FishWatch

Harvesting Petrale Sole

Most U.S.-caught petrale sole is harvested in the West Coast groundfish trawl fishery. During the summer, petrale are harvested with other flatfish species. During the winter, petrale are targeted in spawning aggregations (groups that gather to mate) at specific, well-known locations in deep water. Although some managers have expressed concern about the sustainability of harvesting on spawning aggregations, there is no evidence that it is more harmful to the stock than harvest of non-spawning aggregations. Furthermore, these spawning aggregations are confined to deep water areas where bycatch of other overfished rockfish species is of less concern.

Management

Who’s in charge? NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council
Current management:
West Coast: Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (Petrale sole are often caught in “multispecies complexes” - several different groundfish species caught together at the same time – and managed along with 90 other species that also live on or near the bottom.)

• All vessels fishing in the groundfish fishery off Washington, Oregon, and California must have a federal limited entry permit. With only a limited number of permits available (about 400), this program controls the capacity of the groundfish fishing fleet by limiting the overall number of fishing vessels, the number of vessels using each of the three specified gear types (trawl, trap/pot, and longline), and increases in harvest size by limiting vessel length.
• As of January 2011, the West Coast groundfish trawl fishery is now managed under a trawl rationalization catch share program. Under this new program, managers establish annual catch limits based on the health of each fish stock. They then allocate a share of this catch limit to individual fishermen or groups of fishermen, who can decide how and when to catch their share – preferably when weather, markets, and business conditions are most favorable. This program gives the fishery the flexibility to be more environmentally responsible, safer, more efficient, and more valuable. Observers monitor 100 percent of the fishing trips, which helps reduce bycatch through improved accountability and provides better data for future stock assessments.
• A variety of gear restrictions and closed areas affect both West Coast groundfish fisheries and fisheries that may take groundfish incidentally. These regulations are in place to reduce bycatch of overfished groundfish, to allow juvenile fish to escape through net meshes, and to protect sensitive groundfish habitat.

In Alaska, petrale sole are included in the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Fishery Management Plan as part of the “shallow water flatfish” complex, and in the Bering Sea Aleutian Islands Groundfish Fishery Management Plan as part of the “other flatfish” complex. There is no directed fishery for this species in Alaska, and only minor amounts are landed incidentally in other fisheries.

Annual Harvest

Petrale sole have been caught in the flatfish fishery off the U.S. Pacific coast since the late 19th century. Petrale sole were lightly fished during the late 1800s and early 1900s, but by the 1950s the fishery was well developed and showing clear signs of depletion and declines in catches and biomass. Landings peaked at a high of 4,515 metric tons in 1950 followed by a decline to a low of 1,417 metric tons in 1994. Landings remained at historical lows until the mid-2000s. In 2009, petrale sole was declared overfished and 2010 management restrictions limited the catch to 701 metric tons. As the stock is rebuilding, harvest limits will increase.

Economy

Petrale sole is an important commercial seafood species, prized for its taste. They often bring the highest price per pound among the trawl-caught flatfish on the West Coast. Petrale sole make up a substantial portion of annual revenues from the West Coast trawl fishery. In 2009, petrale sole landings were valued at $3.5 million, and landings in 2010 were valued at $2 million.