Changes In Size Composition And Relative Abundance Of Fishes In Central California After A Decade Of Spatial Fishing Closures

Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs) were implemented in 2000 to 2003 along the West Coast of the United States to reduce fishing mortality on rockfish (Sebastes spp.) and other groundfish species that had recently been declared overfished. In 2012, we initiated a study to compare recent catch rates, species compositions and length frequencies of fishes inside and outside the RCAs with data collected in central California between 1995 and 1998. At all sites surveyed, total catch rates from the new surveys (2012-14) were significantly higher than catch rates from before RCA implementation (1995-98). The majority of the differences were due to the increased relative abundance of yellowtail rockfish (Sebastes flavidus), although other species, including the overfished canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger), also increased. Differences in the size composition of species between the two time periods reflected both the increased survival of older fishes and higher recruitment success in the past decade.