Decisions looming at upcoming PFMC meeting

If you have any interest whatsoever in the future of our rockfish and Pacific halibut fisheries, your voice and opinion has never been more important than right now. At the upcoming November 3 Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) meeting, public comments provided by those affected by closures and limited seasons will go a long way in the future and management of our fisheries. Let’s start with Pacific halibut. At the meeting, or shortly after, a decision will be made regarding California’s share of the recreational Pacific halibut quota. Our share of the Catch Share Plan for area 2A, which includes Washington and Oregon, sits at 4 percent of a 1.5-million-pound quota. With a lot of hard work done through various organizations, we now have a window of opportunity to receive a little bigger piece of the pie. On the table are four options; no changes, 1 percent increase, 1.5 percent increase, and a 3 percent increase. It may not sound like much, but any of these 3 options will almost certainly extend our season. And with the current state of rockfish, salmon and crab, we need this if we want to keep our fishing community and businesses afloat. It’s important that we get as many comments as possible into record to enhance the chances of receiving the largest share possible. Comments can be made under the Pacific Halibut Management heading at https://pfmc.psmfc.org/Meeting/Details/3015.

The nearshore rockfish closure that took effect on Aug. 21 was a devastating blow to anglers and has had a huge ripple effect on charter boats, bait and tackle shops, restaurants, hotels, and every other entity who benefits from this fishery. The closure was due in large part to the declining population of quillback and copper rockfish. It was reportedly known since 2021 that both of these species were being overfished. Reduced bag limits and an unofficial effort to get the word out by those who knew the populations were in trouble couldn’t turn the tide, and CDFW ultimately had to pull the plug on the entire nearshore fishery in the Northern Management Area. This is where our public comments will come into play. At the PFMC meeting, no decisions will be made on what the next few years will look like, but they will put stock in the validity and volume of comments we provide. Public comments can be put into record under the Groundfish Management heading at https://pfmc.psmfc.org/Meeting/Details/3015.

The E-Portal comment area opened on Sept. 26 and will close at 5 p.m. PT on Oct. 30. Comments received between Sept. 26 and Oct. 12 by 5 p.m. PT will go live on Oct. 13 when Briefing Book materials are posted. Comments received between 10/13 and 10/30 will be viewable upon approval and no later than the start of the Council meeting.

You can sign up for oral testimony beginning at 8 a.m. on November 3. The sign-up window will remain open until the public comment section of each agenda is reached, at which point they will be closed. You may attach written comments to support your oral testimony, but they will not be visible until after public comment has ended.  If you wish to have a PowerPoint Presentation please sign up for comment and email the presentation to kris.kleinschmidt@noaa.gov and sandra.mondal@noaa.gov and see a confirmation email your submission was received.

Instructions to join the meeting online and view the proposed agenda can be found at www.pcouncil.org/documents/2023/09/november-2023-council-meeting-agenda-and-meeting-notice.pdf/

The meeting is being held at Hyatt Regency Orange County 11999 Harbor Blvd., Garden Grove, CA 92840

Weekend marine forecast
Wind and seas will begin to come down Friday, and we’re looking at a pretty good forecast for the weekend. As of Thursday, Friday’s forecast is calling for winds out of the west up to 5 knots with northwest waves 3 feet at seven seconds and west 3 feet at 12 seconds. Saturday, winds will be out of the southwest up to 5 knots with north waves 2 feet or less. Sunday, winds will be 5 to 10 knots out of the south with north waves 2 feet or less. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka/ or https://www.windy.com. You can also call the National Weather Service at (707) 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at (707) 443-6484.

The Oceans:
Eureka
According to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, ocean conditions this week kept boats tied to the dock. “Conditions later in the week and through the weekend look excellent and will allow boats to target rockfish in the deeper water,” said Klassen. “It doesn’t look like tuna will be an option this weekend due to the water breaking up.”

Shelter Cove
The weather this week kept the entire fleet off the water reports Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “We have a decent stretch of weather through the weekend so we’ll be able to get back to the deep water for rockfish,” said Mitchell. “There’s warm water about 30 miles out, so I’m sure there will be boats trying for tuna.”

Crescent City
According to Britt Carson of Crescent City’s Englund Marine, there’s been a little effort by anglers targeting deep-water rockfish. “From what I’ve heard, the fishing hasn’t been very good,” said Carson. “We have good ocean conditions this weekend, so I expect there will be some anglers trying for redtail perch. The tuna water has pushed out, so that’s not really an option at the moment.”

Brookings
Ocean anglers will get a break in the rough weather Friday and Saturday out of Brookings reports Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “Halibut season remains open through the end of the month,” said Martin. “Crab season closes Oct. 15. Lingcod and rockfish are open year-round. Halibut fishing was good prior to the latest stormy weather.”

North Coast river closures
All North Coast rivers subjected to low flow fishing closures, including the Eel, Mad, Redwood Creek, Smith, and Van Duzen were closed to fishing. The Department of Fish and Game will make the information available to the public by a telephone recorded message updated, as necessary, no later than 1 p.m. each Monday, Wednesday and Friday as to whether any stream will be closed to fishing. The rivers can be opened up at any time. The low flow closure hotline for North Coast rivers is 707-822-3164. NOTE: The main stem Eel from the South Fork to Cape Horn Dam, the Mad River from the mouth to 200 yards upstream and the Mattole River will be closed until January 1, 2024.

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
Fishing was decent last weekend, with a mix of adult kings and jacks spread throughout the river. The mouth reportedly sanded over earlier this week, which will make fishing a lot tougher for the weekend. A reminder that there is a zero bag limit for salmon. The daily bag limit for hatchery steelhead is two per day on both the Klamath and Trinity rivers, with a possession limit of four. Anglers must have a Steelhead Fishing Report and Restoration Card in their possession while fishing for steelhead trout in anadromous waters. For more information, visit nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=202686&inline

Chetco
Salmon fishing has been good in the Chetco estuary according to Martin. “Kings are also are being caught in the tidewater areas, where the river is under bobber-only regulations, meaning a bobber must be used and baits must be suspended off the bottom. In the estuary, trolling anchovies behind 360 flashers is accounting for most of the catches, with kings up to 40 pounds. The first half of the outgoing tide is fishing best. Roe and sand shrimp is working for bobber fishermen upriver. Big rains are expected next week.”

Kenny Priest operates Fishing the North Coast, a fishing guide service out of Humboldt specializing in salmon and steelhead. Find it on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and fishingthenorthcoast.com. For up-to-date fishing reports and North Coast river information, email kenny@fishingthenorthcoast.com.