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The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) invites the public to attend a meeting to discuss the 2015 recreational Pacific halibut fishing season dates under consideration for California. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 at the City of Eureka Wharfinger Building in the Bay Room, located at 1 Marina Way, Eureka (95501) from 6-8:30 p.m.

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CA - The Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) invites the public to attend its upcoming annual ocean salmonⁱ information meeting. A review of last year’s ocean salmonⁱ fisheries and spawning escapement will be presented, in addition to the outlook for this year’s sport and commercial ocean salmonⁱ fisheries.

The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 26 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Sonoma County Water Agency, 404 Aviation Blvd. in Santa Rosa.

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NEWPORT, Ore. – The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is accepting nominations for a seat on the Pacific Fishery Management Councilⁱ.

The seat is currently held by Jeff Feldner and is an at-large seat. He is eligible for re-appointment to a second term.

Anyone interested in being considered or wishing to nominate someone must contact Cyreis Schmitt at 541-867-4741 or cyreis.c.schmitt@state.or.us no later than Feb. 17.

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CA - Larry Derr was as prepared as any longtime Southern California bait fisherman for the disappearance of the Pacific sardines he has pulled up by the ton since the 1980s.

 He can fish anchovies instead and, if those become scarce, there’s been a local surge in market squid to keep him in business.

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OR - Hatchery-reared fish would get the heave ho from certain rivers along the Oregon Coast under the latest strategy to help Oregon’s wild salmonⁱ and steelhead.

The new management plan proposed by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife would designate several coastalⁱ rivers as “wild fish emphasis areas,” while increasing the number of hatchery fish planted in other coastal rivers to expand fishing opportunities in those waters.

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OLYMPIA – One lucky person will win a fishing rod and reel just by taking a shortⁱ surveyⁱ on a state program established to enhance recreational fisheries in Puget Sound.

The survey is designed to gauge public understanding of the Puget Sound Recreational Salmonⁱ and Marine Fish Enhancement Program. The survey is available through March 31 on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/salmon/psrfef/survey.html.

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Since being declared overfishedⁱ in 2000, cowcod (Sebastes levis) has been managed for recovery as a continuous population throughout its range, from the U.S.–Mexico border to just north of Cape Mendocino, California. But what if it’s more than one population? That could change how it is managed.

Cowcod is one of the largest rockfish species, reaching almost 39 inches (1 meter) long, and may live up to 55 years. As Paul Chittaro, co–author of the paper, pointed out, "Because cowcod takes a long time to mature, a bit too much fishing can do a lot of damage."

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February 3, 2014 to February 4, 2014 The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Councilⁱ) ad hoc Ecosystem Workgroup (EWG) will hold a public work session February 3-4, 2014 at the Council office in Portland, Oregon. The meeting is open to the public, but is not intended as a public hearing. Public comments will be taken at the discretion of the EWG chair as time allows. The work session will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, February 3, 2014 and will proceed until 5 p.m. or until business for the day is completed. The meeting will reconvene on Tuesday, February 4, 2014 at 8:30 a.m. and will proceed until 4 p.m. or until business for the day is completed.

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EDMONTON — At least one aspect of climate change makes even fish fretful. Ocean acidification — one of the consequences of an increasing level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere — makes rockfish anxious, according to a newly published paper by a neuroscientist at Edmonton’s MacEwan University. “It’s actually very similar to a human being anxious at a very basic, fundamental level,” said Trevor Hamilton. “(The fish are) afraid of any sort of stimuli that could be harmful.” Hamilton and a colleague, biologist Adam Holcombe, were building on previous research that looked at the effect of ocean acidification on reef-dwelling fish....read more...

WA - Heather Reed, state coastalⁱ marine resources policy coordinator, will lead a briefing Friday afternoon of the state Fish and Wildlife Commission on the use of descending devices to improve the survivability of released rockfish.

Reed is scheduled to discuss recent studies that show improved survivability of rockfish when they are released back to the depth of their capture using descending devices. She also is to report on actions taken through the Pacific Fishery Management Councilⁱ to adopt lower mortality rates for coastal rockfish released with descending devices compared with rockfish released at the surface.

The commission also will hear an overview of outreach efforts to improve awareness of recreational anglers on the benefits of using descending devices to release rockfish and properly identifying the rockfish they catch and release....read more...

SALEM, Ore. — Beginning on Wednesday, two more areas off the Oregon coast will be closed to fishing and other recreational seafood and seaweed harvesting. New restrictions are beginning at marine reserves at Cascade Head just north of Lincoln City and at Cape Perpetua south of Yachats, The Statesman-Journal reports. All fishing is prohibited inside the boundaries of the reserves. That includes the taking of invertebrates as well as seaweed and wildlife in those areas. There will also be slightly less-restrictive rules at "marine protected areas" north and south of both reserves and on the western edge of the reserve at Cascade Head....read more...

The Magnusonⁱ-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act governs the recreational and commercial harvest of fisheries in Federal waters. It was last authorized by Congress in 2006 through fiscal yearⁱ 2013 and Chairman Hastings has unveiled a draft proposal to renew and modernize the law. The draft proposal would implement commonⁱ sense reforms that will promote increased flexibility and transparency, improve data collection, create jobs, and give predictability and certainty to the coastalⁱ communities that depend on fishing activities.

Tell us your thoughts. Share comments on the draft proposal by e-mailing magnusonstevens@mail.house.gov.

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The act regulating America’s fisheries could see changes under the discussion draft proposed by the House Natural Resources Committee. The Magnusonⁱ-Stevens Act, or MSA, was up for reauthorization this yearⁱ but that process won’t be finalized until 2014. The House Natural Resources Committee released draft legislation Dec. 19 with 30 pages of proposed MSA changes that address several major fisheries issues, including catch share programs, electronic monitoring, rebuilding plans and the term “overfished.” ...read more...

The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will become the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), effective Jan. 1. The new name was mandated by AB 2402, which was signed Sept. 25 by Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. and is one of numerous provisions passed into law during 2012 that affect the department....read more...

The "locavore" movement helps America’s farmers. Could it also help our fishing industry?

Two new NOAAⁱ Sea Grant studies will look at how new business models, based on the success of community supported agriculture, could benefit fishing communities in Washington, Oregon, and California....read more...

The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) invites the public to attend a meeting to discuss the management of California’s Pacific halibut fisheries. The meeting will be held on May 16, 2012 at the Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation and Conservation Districtⁱ Conference Room, 601 Startare Drive in Eureka, from 6 to 8 p.m.

DFG staff will provide current information on Pacific halibut management and ocean fisheries in California, and will discuss the possible need for changes in the recreational fisheryⁱ in 2013. The public is encouraged to provide input to managers and representatives which will aid in the development of future Pacific halibut management....read more...

OLYMPIA – Sportfishing seasons for halibut will be four days longer in Puget Sound, and more fish will be available for harvest early in the season off the state’s southern coast under catch quotas for 2012 adopted by the International Pacific Halibut Commission.

Although the state’s recreational catch quota is down slightly from last yearⁱ, Puget Sound anglers will get an extra day to catch the big flatfish during the Memorial Day weekend and three additional days during the course of the season. ...read more...

OR - Oregon's Legislature appears poised to add three no-fishing marine reserves off the coast, designating what amounts to 38-square-miles of ocean wilderness despite continued concerns from fishing groups.

Coastalⁱ legislators from both parties have signed off on Senate Bill 1510, in part because they fear ocean conservation groups might otherwise push a statewide ballot measure to put much more of Oregon's biologically rich territorial sea off limits. ...read more...

CDFGⁱ - The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) invites the public to attend its annual salmonⁱ status update and outlook meeting in February. The outlook for 2012 ocean and river fisheries will also be discussed.

This year’s meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 28 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.at the Sonoma County Water Agency, 404 Aviation Blvd. in Santa Rosa....read more...

OR - Oregon sport anglers will see an 8.7 percentⁱ increase in the Pacific halibut quota for the upcoming season, and state fish managers are asking the public for help in crafting how the season will play out in the halibut-rich waters of the central Oregon Coast.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will hold meetings Monday, Feb. 13, in Newport and Wednesday, Feb. 15, in Salem to gather input on how to divvy that quota between the spring and summer all-depth fisheries....read more...

OLYMPIA — The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted a variety of new sportfishing rules and increased the number of multiple-season hunting permits for deer and elk issued each yearⁱ during a public meeting here Feb. 3-4.

The commission, a nine-member citizen panel appointed by the governor to set policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFWⁱ), adopted new fishing rules for the 2012-13 season that will:...read more...

The California Fish and Game Commissionⁱ today took final action to reject proposed changes to striped bass regulations.

In a unanimous decision, Commissioners voted not to pursue a proposal that would have changed sport fishing regulations related to anadromous striped bass, including increasing bag limits and decreasing size limits....read more...

NOAAⁱ - As part of NOAA's ongoing work to improve the accuracy of and confidence in recreational fishing data, NOAA Fisheries and leading experts in the field have developed a new peer-reviewed method for calculating recreational catch estimatesⁱ. The new technique addresses a major recommendation made by the National Research Councilⁱ for improving our recreational data collection program and fulfills an important mandate of the Magnusonⁱ-Stevens Act...read more...