ descending device to ensure that the rockfish is released back to the same depth where we caught it. Since tagging began in 2016, we have identified two known recaptures of fish tagged on this survey.
In 2017, we implemented in the Hook and Line Survey a back-deck electronic data collection system to replace the use of the pencil-and-paper approach we used since 2003. We developed this wireless, multi-station system (HookLogger) to capture catch and biological data using a network of ruggedized tablets, digital scales, and barcode label printers and scanners. These electronic devices communicate with each other and a centralized server and database located in the vessel's galley. HookLogger results in more efficient at-sea data collection and improves data quality and data delivery times through real-time data validations and the elimination of 6-8 weeks of postseason data entry.
Volunteering for the Survey
Each year volunteers from academic institutions and other State and Federal agencies assist with biological sampling and research operations at sea. Learn more about volunteering with NOAA biologists on the survey.
Supporting Research
In addition to the survey's primary objective of collecting information to promote our fisheries' sustainable management, we conduct a variety of supporting research on the ecology and oceanography in the region.
Camera-sled habitat surveys
Since 2004, we have collected habitat information in our sampled sites using a towed portable camera sled. The sled is towed just above the seafloor to collect video so we can learn more about the habitat types encountered by our survey and the types of fish living there. Linking habitat associations to vulnerable fish stocks allows us to protect and manage sensitive ecosystems appropriately.
Marine reserve effects on fish and fisheries
The use of marine protected areas (MPAs) is becoming increasingly common as a fisheries management tool for reef-associated fishes; however, researchers are still studying the benefits of MPAs for fishery management. We include MPAs and CCAs in our sampling frame to track the response of rockfishes to large-scale fishing closures over time. These data improve our understanding of how rockfish response might vary due to reserve factors, such as site size, age, and location.
Oceanographic trends in the Southern California Bight
We also lower a CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth) sensor into the water and descend it to the bottom at each site. This special device is outfitted with oceanographic sensors to gather information on the temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll concentration, and turbidity of the water at each site from the surface to the seafloor. This information helps us understand how short- and long-term oceanographic trends can influence the recruitment, abundance, and behavior of fish.
Genetic analysis to identify cryptic species
Our survey team works with geneticists whose research identifies and uses the tiny differences in DNA between cryptic rockfish species. One application of this genetics research is to identify a fish to the correct species conclusively. There are over 100 species of rockfish in the genus Sebastes, and several of them can look very similar to one another. Our ability to positively distinguish one species from its cryptic pair helps fishery managers manage the correct species properly.
Rockfish Life-History
The Hook and Line survey supports research related to:
- age-and-growth
- reproductive biology
- diet
- movement
Our survey covers important species of rockfish, including:
- bocaccio
- cowcod
- greenspotted rockfish
- chilipepper (S. goodei)
- rosy rockfish (S. rosaceus)
- vermilion rockfish
- yelloweye rockfish (S. ruberrimus)
- yellowtail rockfish (S. flavidus)
- lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus)
We collect information vital to enhancing our understanding of how fish stocks respond biologically to external stressors, such as fishing and climate change, which can influence estimates of productivity and recovery.
The Hook and Line Survey Today
The Hook and Line Survey will conduct its 18th consecutive field season in 2020. One of the survey's biggest successes is the relationship we have built with our collaborators in the fishing industry. Our survey is one of the relatively few ongoing partnerships between scientists and the sportfishing industry. We have benefited tremendously from the knowledge and perspectives that our captains and deckhands have developed during their careers — some of which span more than 40 years. The Hook and Line Survey's design, methods, and gear were all developed with significant input from our industry partners. We look forward to many more years of successful research through this partnership.
The following images are of the vessels used in the survey.
The F/V Aggressor has participated in the Survey since 2004 and is based in Newport
Beach, CA. Photo: NOAA Fisheries
The F/V Mirage has participated in the Hook and Line Survey since 2003 and is based
in Oxnard, CA.
Patent
Patent information about the DNA sampling hook used during the Hook and Line Survey developed by NWFSC researchers.
Research Partners
This project is a collaboration among the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, and members of the local Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel (CPFV) industry (i.e., the sportfishing industry).
Industry Partners
- F/V Aggressor, Newport Beach, CA. Owner/operator: Capt. Mike Thompson. Key crew: Capt. Paul Hansen, Capt. Philip Ebert
- F/V Mirage, Oxnard, CA. Owner/operator: Capt. Joe Villareal. Key crew: Ryan
- Conlin, Capt. Chase Holt, Erin Villareal
- F/V Toronado, Long Beach, CA. Owner: Joe Phillips. Operator: Capt. Ray Lagmay. Key crew: Tom Veloz, Shawn Terrell, Johnny Chastine
Contacts
John Harms, Research Fisheries Biologist
John.Harms@noaa.gov
(206) 860-3414
Project Team:
Jim Benante, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission
Aaron Chappell, Northwest Fisheries Science Center
Laurel Lam, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission
Aimee Keller, Northwest Fisheries Science Center
John LaFargue, Northwest Fisheries Science Center
Victor Simon, Northwest Fisheries Science Center
John Wallace, Northwest Fisheries Science Center
Publications
Keller, A.A., Harms, J., Wallace, J., Benante, J., Jones, C. and Chappell, A. 2019. Changes in long-lived rockfishes after more than a decade of protection within California’s largest marine reserve. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 623: 175 – 193.
Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. 2019. Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary 2016 Condition Report. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Silver Spring, MD. 482 pp.
Kuriyama, P.T., Branch, T.A., Hicks, A.C., Harms, J.H. and Hamel, O.S. 2018. Investigating three sources of bias in hook-and-line surveys: survey design, gear saturation and multispecies interactions. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2017 – 0286.
Thorson, J.T., Skaug, H., Kristensen, K., Shelton, O., Ward, E.J., Harms, J. and Benante, J. 2015. The importance of spatial models for estimating the type and strength of density dependence. Ecology 96: 1202 – 1212.
Hess, J.E., Chittaro, P., Elz, A., Gilbert-Horvath, E.A., Simon, V. and Garza. J.C. 2013. Cryptic population structure in the severely depleted cowcod, Sebastes levis. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 71: 81 – 92.
Ombres, E. H., Donnelly, J., Clarke, M. E., Harms, J. H., & Torres, J. J. 2011. Aerobic and anaerobic enzyme assays in Southern California Rockfish: Proxies for physiological and ecological data. Journal of experimental marine biology and ecology, 399(2), 201-207.
Harms, J. H., Wallace, J. R., & Stewart, I. J. 2010. Analysis of fishery-independent hook and line-based data for use in the stock assessment of bocaccio rockfish (Sebastes paucispinis). Fisheries Research, 106(3), 298-309.
Ressler, P. H., Fleischer, G. W., Wespestad, V. G., & Harms, J. 2009. Developing a commercial-vessel-based stock assessment survey methodology for monitoring the US west coast widow rockfish (Sebastes entomelas) stock. Fisheries research, 99(2), 63-73.
Harms, J.H., Benante, J.A. and Barnhart, R.M. 2008. The 2004-2007 hook and line survey of shelf rockfish in the Southern California Bight: Estimates of distribution, abundance, and length composition. U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA Technical Memorandum, NMFS-NWFSC-95, 110 pp.
Multimedia
- Reeling to Rebuilding: Success for West Coast Groundfish Fisheries
- Browse photos taken on the Southern California Shelf Rockfish Hook and Line Survey.
More Information
- Pacific Fisheries Management Council's groundfish stock assessments
- Our recent publication about Cowcod Conservation Areas
- Bathymetric map of the Southern California Bight showing the untrawlable, high-relief habitats
