West Coast Seafood Processors Association
1618 SW First Avenue, Suite 318
Portland, OR 97201
The attached report tracks the allowable harvest and actual commercial landings of major species of Pacific groundfish between 1996 and 2002.
1996 was chosen as a starting point for several reasons:
- it was the first year that two-month cumulative limits were established for most species;
- it was the last year before significant fisheries policy changes were made by Congress;
- it was the first year of large tribal groundfish allocations.Data used were obtained from the Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation reports produced annually by the Pacific Fishery Management Council and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission PacFIN database. While we have tried to be consistent in use of data, the frequent changes in management direction made it difficult. For example, in 1996 and 1997, Allowable Biological Catch (ABC) figures were generally used; from 1998 to 2002, total catch harvest guidelines (later optimum yields or "OY") were used. For simplicity, all of these figures are noted as "OY" in the report.
In general, the OY figure shows total allowable catch (recreational and commercial combined) prior to subtracting assumed discard amounts. Tribal allocations have been removed.
The final page lists major management milestones that occurred in the years covered. We have included only those that have a significant influence (in our judgement) on how allowable catch has been determined and on how the fishery operates.
The report does not track calculated stock abundance, nor should OY figures be assumed to track trends in abundance. In two cases (sablefish and yellowtail), back-to-back stock assessments resulted in significant decreases in OY followed by increases the next year. Since this is a near impossibility given the life histories of the species involved, the OY figures obviously do not give a snapshot of actual stock abundance, nor even necessarily trends. The OY figures merely demonstrate the amount of fish which - for a variety of reasons - was available for harvest. Similarly, care should be taken in comparing the commercial landed catch with the OY in a given year, since the OY reflects amounts available to both commercial and recreational fishermen and does not deduct for assumed discards.