Quillback Rockfish Retention Officially Prohibited Statewide

By: LOG STAFF

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that as of Aug. 7, custody of quillback rock sh (Sebastes manager) is prohibited statewide in recreational and commercial sheries, e ective immediately.

The CDFW is projecting that the combined recreational and commercial take of quillback rock sh will exceed the harvest limits speci ed in federal regulation for 2023, and in-season action must occur to reduce the risk of over shing. According to California Code of Regulations Title 14, section 27.20(e), when federal harvest limits are projected to be surpassed, the CDFW has the authority to make in-season adjustments, including bag and sub-bag limits.

The 2021 stock assessment for quillback rock sh o California indicated severe population declines. As a result, a recreational one- sh limit and reduced commercial limits were implemented in 2022 to minimize catch. Further constraints to the ground sh seasons for 2023 have yet to su ciently reduce yield for quillback rock sh to meet federal harvest guidelines.

The CDFW has announced it urges anglers to use best shing practices to reduce impacts on quillback rock sh and other prohibited species. These include reducing mortality when releasing sh by utilizing a descending device (as discussed in the Log’s Aug. 4-17 edition) and relocating to di erent shing grounds or switching targets if you are catching and releasing quillback rock sh or other prohibited species.

The Rock sh, Cabezon, Greenling (RCG) complex bag and possession limit will remain ten sh daily, with a one- sh sub-bag limit for copper rock sh and a four- sh sub-bag limit for vermilion rock sh. Along with quillback rock sh, the take of bronze spotted rock sh, cowcod, and yelloweye rock sh continue to be prohibited year-round at all depths.

The CDFW has prepared informational yers to distinguish quillback rock sh from similar-looking species, such as China and black-and-yellow rocksh, to better assist anglers with identifying rock sh species while shing. Additional sh identi cation materials on rock sh and other species can be found on CDFW›s Fish and Shell sh Identication page.

The CDFW continues monitoring ground sh species of concern, such as quillback rock sh. Suppose the current in-season change prohibiting the take of quillback rock sh needs to be revised to reduce harvest. In that case, further in-season actions, such as adjustments to the season dates and depth constraints, may be implemented.

Anglers are urged to reduce the catch of quillback rock sh and other prohibited species to decrease the possibility of further in-season actions in 2023 and beyond. The CDFW recommends anglers review the Summary of Recreational Ground sh Fishing Regulations page before each trip to guarantee that they are current on the most recent groundsh regulations.

For information on ground sh shery science, management, and other questions, visit CDFW’s Marine Region Ground sh page.