May 20, 2016 by Michelle Ma
Along the West Coast, lingcod
fish are top predators—voracious eaters that aren't picky about where their
next meal comes from.
But lingcod in the Pacific Ocean
used to be overfished, to the point where managers created protected areas for
these fish and other depleted groundfish species, such as yelloweye and canary
rockfish.
Lingcod have recovered well with
commercial and recreational fishing restrictions and closures, called rockfish conservation areas, and now
are benefitting from these "safe zones" where they can escape the net
of a fisherman. Alternatively, some rockfish species also designated as
overfished haven't yet recovered, even with vast fishing closures.
Scientists at the University of
Washington together with The Nature Conservancy and West Coast fishermen are
hoping to find a win-win solution to this imbalance. Specifically, the UW
looked at whether fishing for lingcod in closed areas using an innovative
approach could still allow sensitive species to continue recovering. Their
study, published this month in the ICES Journal of Marine Science, found
that selectively fishing for lingcod in protected areas actually avoided
hampering the recovery of other fish, including rockfish species listed as
overfished.
"If we can use our specific
knowledge of the ecosystem, we might be able to manage these conservation areas
a bit more creatively—and hopefully benefit both the fishing and fish
communities," said lead author Kiva Oken, a UW doctoral student in
quantitative ecology and resource management.
This is an example of the new
lingcod fishing gear. The two 'wings' guide fish into tunnels that lead into
the main chamber. A grid resembling a tic-tac-toe board keeps large flat fish
(like halibut) out, while letting lingcod in. If other …more
"I don't think this paper
means we should start fishing for lingcod right away. This is a case study that
exemplifies that if we think with a system-wide perspective and we're creative,
we might be able to benefit multiple groups."
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