Pacific Council Announces Successful Rebuilding of Lingcod; News on Status of Other Overfished Stocks

December 6, 2005

Release from:
NOAA

The Pacific Fishery Management Council has announced that the West Coast lingcod stock has reached its rebuilding target ahead of schedule. This stock was designated as "overfished" in 1999. To reduce catches of lingcod and other overfished stocks, the Council has taken steps to close large areas to certain types of fishing, enact regulations that discourage fishing in rocky habitat, and establish quotas and bag limits. Although this stock was scheduled to be rebuilt by 2009, the latest assessment of lingcod shows that the population already exceeds 60% of the rebuilding target.

The results of other new stock assessments were also presented to the Pacific Council in November 2005. Assessments for widow rockfish and dark-blotched rockfish show significant improvement in the status of these overfished stocks. The assessment for cowcod rockfish showed modest improvement, while assessments for Pacific ocean perch, bocaccio and canary rockfish showed no significant change between 2003 and 2005. The assessment for yelloweye rockfish showed the population in slightly worse shape.

For more information, read the full text of the Council's press release.