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.

The Fisheries of Hawaii and U.S.-associated Pacific Islands

In the late 1980's and early 1990's, significant changes occurred in the fisheries of Hawaii. Expansion and diversification of pelagic fisheries and growth (including industrialization) of fisheries that, in at least some cases, had been largely recreational or artisanall ed to fear of overfishing and problems in allocation among fishery sectors. Combined with establishment of limited entry programs in Hawaii fisheries (bottomfish, longline, and lobster), this led to anticipation that similar growth might occur in Guam, the Northern Marianas, and American Samoa.

Fisheries and Marine Resources of Hawaii and the U.S.-associated Pacific Islands: An Introduction

The fisheries of Hawaii and other U.S.-associated islands in the Pacific Ocean are characterized by high diversity, both in the species exploited and the human cultures that exploit them. The commercial sector has undergone rapid growth in recent years, but recreational and subsistence sectors remain important. Information on these fisheries is generally not available in published form. This paper presents an overview and introduction to a volume of papers describing fisheries in the region, with the goal of making the information available to scientists and the general public. A great deal remains to be learned about the dynamics of these fisheries as well as the associated issues in biological research, fisheries management, and environmental protection.

Hawaii's Marine Fisheries: Some History, Long-term Trends, and Recent Developments

This paper provides an overview of Hawaii's marine fisheries from 1948 to the present. After three decades of decline following a brief period of growth at the conclusion to World War lI, Hawaii's commercial fisheries began a decade of sustained development in the 1980's. At the same time, fisheries management issues became more significant as different segments of the fishery came into more direct competition. This paper provides new estimates of commercial landings for the 1977-90 period, and summarizes limited information on recreational and subsistence fisheries in the 1980's. It also provides some historical context which may be useful in evaluating fishery development and management options.

Competing for the Recreational Dollar: An Analysis of the California Commercial Passenger-Carrying Fishing Vessel Industry

California has a large and diverse marine recreational fishery. Anglers on commercial passenger-carrying fishing vessels (CPFV's) harvest a substantial proportion of California's marine recreational fisheries landings, accounting for about 40 percent and 16 percent of the total 1986 marine recreational catch in southern and northern California, respectively (NMFS, 1987). In 1986, 459,369 CPFV anglers landed some 2,835,021 fish in southern California, while 200,925 CPFV anglers landed 1,240, 100 fish in central and northern California.

A report on the strategic fisheries stock assessment survey of the River Winster 1995 together with a coarse fish survey in 1994 and reference to the 1995 drought

This is the report on the strategic fisheries stock assessment survey of the River Winster 1995 together with a coarse fish survey in 1994 and reference to the 1995 drought, produced by the Environment Agency North West in 1996. Salmonid production within the Winster catchment was dominated by trout although good densities of salmon juveniles were found on some main river sites. Despite suffering drought conditions for much of 1995, only salmon fry production appeared to have been affected. Coarse fish populations once found in the lower reaches of the Winster appear to have declined to very low levels with no fish sampled. This may be partly due to broken tidal gates allowing saline intrusion. It seems that the lower river was suited to the development of a recreational coarse fishery, now that the gates have been repaired. This report completes the strategic stock assessment surveys planned for the period 1992-1995. It represents the last major catchment that was surveyed to determine the current status of fisheries in the South and South West Cumbria areas.

The role of substrate, flow and larval supply to recruitment of the red abalone (Haliotis rufescens)

Precipitous declines in wild populations of the red abalone Haliotis rufescens and the eventual closure of the commercial and southern recreational fishery have led to renewed interest in supplementing wild stocks with hatchery-raised individuals. Most work to date has focused on releasing small juveniles and has had limited success. Although much is known about larval settlement, juvenile survivorship and growth of abalone, there is scanty information on natural processes in the field. The failure of many regulated fisheries worldwide suggests that both the larval and juvenile stages may be important in determining the future population, and that early juvenile mortality is more important than previously believed. This paper presents a series of experiments designed to examine factors and mechanisms that could affect settlement, survivorship, and growth of larvae and early post-settlers in the field. Laboratory trials under different flow regimes showed that red abalone larvae settled preferentially on substrates encrusted with coralline algae, and that settlement was rapid when exposed to crusts compared to other surfaces. Urchin grazing of films appeared to facilitate abalone settlement but only when urchins were removed. Initial field experiments showed that released larvae settled on natural cobble rock, and that settlement was at least one order of magnitude greater when settlement habitats were tented. I then examined post-settlement survivorship at one and two days after settlement, and found that although there was a large amount of variation, on average 10% of released larvae were found as newly-settled recruits after 1 day. Survivorship and growth of recruits were followed over at least one month in both Spring and Fall. Abalone settled at higher densities, survived better and grew faster in the warmer Fall months than in the Spring. The density of month-old abalone recruits was correlated with density of naturally-occurring gastropods in the Spring, but not in the Fall. These results suggest that settlement and survivorship can be extremely variable across space and time, and that oceanographic and local biotic conditions play a role and should be considered when planning larval seeding.

The impact on the marine recreational fisheries of longliner operations in the Caribbean

Campos, J.L.; Muñoz-Roure, O.