New Data Shows Healthy Numbers of Quillback Rockfish off California; Fishing to Resume

New data collected with help from California fishermen has revealed more quillback rockfish off the California Coast than estimated earlier. These findings allow NOAA Fisheries to drop fishing restrictions meant to help rebuild the species.

The change frees commercial and recreational fleets to resume fishing, particularly in shallower federal waters, for many species of groundfish off California, including rockfish. These fisheries generated more than $150 million in landings in some years. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife relaxed limits in state waters in August. NOAA Fisheries has now done the same in federal waters off California, which was announced on September 18.

"This demonstrates the value of good data to support the science," said Keeley Kent, chief of the groundfish branch in NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region. "The industry stepped up and helped gather a lot more data, and that shows there is a healthy population of quillback out there."

The first-ever stock assessment for quillback rockfish off California in 2021 was based on the limited data available at the time. It found that the lesser known species in that area was below a minimum stock size threshold. The Pacific Fishery Management Council took precautionary steps to reduce the harvest. NOAA Fisheries determined in December 2023 that the species was overfished. Sustainable fisheries regulations required NOAA Fisheries to develop a rebuilding plan, which further limited fishing for quillback and other rockfish that can be caught with quillback.

These limits hit in 2023 just as low salmon returns also shut down salmon fishing in California for the first of 3 years, said Tim Klassen, who captains charter trips for Reel Steel Fishing in Eureka, California. He's also a member of the groundfish advisory subpanel for the Pacific Fishery Management Council. "The timing couldn't have been worse."

That was a blow to commercial and recreational fisheries that had previously bounced back from a widespread collapse of rockfish across the West Coast in the early 2000s. Many fishermen sacrificed their futures to shrink the fishery. As data collection and science increased managers' understanding of rockfish populations, many species recovered and were declared rebuilt years before expected.

The industry has since invested in promoting rockfish with consumers to help reclaim space for the flaky white fish at seafood counters. The expanding fishery will improve the competitiveness of U.S. seafood and help reclaim a domestic market that has long been supplied mostly by imports.

With the rebuilding plan for quillback rockfish in development, NOAA Fisheries scientists also worked with charter fishing captains, the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and others to collect more data about the species. They learned where and when they caught quillback rockfish, as well as the size and age of the fish they caught. That additional data supported a new stock assessment this year, which found that the earlier assessment had been hampered by limited data.

"All of a sudden people felt like part of the solution" by helping collect data, Klassen said.

Scientists reassessed the age range of the quillback rockfish population and found their natural mortality was higher than calculated in the first assessment. The new assessment estimated that coastal waters contained more quillback rockfish than previously thought. It also indicated that the species had likely never been overfished, but the limited data initially made it look that way.

"We're grateful to NOAA and everyone else who helped turn this around," Klassen said. "Everyone knew we had a problem and worked toward a solution." He said he hopes future stock assessments invite earlier input from fishermen. They know the species well and may be able to provide more helpful information, "which can benefit everyone."