Since 2002, Dr. John Butler, Dr. David Demer, and other researchers at NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) have been conducting cooperative fisheries research with Capt. Ken Franke, owner of the fishing vessel Outer Limits
and president of the Sportfishing Association of California. This research uses visual and acoustic survey techniques to monitor the recovery of groundfishes, and in particular rockfishes (genus Sebastes), in rocky habitats where traditional survey methods (e.g., trawls) are unable to sample.
This recent video decribes the history of this collaboration and some details of the research.
Video produced by NOAA Fisheries - Office of Communications