NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) oversee the management of West Coast groundfish in U.S. federal waters. The Magnuson-Stevens Act, along with other federal laws, guides NOAA Fisheries and the Council's development of policy. NOAA Fisheries and the Council work with state and tribal governments, as well as industry, environmental organizations, and academic institutions. Together, they advance sustainable management of more than 90 groundfish stocks. The Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan provides the framework for managing the groundfish fishery.
Conservation Efforts
NOAA Fisheries works with fishermen, industry, non-governmental organizations, scientists, and academia. Together, they find approaches and strategies for reducing bycatch and protecting habitat.
Observers collect information on what is caught, whether it is landed or discarded at sea, to estimate bycatch. The West Coast Groundfish Observer Program produces an annual groundfish mortality and bycatch report. The report evaluates catch and bycatch of all species.
Protecting Salmon
There are two primary species of salmon that are caught as bycatch in the Pacific Groundfish fishery, Chinook and coho salmon. Some of the populations of each species are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Salmon bycatch in the groundfish fishery most often occurs with trawl gear. NOAA Fisheries and the Council carefully manage salmon bycatch through bycatch guidelines (limits on salmon bycatch by fishing sector). They also implement temporary and permanent area closures to protect salmon in the ocean and on their way back to their rivers to reproduce.
The Northwest Fisheries Science Center produces an annual report on salmon bycatch. The Pacific Fisheries Information Network (PacFIN) provides an inseason salmon bycatch report to monitor bycatch in the groundfish fishery.
Protecting Seabirds
The West Coast is home to a variety of seabird species. Seabirds are a vital part of marine ecosystems and are valuable indicators for ecosystem health. These seabirds are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and some are listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The West Coast is home to the following endangered or threatened seabird species:
Seabirds are attracted to fishing vessels and fishing operationsâoffal and bait can be tempting sources of âfree food.â Unfortunately, this also means that they may get hooked or entangled in fishing gear, especially in longline fisheries. The NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region uses a variety of required methods to reduce the bycatch of seabirds in its fisheries.
Seabird interactions with the groundfish fishery occur primarily with longline vessels and to a lesser extent with trawl vessels. To reduce impacts to seabirds, streamer lines (tori lines, bird scaring lines) are required for longline vessels with an overall length greater than 55 feet (see streamer line regulations). NOAA Fisheries is exploring potential bycatch reduction measures for trawl vessels.
![diagram-streamer-links.jpeg](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201218082742im_/https://media.fisheries.noaa.gov/dam-migration/diagram-streamer-links.jpeg)
Diagram of streamer lines. NOAA Fisheries.
Protecting Other Protected Species
The groundfish fishery may also interact with other protected species including eulachon, green sturgeon, humpback whales, leatherback sea turtles.
Eulachon
Eulachon bycatch in the groundfish fishery appears to be driven by both eulachon distribution and cyclic abundance. There is a very low amount of eulachon bycatch in West Coast groundfish fisheries. Either there is limited interaction with eulachon in these fisheries or most eulachon encounters result in fish escaping trawl nets or avoiding trawl gear altogether. However, not all eulachon avoid the groundfish fisheryâs trawl nets and thus some are observed as bycatch.
Green Sturgeon
There are two distinct population segments (DPS) for green sturgeon on the West Coast: Southern DPS and Northern DPS. Only the Southern DPS is listed under the Endangered Species Act. Green sturgeon are vulnerable to capture in the groundfish fishery by bottom trawl and mid-water trawl gear. Most of the observed encounters have occurred in the Limited Entry groundfish bottom trawl sector. The majority of the Southern DPS green sturgeon encountered are released alive and expected to survive.
Humpback Whales
Humpback whales can become entrapped and entangled in fishing gear, which can result in serious injury and mortality. Observed entanglements in the groundfish gear are rare but have been seen in the Limited Entry sablefish pot fishery and the Open Access Fixed Gear pot fishery.
Leatherback Sea Turtles
Leatherback sea turtles that occur off the West Coast are most likely to originate from nesting aggregations of the western Pacific. The groundfish fishery may affect leatherback sea turtles by entanglement in fishing gear. Since 2006, there has only been one observed leatherback sea turtle caught in groundfish fishing gear. This occurred in 2008 by a vessel using pot gear in the Open Access fishery.
Protecting Habitat
The groundfish fishery management plan contains measures to conserve and protect groundfish essential fish habitat. In 2006, through Amendment 19, over 100,000 square miles of the EEZ, including approximately 14,000 square miles of some of the most sensitive ocean floor habitats off Washington, Oregon, and California, were closed to bottom trawling, or to all bottom-contacting gears. In 2020, through Amendment 28, over 10,000 square miles of sensitive ocean floor habitats where closed to bottom trawling. These habitat conservation measures restrict vessels targeting other species besides groundfish, and, when working in concert with other gear restrictions and fishery management measures, minimize the adverse effects of fishing on groundfish essential fish habitat.
Documents
Biological Opinions on the Pacific Groundfish Fisheryâs effects on ESA-listed resources
Protected Species Bycatch Reports
Other Documents