Background: Coastal Pelagic Species
The Fish
Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Document
The Fishery and Gear
Management Cycle
Plan History
Recent Amendments
Hot Topics
How Do I Get Involved?
The Fish
Coastal pelagic species (CPS) include northern anchovy, market
squid, Pacific bonito, Pacific saury, Pacific herring, Pacific sardine,
Pacific (chub or blue) mackerel, and jack (Spanish) mackerel.
“Pelagic” means these fish live in the water column as opposed
to living near the sea floor. They can generally be found anywhere
from the surface to 1,000 meters (547 fathoms) deep.
Five of these species are managed under the Pacific Council’s
CPS fishery management plan (FMP). These fish are described
below.
Northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) are small, short-lived fish that are typically
found in schools near the surface. They are found from British Columbia to Baja California and
have recently appeared in the Gulf of California. Northern anchovies are divided into northern, central, and southern sub-populations. The central subpopulation
used to be the focus of large commercial
fisheries in the U.S. and Mexico. Most
of this sub-population is located in the Southern
California Bight, between Point Conception,
California and Point Descanso, Mexico.
(The Southern California Bight is an indentation
along the coast of southern California that
includes coastal southern California, the Channel
Islands, and a section of the Pacific Ocean.)
Northern anchovy are an important part of the
food chain for other species, including other
fish, birds, and marine mammals.
Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax) are also small
schooling fish. At times, they have been the
most abundant fish species in the California
current, a highly productive current that extends
up to 1,000 kilometers offshore from Oregon
to Baja California. When the population
of Pacific sardine is large, it is abundant from the tip of Baja California to southeastern Alaska and throughout the Gulf of California. In the north, sardines
tend to appear seasonally. Sardines also form three (and possibly four) sub-populations. The northern subpopulation
of sardines is most important to U.S. commercial fisheries. Sardines may live as long as 13 years,
but they are usually younger than five years old. Like anchovies, they are taken by a wide variety of predators.
More information on current Pacific sardine abundance and population trends is available in the current CPS
Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Report. The report is online at www.pcouncil.org/cps/cpssafe/ or available from the Council office.
Pacific (chub) mackerel (Scomber japonicus) range from Mexico to southeastern Alaska. They are most abundant
south of Point Conception, California and usually appear within 20 miles offshore. The “northeastern
Pacific” stock of Pacific mackerel is harvested by fishers in the U.S. and Mexico. Like sardines and anchovies,
mackerel are schooling fish, and they may school with other pelagic species such as jack mackerel and sardines.
They are also heavily preyed upon by a variety of fish, mammals, and sea birds.
Jack mackerel (Trachurus symmetricus) are a schooling fish that range widely throughout the northeastern
Pacific. They grow to about 60 cm and can live 35 years or longer. Much of their range lies outside the 200-
mile U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Small jack
mackerel (up to six years of age) are most abundant in the
Southern California Bight, where they are often found
near the mainland coast and islands and over shallow rocky
banks. Older, larger fish range from Cabo San Lucas, Baja
California to the Gulf of Alaska, where they are generally
found offshore in deep water and along the coastline to the
north of Point Conception. Large fish rarely appear close
to the southern shore. In southern California waters, jack
mackerel schools are often found over rocky banks, artificial
reefs, and shallow rocky coastal areas. They remain near the
bottom or under kelp canopies during daylight and venture
into deeper surrounding areas at night. Young juvenile fish
sometimes form small schools beneath floating kelp and
debris in the open sea. Jack mackerel in southern California are more likely to appear on offshore banks in late
spring, summer, and early fall.
Small jack mackerel taken off southern California and northern Baja California eat large zooplankton, juvenile
squid, and anchovy. Larvae feed almost entirely on plankton. The spawning season for jack mackerel off
California extends from February to October, with peak activity from March to July. Little is known about the
maturity cycle of large fish offshore, but peak spawning appears to occur later in more northerly waters.
Large predators like tuna and billfish eat jack mackerel, but adult jack mackerel are probably a minor forage
source for smaller predators. Older jack mackerel probably do not contribute significantly to food supplies of
marine birds because they are too large to be eaten by most bird species, and they school too deep for birds to
reach them. They do not appear to be an important food source for marine mammals.
Market squid (Loligo opalescens) appear from the southern tip of Baja California to southeastern Alaska. They
are most abundant between Punta Eugenio, Baja California and Monterey Bay, California. They are harvested
near the surface, but they can appear to depths of 800 meters or more. They prefer the salinity of the ocean and
are rarely found in estuaries, bays, or river mouths. Squid are short-lived (up to ten months). They are important
as forage foods to many fish, birds, and mammals, such as king salmon, coho salmon, lingcod, rockfish,
seals and sea lions, sea otters, porpoises, cormorants, and murres. For more information on market squid life
history, contact the Council office for a copy of the market squid Stock Assessment Review (STAR) report.
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Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Document
More information on cps stock abundance, populations trends, and fishery landings is available in the current Stock Assessment and Fishery Evalution (SAFE Report). Please contact the Council office to obtain a printed copy.
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The Fishery and Gear
In the 1940s and 1950s, about 200 vessels participated in the Pacific sardine
fishery. Some of these boats are still fishing today.
Coastal pelagic species are harvested directly and as bycatch in other
fisheries. Generally, they are targeted with “round-haul” gear including
purse seines, drum seines, lampara nets, and dip nets. These species are
also taken incidentally with midwater trawls, pelagic trawls, gillnets,
trammel nets, trolls, pots, hook-and-line, and jigs.
Market squid are fished at night with the use of powerful lights, which
attract the squid to the surface. They are either pumped directly from
the sea into the hold of the boat, or caught with an encircling net.
Coastal pelagic species are found in the EEZs of Canada, Mexico, and the U.S., as well as in international
waters outside the U.S. EEZ. Within the U.S. EEZ, sardines
are caught by U.S. commercial fisheries, by party and charter
boats, and by anglers. Beyond the U.S. EEZ, sardines are
caught in Mexican and Canadian fisheries.
Most processors and buyers of CPS on the West Coast are
located in California, mainly in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara-
Ventura, and Monterey. Some are also located in the
Columbia River port areas of Oregon and Washington.
Most of the market squid and Pacific sardines caught in
the U.S. are exported. Market squid are mainly exported to
China, the Philippines, Japan, Spain, and Venezuela. Sardines
are mainly exported to Japan, where they are used for
human consumption and as bait for longline fisheries; and Australia, where they are used to feed farmed bluefin
tuna. A very small amount of sardines landed in Oregon and Washington are sold to Portland-area restaurants.
Mackerel are exported to Japan, the Philippines, and Malta for human consumption.
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Management Cycle
Under the annual management cycle for CPS, every June a SAFE document is presented to the Council along with the current stock assessment for Pacific mackerel. At the June meeting, the Council adopts a harvest guideline for the fishery, which runs from July 1 through June 30. In November, as a supplement to the SAFE document, the current stock assessment for Pacific sardine is presented to the Council, and the Council adopts a harvest guideline for the January 1 through December 31 fishery.
Detailed information on CPS fishery statistics, management history, harvest policy, and economics can be found in the SAFE document on the Council's SAFE document web page [http://www.pcouncil.org/cps/cpssafe.html]. The annual management cycle is also described in Council
Operating Procedure 9.
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Plan History
The current CPS FMP evolved from the Northern Anchovy FMP, which went into effect in 1978. In 1995, the
Council decided to develop a plan for the entire CPS fishery. The new plan went into effect in 1999. Amendment
9, which dealt with bycatch and Indian fishing rights, went into effect in 2001; and Amendment 10,
which establishes a maximum fleet capacity for the CPS fishery, went into effect in 2003. This amendment
allows the transfer of limited entry permits to vessels and/or individuals as long as the second vessel is of comparable
capacity, and establishes criteria for issuing new permits if economic or resource conditions indicate
that such permits would be beneficial. Amendment 10 requires specific actions to maintain the fleet capacity.
Transferability gives holders of limited entry permits flexibility in their fishing operations. The amendment
also defines maximum sustained yield (MSY) for market squid.
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Recent Amendments
Amendment 11 - Long Term Sardine Allocation
In 2003, the Council began developing options for a new allocation framework for the coastwide Pacific sardine fishery. This revision will occur through Amendment 11 to the CPS FMP in 2006. The amendment is intended to achieve optimal use of the resource and equitable allocation of harvest opportunity.
In June 2005, the Council adopted a long-term framework to allocate the annual Pacific sardine harvest guideline among the various non-tribal sectors of the sardine fishery. The Council followed the unanimous opinion of the Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel (CPSAS) to provide the following allocation formula:
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January 1, 35% of the harvest guideline to be allocated coastwide;
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July 1, 40% of the harvest guideline, plus any portion not harvested from the initial allocation, to be reallocated coastwide; and
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(3) September 15, the remaining 25% of the harvest guideline, plus any portion not harvested
from earlier allocations, to be reallocated coastwide.
To address the dynamic nature of the Pacific sardine resource and uncertainties inherent in long-termprojections, the Council scheduled a formal review of the allocation formula in 2008. This review will
compare the performance of the fishery in the first two years to the projections used to evaluate the
adopted allocation scheme, and will include any new information from Pacific sardine research.
Amendment 12 - Krill Harvest Ban
In March 2006, the Council adopted a complete ban on commercial fishing for all species of krill in West
Coast federal waters and made no provisions for future fisheries. They also specified essential fish habitat for
krill, making it easier to work with other federal agencies to protect krill. This broad prohibition will apply to
all vessels in Council-managed waters and will take form as Amendment 12 to the CPS FMP when fully implemented
in 2006.
A krill harvest ban was first proposed for West Coast National Marine Sanctuary waters by the National Marine
Sanctuary Program and was expanded to the entire EEZ by the Council in recognition of the importance of
krill as a fundamental food source for much of the marine life along the West Coast. State laws prohibit krill
landings by state-licensed fishing vessels into California, Oregon, and Washington, respectively. Thus, the action
could provide for consistent federal and state management.
Krill (euphausiids) are small shrimp-like crustaceans that serve as the basis of the marine food chain. They are
eaten by many species of fish managed by the Council, as well as by whales and seabirds. Although there was
no fishery for krill in Council waters, krill are fished in Antarctica, Japan, and off the west coast of Canada.
They are used in aquaculture and livestock feed and for fish bait and pet foods..
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Hot Topics
Bycatch. Bycatch is generally low in CPS fisheries because most CPS vessels fish with roundhaul gear, which
encircles schools of fish with nets. This gear targets a specific school, which usually contains only one species.
The most common incidental catch in the CPS fishery is another CPS species (for example, Pacific mackerel
may be caught along with Pacific sardines). Larger fish can usually be released alive by lowering a section of the
net or using a dipnet.
However, bycatch of Pacific salmon listed under the Endangered Species Act has been a concern for the sardine
fishery off Oregon and Washington. Based primarily on observer data collected by Washington and supported
by logbook and observed trips in Oregon, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued a Biological Opinion
on March 10, 2006 that determined that fishing activities conducted under the CPS FMP are not likely
to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened species. Specifically, ESA-listed chinook
and coho were deemed not likely to be jeopardized by the Pacific sardine fishery.
In California, NMFS initiated a pilot observer program for California-based commercial purse seine fishing
vessels in July 2004, hoping to learn more about bycatch rates derived from dockside sampling by the California
Department of Fish and Game. Initial results are under review and can be found in the CPS Stock Assessment
and Fishery Evaluation document. Although funding is limited, NMFS plans to continue the program
in 2007.
Coastwide Sardine Research Cruise. In April 2006, NMFS conducted the first coastwide assessment of the
Pacific sardine resource on the West Coast. The cruise was an extension of a long-standing survey conducted in
California. Interest in a coastwide assessment grew as Pacific sardine populations grew and fisheries once again
started in the Pacific Northwest. It is hoped that continued research coordination with Mexico and Canada at
this year’s Trinational Sardine Forum will provide an opportunity for survey data throughout the stock’s range.
Tribal Pacific Sardine Fishery. Tribal fisheries on sardine may evolve in tribal usual and accustomed fishing
grounds in waters north of Point Chehalis, Washington. The CPS FMP recognizes the rights of treaty Indian
tribes to harvest Pacific sardine and provides a framework for the development of a tribal allocation. The
Makah tribe informed the Council of their intent to enter the sardine fishery in 2006. In response, the Council
created the Ad Hoc Sardine Tribal Allocation Committee, made up of state, federal, and tribal representatives.
At this time, the tribes are continuing to explore participation in the Pacific sardine fishery, but the ad hoc
committee has not met.
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How Do I Get Involved?
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PFMC
06/05/07
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