FishWatch

Harvesting Pacific Sardine

The sardine stock that runs along the west coast of North America is harvested in four commercial fisheries: Ensenada (Mexico), Southern California (San Pedro to Santa Barbara), Central California (Monterey Bay region), and the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia).

U.S. fisheries target Pacific sardine for different markets:

• Larger sardine are typically are sold for bait for Asian longline tuna fisheries but recently for human consumption as well.
• Approximately 18 live bait vessels in southern California and two vessels in Oregon and Washington land about 4,000 metric tons per year of northern anchovy and Pacific sardine for sale to recreational fishermen.
• Roundhaul and other small vessels target Pacific mackerel and Pacific sardine for sale in local fresh fish markets or canneries.

Most vessels fishing for these species use roundhaul gear including purse seines, drum seines, lampara nets, and dip nets. Roundhaul gear targets and encircles a specific school of fish, which usually contains only one species.

Management

Who’s in charge? NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Current management: Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan.

• Scientists assess the abundance of Pacific sardine every year. Managers use this scientific information to set the catch limit for the following year’s fishery. They allocate this catch limit among three fishing seasons throughout the year. If managers project the limit is about to be reached, they close the fishery during the season so harvests do not exceed the limit.
• Limited entry program: fishermen must have permits to harvest sardines and management limits the amount of available permits to control participation in the fishery.
• Provisions to reduce bycatch and increase the survival of any incidentally caught species.
• Monitoring through logbook and observer programs.

Pacific sardine is a “transboundary resource” – they migrate across international boundaries and are harvested in both Mexican and Canadian fisheries. Currently there is no international management agreement for Pacific sardine, but scientists and members of industry from the United States, Mexico, and Canada informally meet at the annual Trinational Sardine Forum where they exchange research results and ideas. There is interest in coastwide management for the Pacific sardine fishery, which would entail a more consistent forum for discussion between the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Harvest of Pacific sardine by the Ensenada (Mexico) fishery is not regulated by a quota system, but there is a minimum legal size requirement of 150 mm standard length and measures to control the size of the fishing fleet. Canada limits the amount of sardine that can be harvested every year and limits the amount of fishermen that can participate in the fishery.

Annual Harvest

In 2010, Pacific sardine made up one-third of the total harvest of coastal pelagic species. Fishermen brought 66,817 metric tons of Pacific sardines to port in 2010. Due to decreased quotas in response to a decline in estimated abundance, harvest in 2011 was approximately 44,000 metric tons.

Mexican fisheries harvested 56,821 metric tons of sardines in 2010 (preliminary figures). Canadian sardine harvests have increased substantially over the past couple years, up to over 22,000 metric tons in 2010.

Economy

The value of the 2010 coastal pelagic species harvest was $84 million. About a quarter of the U.S. Pacific sardine harvest is eaten domestically, typically fresh or canned. The rest is usually frozen and exported, mainly to Japan for consumption or for use as bait and to Australia for use as feed in their bluefin tuna farming operations.