California Recreational Rockfish Information

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Overview

NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) oversee the management of West Coast groundfish in U.S. federal waters. Rockfish in California are managed as part of the West Coast groundfish fishery. The Magnuson-Stevens Act and other federal laws guide NOAA Fisheries and the Council's development of policies like catch limits and closures. NOAA Fisheries and the Council work with state and tribal governments, industry, environmental organizations, and academic institutions. Together, they advance the sustainable management of more than 90 groundfish stocks. The Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan provides the framework for managing the groundfish fishery.

California Fishing Regulations

Rockfish are jointly managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and NOAA Fisheries. Visit the CDFW website for California ocean sport fishing regulations and the NOAA Fisheries website for federal groundfish regulations.

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California Fish Species Identification

Do you know what you caught? Species identification is critical for knowing if you can keep a particular species or need to release due to endangered and threatened species concerns or to keep within bag limits. Many rockfish species can look similar and even the same species can have slight color variations. It is the angler’s responsibility to correctly identify any retained fish. There are many resources available to help anglers identify rockfish:

• Printable ID sheets of common groundfish species by region
• West Coast Fish ID App (Android or iOS)
• Google Lens - Google Lens can help you start the identification process. Open Google on your phone, snap a photo, and verify the results using the above identification guides.

What can you do to support sustainable California rockfish fishing?

• Report your caught and released fish to the dockside or onboard CDFW samplers.
• Keep a trip logbook. This can also help you remember and share critical information, like the number and species of fish released, the depth you were fishing, and whether you used a descending device.
• Use a descending device whenever releasing a rockfish. If asked to share information about your catches back at the dock, please specify the use of a descending device to get the proper survival credit.
• Volunteer your expert angling abilities on a California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program trip.
• Attend and provide public comment at Pacific Fishery Management Council meetings or reach out to your recreational fisheries representatives on advisory bodies.
• Get involved in local fishing organizations.
• Sign up for NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Recreational Fisheries Newsletter to learn about upcoming events and opportunities.
• Connect with your local NOAA Fisheries recreational fisheries representative.

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Barotrauma and Descending Devices

Rockfish reeled up to the surface suffer from barotrauma, an injury caused when the gases inside a fish expand due to decreased pressure at the surface. Descending devices, sometimes known as recompression devices, are an effective tool to ensure survival of released rockfish. They are used to send rockfish back down to the depth and pressure they came from. This means that no fish are left for dead at the surface. With descending devices, the fish recover fully and later spawn and build the population for better fishing in the future. NOAA Fisheries has funded the distribution of over 20,000 descending devices and 70,000 rockfish identification guides over the past decade on the West Coast.

When released with a descending device, Quillback, Copper, Vermilion and Sunset rockfish, and other similar demersal rockfish species have an estimated 91% survival rate if caught and released at depths shallower than 180 feet (30 fathoms); a 70% survival rate if caught and released at depths shallower than 300 feet (50 fathoms); and a 62% survival rate if caught and released at depths shallower than 600 feet (100 fathoms).

Rockfish Research and Data Needs

Quillback rockfish

Sebastes maliger

• Improving our understanding of where recreational fishing commonly occurs (areas and depths).
• Collecting length and otoliths (fish ear bones) from recreational and commercial catches in California, when retention is permitted, to improve understanding of the population structure and biology of Quillback rockfish.
• Improving our understanding of the factors contributing to high historical catches of Quillback in the recreational fishery in 1984 and 1993 and the commercial fishery in 1991 would aid in ensuring catch time series are accurate.

Copper rockfish

Sebastes caurinus

• Additional data about fishing effort in Copper rockfish habitat across rocky reefs in California, south of the Point Conception area can provide better information to inform future assessments.
• Recreational fishery age data is limited for Copper rockfish in California waters. Establishing regular collections of otoliths from the recreational fishery would improve understanding of the population structure and biology of Copper rockfish. Anglers can help provide this information by sharing their rockfish carcasses when asked by dockside samplers or vessel crew.

Other Research Needs

• Future nearshore rockfish assessments would greatly benefit from additional scientific surveys of rocky reef areas open and closed to fishing, such as marine protected areas. This would provide a better understanding of the impact of closed areas on the abundance, population structure, and biology of Copper rockfish in California.
• Samples of female Copper rockfish during the spawning season could provide additional understanding about maturity and fecundity.
• Genetic research on Copper rockfish would provide needed information about the movement of larvae and juvenile fish across California.

Vermilion rockfish

Sebastes miniatus

• Establishing regular collections of otoliths from the recreational fishery would improve understanding of the population structure and biology of Vermilion and Sunset rockfish.
• Continue and expand the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program to collect scientific data on fish living in and near marine protected areas.
• Continue and expand the NOAA Fisheries hook-and-line rocky reef survey conducted in southern California, which is an important and informative source of data to inform stock assessments.

Contact Us!

Contact your local recreational fisheries representative for more information