West Coast Groundfish:
Disaster to Sustainable Fishery
The West Coast groundfish was one of the most important fisheries in the US—until it collapsed.
This is the story of how fishermen, fishery managers, scientists, and environmentalists came together to save the groundfish fishery—and achieved one of the greatest conservation successes in modern history.
Boom and Bust
The rise and fall of the groundfish fishery.
Rockfish on the Brink
Why rockfish are vulnerable to overfishing.
Transforming the Fishery
New management strategies to curb fishing pressure.
Hard-won Recovery
Finding success in groundfish conservation.
A Natural Experiment
Evaluating the impact of renewed trawl fishing on groundfish habitat.
Boom and Bust | Rockfish on the Brink | Transforming the Fishery | Hard-won Recovery | A Natural Experiment
Boom and Bust
The fishery for groundfish began to boom in the heyday of fishing on the US West Coast: the 1970s. At the time, the federal government was just beginning to establish control of fishing off its coastlines. The Eastland Resolution issued by Congress in 1973 promised “all support necessary” to US fishermen*.
A fisherman tending a trawl net as the groundfish catch is pulled up, circa 1980. Photo Credit: Oregon Sea Grant
In 1976, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act established an exclusive economic zone extending 200 miles into the Pacific. It virtually eliminated foreign fishing boats, including massive factory boats that had put many US fishermen out of business.
It also established the Pacific Fishery Management Council, a federal body for managing fishing all along the West Coast. The mandate of the Council was to set catch limits for the groundfish fishery based on the best available science at the time.
As a result of these changes, the West Coast groundfish fleet more than tripled in size—from 305 boats in 1976 to 978 boats in 1979. It also grew more capable thanks to technological innovations. By the mid-1980s, half of all groundfish vessels could plot fishing tracks, allowing them to trawl the same line through productive areas more than once. More than 40% of vessels adopted “Chromascope” fishfinders.
Groundfish catch exploded. Domestic groundfish catch jumped from 57,000 tons in 1976 to 119,000 tons by 1982 (excluding Pacific whiting). Rockfish, which weren’t part of the groundfish fishery at all in 1976, accounted for 40,000 tons of the harvest by 1982.
*West Coast seafood harvesters of all genders generally prefer the term “fishermen.”
A trawl vessel leaving harbor in Newport, Oregon. Photo credit: Oregon Sea Grant
The frantic race for groundfish was short-lived. Scientific understanding of groundfish biology was limited as the fishery boomed in the late 1970s. Fishery managers at the time didn’t fully know how long groundfish live or how they reproduce. As a result, the catch limits set by the Pacific Fishery Management Council were too high to be sustainable.
By 1985, rockfish landings declined by nearly 20%. Harvest of canary and widow rockfish, two species that would soon be declared overfished, dropped by more than 60% in a three-year span.
On January 26, 2000, the US government declared a fishery disaster for West Coast groundfish under the Magnuson-Stevens Act—the same legislation that set off the groundfish boom almost 25 years earlier.
“Behind the sweeping action is a reluctant realization that the vast ocean has limits and cannot, as was long believed, provide an inexhaustible supply of fish.”
Boom and Bust | Rockfish on the Brink | Transforming the Fishery | Hard-won Recovery | A Natural Experiment
Rockfish on the Brink
The groundfish fishery is unlike other major US fisheries—salmon, cod, pollock—in that it includes not just one fish species, but dozens. The term “groundfish” includes highly abundant roundfish like Pacific whiting and sablefish, flatfish like Dover sole and arrowtooth flounder, and more than 60 distinct species of rockfish including canary rockfish and widow rockfish. In all, 10 different species were declared overfished leading up to the fishery disaster:
Overfished: Population size less than 25% of unfished population for any reason (less than 12.5% for flatfish)
Rebuilt: Population size recovers to at least 40% of unfished population (at least 25% for flatfish)
Canary Rockfish
Darkblotched Rockfish
Pacific Whiting
Petrale Sole
Cowcod
Widow Rockfish
Bocaccio
Pacific Ocean Perch
Lingcod
Yelloweye Rockfish
In 2002, the Pacific Fishery Management Council estimated that the canary rockfish stock would take 70 years to fully rebuild in the absence of any fishing. Bocaccio, which were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, were expected to take 90 years to rebuild.
Illustration credits: NOAA
Background image: A fisherman watching as a trawl net is pulled up. Photo credit: NOAA
Of these overfished species, all but Pacific whiting, lingcod, and petrale sole are rockfish. Rockfish populations were hit particularly hard by overfishing because of a few unique aspects of their biology—characteristics that fishery managers didn’t understand when they were setting catch limits in the late 1970s.
An illustration of a canary rockfish. Photo credit: NOAA
First, rockfish are very long-lived. Bocaccio can live for more than 50 years and surveys have identified individual rockfish that are more than 100 years old. While rockfish can start reproducing at age 5, many fish are most fertile when they’re decades old—long after they’ve grown to full size and can be caught.
In addition, conditions need to be just right for rockfish to spawn successfully. It’s common for several years to pass between spawnings, while fishing is a constant pressure year after year.
On top of that, traditional catch-and-release practices don’t work to protect rockfish. These fish have air-filled swim bladders, which expand and burst when rockfish are brought from the ocean floor to the surface. Most rockfish are already dead by the time they’re hauled aboard a fishing vessel by a trawl net.
A yelloweye rockfish swimming in a rocky reef. Video credit: NOAA
The seafloor habitat in which rockfish live is also highly sensitive to trawl fishing. Rockfish congregate in rocky areas, reefs, and seagrass beds. These areas provide protection from predators and hiding places to stalk prey - typically worms, snails, shrimp, small crabs, and juvenile fish.
Bottom trawling can scrape the seafloor and throw up clouds of sediment. Photo credit: US Geological Survey
Bottom trawling, which involves dragging a net with heavy metal plates on either side, scrapes away the habitat that rockfish and other bottom-dwelling organisms rely on. The metal plates also throw up clouds of sediment, covering large swaths of seafloor with the undersea equivalent of a dust storm.
Fishermen today have transitioned to trawling gear that is designed to hop over rocky habitats and reefs. But in the 1970s and 1980s, trawling gear often had rollers that would allow the nets to pass directly over rocky reefs.
The total area trawled was relatively small and bottom trawling made up only a portion of the total groundfish catch (longline fishing and mid-water trawling, which involves towing a net above the seafloor, are also used to catch groundfish). However, it had a significant impact on rocky areas of the seafloor that are essential to rockfish.
The combination of rockfish biology and intense fishing pressure led to a rapid decline in rockfish stocks. By the late 1990s, the populations of several key species had fallen more than 80% from unfished levels.
The groundfish trawl fleet in Newport, Oregon. Photo credit: Oregon Sea Grant
Boom and Bust | Rockfish on the Brink | Transforming the Fishery | Hard-won Recovery | A Natural Experiment
Transforming the Fishery
Creating the conditions for groundfish stocks to recover was a massive, collaborative undertaking led by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Over the course of more than 20 years, it was supported by fishermen, fishery managers, scientists, and environmentalists.
There were three critical conservation measures that transformed the West Coast groundfish fishery.
Rockfish Conservation Areas
Rockfish congregate around rocky reefs, shown in red in the map above. Photo credit: NOAA
In 2002, the Pacific Fishery Management Council announced the creation of trawl Rockfish Conservation Areas. These areas closed all seafloor habitat at the depths at which overfished rockfish species commonly live to bottom trawling. Effective immediately, more than 20,000 square miles along the entire length of the West Coast were closed to the groundfish trawl fleet.
Trawl Rockfish Conservation Areas were a blunt management tool, closing off huge swaths of seafloor regardless of whether they harbored known rockfish populations. At the time, scientific understanding of rockfish habitat was limited and maps of seafloor habitat were coarse. Without knowing what specific areas harbored the rocks, reefs, and seagrass beds that rockfish need, the only option available to fishery managers was to close off an enormous area of seafloor.
Maggie Sommer (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife) discusses the purpose and impact of Rockfish Conservation Areas on the groundfish fishery:
The Groundfish Buyback Program
One of the key factors contributing to the collapse of groundfish populations was that there were simply too many commercial fishing vessels chasing too few fish. In 2003, Congress authorized a $46 million buyback program that permanently removed 91 trawl vessels from the fishery. The buyback cut the number of commercial trawl fishing licenses for groundfish by more than one-third. By 2011, when the Trawl Catch Share Program was implemented, only 108 vessels remained in the fleet.
The buyback was voluntary for fishermen, but it came with a price for those who chose to remain in the fishery. Of the $46 million authorized by Congress, $36 million was issued as a loan. Fishermen who held onto their boats were responsible for paying it back through a 3.5% fee on all future groundfish catches. The industry today still owes more than $10 million for the buyback program and expects to pay off the balance in 2028.
Fishermen hauling in their groundfish catch off the coast of Oregon in 2019. Photo credit: NOAA/John Rae
The Trawl Catch Share Program
The most fundamental change to the fishery came in 2011, when the Pacific Fishery Management Council instituted the Trawl Catch Share Program.
Under the Trawl Catch Share Program, the total annual harvest allowed for each groundfish species was set by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Fishermen were each allotted a quota for each species based on their historical catches. Fishermen could trade quota for individual species, but they could never legally catch a specific groundfish species unless they had enough quota for it.
The Trawl Catch Share Program also required every trawl vessel to have an onboard observer at all times. Every fish caught was counted, even if it was then discarded. Within a year, the discard rate in the groundfish fishery dropped from 25% to less than 5%.
Maggie Sommer (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife) explains the Trawl Catch Share Program:
The Trawl Catch Share Program transformed the groundfish trawl fishery from a free-for-all race for fish to a tightly managed harvest. Fishermen knew at the start of each season how much they could catch of each species, and they could trade quota for species they were most interested in catching. There was no longer a need to go out on stormy days or at the margins of the season, making the fishery safer.
“When we went into the Trawl [Catch Share] Program, the offshore sector of the whiting fleet…had a very low amount of Pacific ocean perch, canary, other rockfish species to take as incidental catch. And if you hit the mark, the whiting fishery would shut down, leaving millions of dollars in the water because you hit your cap. We were always trying to stay under these really low numbers.”
At the same time, transitioning to catch shares was incredibly challenging. Quota for overfished rockfish was scarce, but groundfish species that weren’t overfished, like Dover sole and black cod, are often found in the same areas as rockfish. A fisherman’s season could suddenly end if they pulled up a trawl net filled with canary or widow rockfish and exceeded their quota. As a result, many fishermen under-harvested groundfish species that could have been caught sustainably, increasing the economic pain of the switch to the Trawl Catch Share Program.
A fishermen tending a groundfish trawl net off the coast of Oregon in 2019. Photo credit: NOAA/John Rae
Boom and Bust | Rockfish on the Brink | Transforming the Fishery | Hard-won Recovery | A Natural Experiment
Hard-won Recovery
The upheaval in the groundfish fishery was devasting for fishermen and communities whose economies were built around fishing. Hundreds of fishermen permanently left the groundfish fishery and the number of fish processors on the West Coast fell from 113 in 2000 to just 40 by 2011.
But for those who remained in the groundfish fishery, the painful transformation ultimately paid off. In 2014, 14 years after a fishery disaster was declared for West Coast groundfish, the fishery was certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. The reduction of the trawl fleet, the protection provided by the trawl Rockfish Conservation Areas, and the catch limits imposed under the Trawl Catch Share Program meant that groundfish species were being harvested at a rate that would allow overfished populations to continue their recovery.
“People began getting to the point where they could make trips that were full widow rockfish, which they hadn’t been able to do in 20 years.”
At the same time, rockfish populations rebounded much faster than originally expected. As scientists learned more about rockfish biology in recent years, they discovered that their initial estimates for how long it would take these populations to recover were overly pessimistic. New models of rockfish reproduction, combined with the drastic changes in the fishery, led to revised recovery goals that were achieved decades sooner than originally thought possible.
The widow rockfish population was declared fully rebuilt in 2012, 30 years ahead of original estimates. Rockfish stocks are considered rebuilt when the population recovers to at least 40% of the unfished population. Canary rockfish were declared rebuilt in 2015, 61 years ahead of original estimates. Today, populations of all but 1 of the 10 groundfish species that were found to overfished in the late 1990s have been rebuilt. Yelloweye rockfish, the last remaining species, is expected to rebuild by 2028.
A fisherman holding a canary rockfish. Photo credit: NOAA
The map shows newly designated Essential Fish Habitat. All other areas offshore Oregon and California were reopened to trawling. Photo credit: NOAA
In recent years, the focus has shifted from limiting the groundfish fishery to helping it expand. Fishermen, scientists, environmentalists, fish processors, and fishery managers came together in a collaborative effort to figure out how to reopen portions of the trawl Rockfish Conservation Area while protecting the seafloor areas most important for healthy fish populations. Fishermen brought their logbooks and charts, environmentalists brought seafloor maps obtained with remotely operated underwater vehicles, and scientists developed models to identify likely habitat for corals and juvenile fish.
The result was a deal that reopened 3,000 square miles of seafloor to commercial groundfish trawling, while also permanently protecting more than 10,000 square miles of sensitive seafloor habitats as Essential Fish Habitat (EFH). On January 1, 2020, Rockfish Conservation Areas off Oregon and California that had been closed to the groundfish trawl fishery for 18 years were reopened.
“It’s the first time we really sat down and talked to each other. It’s one of those Cinderella stories that never happens—but this one did.”
“There is something here for everyone, and it is possible only because many fishermen sacrificed and participated in the planning to bring the groundfish fishery back.”
Trawl vessels in Newport, Oregon. Video credit: Wandering Sole Studios
Dr. Waldo Wakefield (Oregon State University) explains the significance of the collaborative effort that led to the reopening of trawl Rockfish Conservation Areas:
A fishermen holding a trawl line at sunset. Photo credit: NOAA
Boom and Bust | Rockfish on the Brink | Transforming the Fishery | Hard-won Recovery | A Natural Experiment
A Natural Experiment
Today, the groundfish trawl fishery is slowly rebuilding. Commercial catches across Washington, Oregon, and California bring in more than $300 million per year in annual revenue for fishers. Much of this is due to growth in the Pacific whiting harvest, but revenue from rockfish is also on the rise. Nonprofits like Positively Groundfish are working to reintroduce groundfish to consumers and help the fishery re-expand its commercial footprint.
Now, scientists, fishery managers, and fishermen are working to ensure that the groundfish catch remains sustainable. While the Trawl Catch Share Program can limit overfishing going forward, scientists are unsure whether that will be enough.
That’s because a key question about the groundfish recovery remains unanswered:
Did the groundfish population recover solely because fishers stopped catching them? Or were Rockfish Conservation Areas, which left groundfish habitat undisturbed by trawling for more than 18 years, essential to the recovery?
Rockfish Conservation Areas gave the seafloor habitats where many groundfish species congregate—particularly rockfish—time to recover from decades of bottom trawling. Now, with thousands of square miles of seafloor reopened to commercial fishing, scientists and fishery managers need to understand how renewed trawling activity may disturb groundfish habitat and how human disturbance impacts the lifecycles of groundfish.
If catch limits are sufficient to allow the groundfish population to replenish itself year after year through reproduction, then the Trawl Catch Share Program on its own can ensure the sustainability of the fishery. On the other hand, if groundfish require undisturbed seafloor habitat to thrive, then area-based closures like the trawl Rockfish Conservation Areas or limits on bottom trawling may be necessary to keep the fishery sustainable.
A trawl vessel at sea. Photo credit: California Sea Grant
The management decisions that led to the creation of Rockfish Conservation Areas in 2002 and the reopening of these areas to trawling in 2020 created the conditions for a natural experiment. Scientists can monitor seafloor health and trawling activity over time to evaluate how bottom trawling impacts groundfish habitat and groundfish populations.
Scientists from Oregon State University have partnered with fishery managers from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to survey newly reopened trawl areas off the coast of Oregon. The team includes Drs. Clare Reimers and Waldo Wakefield from Oregon State University, graduate students Peter Chace and Adrienne Chan, and Scott Marion from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Maggie Sommer, who recently moved from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to the National Marine Fisheries Service, has also been instrumental in securing funding for the project’s fieldwork.
To begin, the team is working to establish a baseline for what the seafloor looks like after 18 years without disturbance from bottom trawling by visiting areas that have not seen sustained fishing activity since Rockfish Conservation Areas were first closed.
Video of rockfish on the seafloor from recent surveys using remotely operated underwater vehicles. Video credit: Scott Marion (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife)
Remotely operated underwater vehicles enable the team to capture video of wide areas of the seafloor. These videos are used to count groundfish and the creatures they eat, such as crabs and shrimp. The videos are also used to identify bottom features and map rocky outcrops where groundfish congregate and to create a record of what the seafloor looks like in a natural state.
Dr. Clare Reimers assembling a seafloor lander to study groundfish habitat. Photo credit: Oregon Sea Grant
In addition, the team is using custom-made landers that measure how oxygen and nutrients flow between the seafloor and water column. Seafloor sampling devices recover water and seafloor samples from areas where groundfish reside.
Over time, as trawling activity increases, researchers can return to these areas for additional video surveys and chemical measurements to see how they have changed. By making a wide range of measurements as opposed to only counting groundfish, scientists can evaluate the ecosystem-wide effects of trawling. Eventually, they may be able to pinpoint the factors that have the greatest impact on the lifecycles of groundfish and other creatures that live along the seafloor.
Future scientific findings may help fishery managers determine whether additional area-based closures—temporary, rotating, or permanent—are needed to protect the groundfish fishery in the future.
“We want to produce data for evidence-based decision-making about the impact of trawling on seafloor habitat to inform future fishery management decisions.”
Dr. Clare Reimers (Oregon State University) discusses her team’s effort to create a baseline of seafloor conditions prior to renewed bottom trawling activity:
The recovery of the West Coast groundfish fishery is one of the most successful conservation efforts of the 21st century. In less than 20 years, groundfish were transformed from a fishery on the brink to one of the most sustainable fisheries in the world.
Achieving that success required enormous sacrifices on the part of fishermen, as well as cooperation and compromise among fishery managers, processors, researchers, and conservation groups. The resilience of the groundfish fishery demonstrates that dedicated, collaborative efforts can solve some of the most significant conservation challenges we face today.
Ongoing research, feedback from fishermen, and continued collaboration are essential to ensuring that the West Coast groundfish fishery thrives long into the future.
“The Council process became the chemistry set, the place where everyone tried to find a future. It took every single person to sacrifice something to make it happen. People came together instead of falling apart.”
Canary rockfish. Photo credit: NOAA/Tippy Jackson
Additional Resources
Groundfish research funded by Oregon Sea Grant
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan
Positively Groundfish
This site was created with the support of Oregon Sea Grant in collaboration with Oregon State University and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. We would like to thank numerous people for making this site possible:
Dr. Clare Reimers, Oregon State University
Dr. Waldo Wakefield, Oregon State University
Maggie Sommer, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Scott Marion, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Peter Chace, Oregon State University
Adrienne Chan, Oregon State University
Heather Mann, Midwater Trawlers Cooperative
Mike Okoniewski, Pacific Seafood
Westcoastgroundfish.com was produced by Wandering Sole Studios
Boom and Bust | Rockfish on the Brink | Transforming the Fishery | Hard-won Recovery | A Natural Experiment