PWCC Catch Management Program
Minimizing and avoiding bycatch is of great
concern to the PWCC. Catcher/processor vessels, working
cooperatively via the PWCC, use several bycatch avoidance and
minimization techniques -- such as 100% observer coverage, real-time
sharing of catch and bycatch data, and agreements to avoid "hotspot"
areas. Accordingly, bycatch in the catcher/processor sector of
the Pacific whiting fishery is
typically very low. In most years the total bycatch has been 1% or less
of total whiting catch. Years of high bycatch generally coincide with
cyclical population events, such as in 2004 when Humboldt squid
appeared off the Washington-Oregon coast in large numbers and comprised
over 70% of the total non-whiting bycatch; which is the cause for the
increase shown in the figure below. In 2005, bycatch of non-target fish
species was 0.32% of total whiting catch. In 2006, this amount was
0.25% of total whiting catch.
The formation of the PWCC in 1997 brought about a
reduction in the number of annually active catcher/processor vessels
from 10 to 6 or 7. During the season, PWCC vessels communicate
information about high bycatch areas to be
avoided. Because they no longer race for fish, PWCC vessels can take
the time to find areas with high whiting abundance and/or move away
from areas with high occurrence of bycatch. To help avoid these bycatch
"hotspots," PWCC members report catch and bycatch data electronically
to Sea State, a private firm specializing in fisheries data collection
and analysis. Sea State collates the data and reports back to PWCC
vessels on a real-time basis, advising vessel captains to avoid areas
in which high bycatch is likely to occur. Each PWCC vessel
carries two NMFS-certified observers who monitor, record, and report
all fishing activities to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Historically, the domestic whiting fishery has maintained relatively low bycatch. Therefore, while there does not appear to be a significant reduction in overall bycatch from the pre-PWCC catcher/processor fishery there have been major reductions in bycatch of species of concern, such as ESA-listed Pacific salmon and overfished rockfish.
The primary salmon taken as bycatch in the Pacific
whiting fishery is Chinook salmon with other salmon taken in very low
amounts, if at all. The whiting fishery has a bycatch guideline of
11,000 fish, or a rate of 0.05 Chinook per metric ton of whiting. This
amount is shared among all sectors of the fishery, and all fishery
sectors endeavor to avoid and minimize salmon bycatch. In
the catcher/processor fishery, PWCC vessels fishing cooperatively
very low salmon bycatch, well below the 0.05 rate. Compared to
the threshold rate of 0.05, the PWCC rates were
0.01 in 2003, 0.005 in 2004, 0.02 in 2005, and 0.001 in 2006.
The average bycatch of all rockfish between 1995 and 2004 was 268 metric ton, or 4.3 kilogram of rockfish per metric ton of whiting. This amounts to an overall rockfish bycatch rate of less than ½ of 1 percent of the total whiting catch. At these low amounts, occasionally fluctuations in the bycatch rate occur. For instance in 1999, a small number of hauls with large amounts of yellowtail rockfish caused the bycatch amount and rate to increase significantly. Similarly, in 2002 one haul containing a large amount of widow rockfish caused an overall increase in the annual bycatch rate.
However, in general, the bycatch rate for rockfish
is less than in the pre-PWCC period, for example, yellowtail
rockfish has decreased by more than 90%. Prior to formation of the
the rate was 2.47 kg of yellowtail rockfish per metric ton of whiting;
in 2004, the rate was 0.09 kg per metric ton; in 2005, the rate was
0.60 kg/mt; and in 2006, the rate decreased dramatically to 0.04 kg/mt.
Since 2004, the Pacific whiting fishery has been
managed with hard bycatch caps for 3 overfished rockfish -- canary
rockfish, darkblotched rockfish, and widow rockfish. If any one
of these hardcaps, which are shared by the 3 non-tribal fishery
sectors, are exceeded the directed whiting fishery can be closed.
This system of management has necessitated even greater diligence to
avoid and minimize bycatch of these species, especially given that
performance in one sector can greatly impact the other sectors. Through
our cooperative, the PWCC has maintained low bycatch rates for these
species. For example, kg/mt rates of canary rockfish in the
catcher/processor sector, have declined to very low levels since
implementation of the bycatch caps -- declining from 0.007 kg/mt in
2004 to 0.004 kg/mt in 2005 to 0.001 kg/mt in 2006.
The ability to communicate information amongst PWCC vessels and between other segments of the industry helps to facilitate bycatch reduction in the whiting fishery as a whole. For example, the PWCC has prepared charts detailing known bycatch hotspots from information provided by interviews with Washington and Oregon coastal fishermen. The hotspots identify areas with high concentrations of yellowtail and widow rockfish. Copies of these charts were provided to all vessels in the whiting fishery, along with the latitude and longitude of the areas. PWCC fishermen are required to avoid these areas and not fish there unless they are confident that only whiting is present in the area.
Since the PWCC was founded bycatch avoidance and minimization has been a paramount goal of the organization. Research is ongoing to develop methods and fishing gears to reduce bycatch in the whiting fishery. In 2003 and 2004, five vessels were equipped with recording conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD) meters to examine if relationships between bycatch rates and oceanographic conditions could be found that would provide a signal to skippers that they were in areas of potentially significant bycatch. In prior years, PWCC contracted with Scientific Fisheries to test the utility of broadband sonar to identify bycatch species in the trawl path.
The PWCC is proud to be a leader in developing and
using responsible fishing techniques to ensure sustainable
fisheries. We will continue to do what is required to maintain
the whiting fishery as one of the cleanest fisheries in the world.