Recreational Groundfish in Washington

There are 90 species of groundfish in Washington, Oregon, and California which are covered under the federal groundfish fishery management plan. A recent stock assessment indicates that canary rockfish and yelloweye rockfish populations have declined dramatically. Yelloweye rockfish populations are down 80% from their initial levels.

To help rebuild groundfish populations or to prevent overharvesting, Washington has established harvest guidelines. A harvest guideline is the maximum annual harvest of a targeted species. Through the Pacific Fishery Management Council process, WDFW has committed to managing its fisheries to stay within these guidelines. Harvesting includes landed catch and mortalities due to hook and release.

Another method of protecting depressed populations of fish is through area closures. An example of an area closure to protect a species of concern would be the closure of halibut harvest seaward of 30 fathoms off Westport. This particular area closure was in response to achieving the canary rockfish harvest guideline.

There are things you can do to help protect species of concern and to prevent overharvesting. The first thing you can do is avoidance. If you are fishing in a particular spot and you catch a protected species (i.e. yelloweye rockfish) move to another location. Another thing you can do is practice release methods that do as little harm to the fish as possible. Handle the fish as little as possible, and for rockfish, try releasing them through a controlled buoyancy method.

These species are not covered under the federal groundfish Fishery Management Plan but are commonly caught commercially and recreationally in the groundfish fishery: Blue Shark Sixgill Shark Thresher Shark Halibut Walleye Pollock Emergency Rules for Saltwater Fishing Red Rockfish Identification Guide Release Methods for Rockfish