Photo: Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Groundfish is the catch-all name for the bottom-dwelling fish of the West Coast shelf and slope: rockfish, lingcod, sablefish, Dover sole, petrale sole and dozens of others. For decades they were a mainstay of the trawl fleet out of Newport, and in the late 1990s several of the species were in serious trouble.
The low point
In 2000 the U.S. Commerce Department declared the West Coast groundfish fishery a federal disaster. A number of rockfish species were declared overfished. Rockfish grow slowly and can live for decades, so stocks that had been fished down could not be rebuilt quickly. Managers responded with steep cuts in catch limits, a federal vessel buyback that reduced the size of the trawl fleet, and large closed areas on the continental shelf known as Rockfish Conservation Areas.
A new system
In 2011 the trawl fishery moved to a catch share program, in which each permit holder receives individual quotas and has to account for everything caught, with observers on board. The change gave fishermen a reason to avoid the scarce species, because running into them could use up quota needed for the rest of the season. In 2014 the West Coast limited-entry groundfish trawl fishery received Marine Stewardship Council certification.
Stocks declared rebuilt
Over the following years, federal scientists declared one species after another rebuilt, years ahead of some original timelines. Lingcod were declared rebuilt in the mid-2000s. Canary rockfish and petrale sole followed in 2015. In 2017, bocaccio, darkblotched rockfish and Pacific ocean perch were declared rebuilt as well. With more species healthy, managers began reopening parts of the conservation areas to fishing.
On the docks
For Newport, the recovery means more room for the trawl and fixed-gear boats that work the groundfish grounds, and more bottomfish for sport anglers on charter boats out of Newport and Depoe Bay. Recreational rockfish limits and depth rules still change during the year, so check the ODFW marine report before a trip.
Dewey Albrecht covers the Port of Newport, commercial and sport fishing and the Yaquina Bay bar.
