Declining Rockfish Lengths in the Monterey Bay, California, Recreational Fishery, 1959–94

California’s Monterey Bay area is an important center of recreational fishing for rockfish of various Sebastes species. The species composition of commercial passenger fishing vessel catches from 1959 to 1994 varied with changes in fishing location and depth. The shift from shallow nearshore locations to deeper offshore locations in the late 1970’s and 1980’s changed the emphasis from the blue rockfish, S. mystinus, of shallow waters to the deeper, commercially fished chilipepper, S. goodei, and bocaccio, S. paucispinis. The mean size of rockfish in the catch increased as the latter species were targeted at greater depths but then declined as stocks of older fish disappeared by the mid 1980’s. During 1960–94 the mean size of all ten leading species in the recreational catch declined. The declines ranged from 1% for canary rockfish, S. pinniger, to 27% for chilipepper. The sizes of the deeper living species declined more than those of shallower species. The low frequency of strong recruitment events and increase in fishing mortality and natural mortality appear to have contributed to the declining mean size. The scarcity of older fish, observed as a drop in mean size to below the size of maturity for 50% of females, leads to concern for future recruitment of the larger species, especially bocaccio, chilipepper, yellowtail rockfish, S. flavidus, and canary rockfish.

Species Trends in Sport Fisheries, Monterey Bay, Calif., 1959-86

Three surveys spanning 28 years were examined for changes in species caught by recreational fishermen from small boats (skiffs) and commercial passenger fishing vessels (CPFV's) in California's Monterey Bay region. As fishing effort increased, the catch of certain nearshore species of rockfish, Sebastes spp., declined. CPFV fishing was conducted farther from port and in deeper water to compensate for declining abundance while most skiffs remained in traditional areas close to port. The trend toward deeper water CPFV fishing has been interrupted only temporarily by increased availability of nearshore species. Life history characteristics of rockfish including residential behavior, variable recruitment, and natural longevity contribute to a vulnerability to localized overfishing for several species.

History of the Fisheries of Raritan Bay, New York and New Jersey

Raritan Bay is the body of water bounded by New York and New Jersey and lying immediately south of New York City (Fig. 1). It has close proximity to the most concentrated urban and industrial area in the United States. Its history has been one of extensive multiple use by the surrounding human population. Dating from the precolonial and colonial periods, people have employed many types of gear to catch and gather its once abundant fishes and shellfishes. Its beaches were once popular for sun bathing and swimming, but after the 1940's they were essentially abandoned because the water became too polluted. Another large use has been for pleasure boating and the transit and dockage of merchant, passenger, and military vessels. Channels and basins were dug in the bay, bulkheads and jetties were constructed along its shores, and it was a donor source of sand and gravel for construction projects. It has also been a receptor for large quantities of domestic and industrial wastes and, mainly for this reason, it is one ofthe most deteriorated estuaries in the United States.

News from Academy Bay

CDRS Research Highlights, 2004. Plants. Social Sciences. Vertebrates. Invasive Species Total Control Plan. Terrestrial Invertebrates. Project Isabela. Marine Sciences.

News from Academy Bay

Presidential visit. The extraordinary El nino year. The last of the Norwegians. Visits and events at the Darwin Research Station.

News from Academy Bay

Planning. A Galapagos marine park. The feral animals on Santiago Island. Can the Hawaiian Petrel be saved? Education and training programmes. Visitors and events at the Charles Darwin Station (May - October 1982).

News from Academy Bay

Darwin Station Director's report. Release of captive-bred land iguanas. Land iguanas breed on Venecia. The age of the giant tortoise. Visitors and events at the Charles Darwin Research Station (January - April 1982). Photo of Masked Booby and Swallow-tailed Gull.

News from Academy Bay

Changes of Charles Darwin Foundation officers. Scientific staff. Training courses for wardens and guides. Volunteer observers. Flamingos on Isabela. Is there a mate for Lonesome George? Outbreak of matrimony at the Darwin Station. Visitors and events at the Charles Darwin Research Station (July - December 1981). Some recent books.

Soundings: the Newsletter of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. 2012

Issues January - November/December 2012. (PDF contains 88 pages)