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MyspaceCalifornia Fish and Game officials who met in Santa Barbara last Wednesday agreed on the need for action to protect ocean bass species whose populations have collapsed in the last decade in Southern California waters. According to statistics compiled by agency researcher Erica Jarvis, the barred sand bass catch has fallen by 85 percent since 2001. The kelp bass catch has fallen by more than 70 percent since the l980s. The two species constitute two of the biggest recreational fisheries in Southern California.
The cause of the collapse is still in dispute. A study published last fall by Brad Erisman, a researcher at Scripps Institute of Oceanography, pointed to the growth of a sophisticated sports fishing industry in the last 25 years, and to charter boats that target the barred sand bass as it spawns in huge groups in a few locations off the coast. Individual fish will swim as far as 15 miles to join their fellow masses in the summer mating ritual, making it possible for anglers to continue to have success even as overall population numbers of the species decline dramatically.
Michael Sutton, one of two California state Fish and Game Commissioners at the meeting, called for a consideration of a seasonal closure during spawning season to allow the two species to repopulate. “Fishing spawning aggregations is a really dangerous practice,” he said. “If a seasonal closure would alleviate that, we need to consider that. A seasonal closure would have a significant impact on the industry, but so would a ban of fishing these species for several years.”
Jarvis said that the bass fisheries collapsed mostly due to an influx of colder waters since l998, brought on by a vast oceanic phenomenon called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Over a span of many years, not unlike El Niño and La Niña in the equatorial Pacific, a colossal pool of cold water sloshes back and forth from the North Pacific, altering both the weather and ocean conditions along the coast. “We think this [collapse] has to do with a long-term trend due to the PDO,” she said. “It appears that as though the warmer periods are more favorable to these species than the cool periods.”
Jarvis and other fish biologists at the agency suggested that the agency consider three measures to allow the two bass species – and another, less often fished species, the spotted sand bass – to repopulate. They called for a reduction in the bag limit, which currently allows fishermen to catch ten fish a day; an increase in the size limit, to thirteen inches or larger, to ensure that younger fish will have more time to reproduce; and the possibility of a seasonal closure of two weeks or more. The commission may also choose to consider restrictions on where charter boats may fish during the season.
Commissioner Richard Rogers questioned the Scripps study for suggesting that recreation fishing was the primary cause of the fisheries collapse. “The ocean is immensely complex,” he said. “It’s easy to point at fishing effort because it’s far easier to see and document than other factors.”
In the end, the two commissioners, representatives of environmental groups, and many anglers in the audience supported the staff’s call for new restrictions. The recommendation will go to the full commission next month. Putting together a new “regulatory package” is expected to take about a year.
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Comments
I would agree with Jarvis. If you look at the forensic weather for Santa Barbara County and review the rain records you will see that the El Nino and La Nina waters have a direct effect on the fisheries in combination with fishing. Many of these Bass species thrive in kelp forests. Both of these currents affect the kelp forest differently; therefore there is a direct effect on the carrying capacity of our fishery that we cannot control.
jw (anonymous profile)
January 22, 2012 at 12:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
So close the best of the islands to fishing, then close a big chunk north of Campus Point to Conception, now the Bass, Who wants to bet that the best available science will say "hook and line fishing shall be prohibited in the waters that contain the 3 species"?
The beach closures for the Plovers? Other groups trying to close huge sections of our back country Etc Etc Etc
It does seem that someone is trying to turn the entire channel/local back country into a private park, does anyone else think that it is getting a bit out of control? do any of the politicians listen to anyone but the lobbyist?
Sure wish someone would put some sanity into where this is going, soon its all going to only be for research
dadof3 (anonymous profile)
January 24, 2012 at 8:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This also effects the harvesting of birds and mammals. No water no food.
jw (anonymous profile)
January 26, 2012 at 9:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
jw,
the El Nino and La Nina conditions do affect the kelp forest concentrations along the coastline. However, this article states that the PDO has brought a series of colder water years which is conducive for kelp growth. Therefore, I wouldn't be so quick to say that the kelp bass population is habitat limited.
PDO and ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation) has been known to affect concentrations of kelp bass larvae due to changes in current direction and the physical oceanographic properties of the Southern California Byte (upwelling conditions etc). Perhaps the kelp bass population is recruitment limited in where the number of offspring is not large enough to replenish the population back to its original state.
dadof3,
Fisheries management is taking all of this into consideration when making their decision. Larger fish tend to produce exponentially more offspring, therefore, a lowered bag limit might help to keep more of those reproducing adult individuals in the population. etc. Science is just a tool for better management. Science does not work to only prohibit fishing practices, it works to make sure that fishing can be done in the most sustainable way possible so that we have fish in the oceans for generations to come. Preservation Environmentalists are who you wanna talk to about closing off fishing in waters with all 3 species.
The FAO estimates over 70% of all fisheries (commercial and recreational) are collapsed, about to collapse or in slow recovery. Science is a necessity for better management. Better management is needed to bring fisheries back to their original state. If you ask me, this article sounds pretty solid to me.
-an
UCSB undergrad aquatic bio
kalicos (anonymous profile)
February 15, 2012 at 12:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)