Writer
Seafood Watch Program, Monterey Bay Aquarium
Fish
The
toothfish, popularly known as the Chilean Sea Bass, grows slowly in the
deep, cold waters surrounding Antarctica. It is a relatively new import
to the United States and Japan, but it reaches the ideal size for fisherman
before it sexually matures. Additionally, the industry catches toothfish
very efficiently using long lines with baited hooks that also attract
and kill the endangered wandering albatross. Although there is much voluntary
international cooperation to guard against the loss of more seabirds,
the unabated illegal fishing of toothfish still threatens to deplete the
fragile population beyond its ability to recover.
The
halibut hides on the soft bottom of the coastal seafloor off Western North
America, usually with just its eyes and mouth sticking out. They are far
more active when eating, however, even swimming amongst schools of anchovies,
a time when most sport fishermen catch halibut. Most of the commercial
fishing takes place in Alaska and Canada, and there has been a great deal
of cooperation in the last decade on how to fish for halibut without affecting
its ability to recover. These fisherman use lines called "skates" that
rest on the sea floor, baited with the many kinds of fish halibut likes
to eat, especially anchovies and even octopus. Because of the international
attention and limits to the overall yield of halibut, scientists consider
the fishery to be "well-managed" and an example to follow.
The
next time you choose red snapper as your entrée, you may be enjoying
one of 15 species of rockfish from the 60 that inhabit the U.S. West Coast.
They grow slowly on the rocky seafloor, both shallow and deep, and to
fit your plate, commercial fisherman catch them at immature sizes, often
by scraping the sea bottom. Decades of overfishing finally peaked in the
1980's, resulting in a federally declared "fishery disaster" and newly
formed regulations meant to bring the rockfish back to sustainable populations.
The
dolphinfish is known by many names throughout the world's oceans, but
you'll see the Hawaiian name "mahi mahi" on your restaurant menu. It's
a beautiful and acrobatic fish to see in the water and a very popular
recreational fish to catch. It grows and matures quite quickly, so it
could probably sustain the increased interest from commercial fisherman,
especially those using long lines to catch other fish whose stocks are
becoming depleted. We hope the attention leads to new fishery research
showing the mahi mahi is indeed abundant and widespread.
Abalone
is merely a large marine snail, but its tender meat has long been a delicacy
around the Pacific. You'll find them wild along the coasts of North American,
Japan, China, New Zealand and Chile. Because of 50 years of overfishing,
however, you'll also find abalone farms along those coasts, especially
China and Tawain, trying to meet the high demand while balancing the consumption
of harvested kelp, the abalone's main food source. Along with disease
and unregulation worldwide, the paucity of farms in California means poaching
is still widespread.
Like
the toothfish (i.e. Chilean Sea Bass), commercial fishermen catch swordfish
very efficiently with long lines, so their numbers have dwindled since
the 1970's. By-catch is another problem, with Pacific sea turtles being
the biggest loser. There are now federal limits to the amount of swordfish
caught, but the worldwide industry still threatens the overall stock.
The trend in the north Atlantic is improving, but the fishery is still
sensitive to overfishing. The Pacific is less understood and may be sustainable,
but the amount of by-catch still threatens the industry.
From Monterey Bay to Oregon, wild striped bass spawn along coastal rivers, and most are found hanging around the San Francisco Bay and the Delta. The species is native to the East Coast but took to the region quickly when introduced in the late 19th century. Commercial fishing of striped bass in California stopped in the 1930's, but low water flow in the Delta from the transport of fresh water to the south has resulted in a declining population. The population in the Western Atlantic, however, is considered healthy and not overfished.
Striped Bass (farmed)
Farmed
striped bass is actually a hybrid between wild striped bass and white
bass. The most common commercial systems are ponds and tanks, the latter
found mostly in California. Most bass farms are inland, so ocean pollution
from the discharge of the water is not a factor. Neither is disease or
genetic risk to wild populations, since there are no wild hybrid striped
bass. Overall, the environment for farmed wild striped bass makes for
a "clean" fishery.
Fishing Gear
Pelagic Longlining targets fish close to the sea surface, like swordfish and tuna. Using monofilament or nylon lines with baited hooks, fisherman set up to 50 miles of lines that dangle below floats. After a day of "soaking," fishermen return to haul the thousands of hooks aboard their vessel. An entire trip can last from several days to weeks. Bottom Longlining targets fish closer to the seafloor, like cod and snapper. The end of the braided nylon line lies anchored on the bottom, and fishermen will soak several lines for a few hours before returning in the evening.
The most common method of fishing, especially in New England, is to drag a sock-shaped net behind a boat. With a wide opening mouth and narrow end, fishermen haul in the mid-water (pelagic trawling) or along the seafloor (bottom trawling) to catch high quantities of fish. Pelagic trawling catches smaller fish, usually in schools; bottom trawling scrapes the bottom with chains, "tickling" the fish into the net above.
A purse sein looks like an underwater bowl, encircling a school of fish. Fishermen work with aircraft to spot the schools and then pay out the net in a circle with floating buoys. The bottom of the net has a purse string that the crew can pull closed, like a stuff sack. Then the fish are either hauled aboard or pumped out. Fishermen have traditionally used this method to capture low-value fish, like herring and mackerel, but the gear is good for catching tuna as well.
Trolling involves dragging hooked and baited lines from poles behind a vessel. Fishermen will use a variety of weights and even artificial bait (lures) to attract different fish at different depths. They first try to locate schools of bait-fish then wait for the target fish to follow, sometimes for hours. Depending upon the size, hauling the fish aboard takes patience as well. Small fish can be several hundred pounds and can put up quite a fight before being worn down.
Pole and line fishing relies first upon throwing bait in the water (chumming), causing a feeding frenzy near the boat. Many of these "bait boats" will spray and splash the water surface as well, tricking fish into thinking there is even more feeding going on. For the next five to ten minutes, fisherman with long poles and very short hooked lines catch and yank the fish out of the water and overhead. A slight jerk unhooks the fish, and it drops to the deck of the vessel.
A gillnet is an invisible curtain that hangs above areas where groundfish swim about. The space in the net is big enough for the head of the fish, but not the body. As the fish startles and backs out, its gills get caught in the net. It hangs there suspended but otherwise alive for 12-24 hours before the fisherman hauls the gill net aboard. Because these nets are non-selective and result in a lot of bycatch, many states ban gill nets, including California.
Traps are baited cages used to attract fish, like tuna, or crustaceans, like crab or lobster. Pots are a type of trap made of wire or wood with an entrance, a "kitchen" where the bait rest, and a "palor" where smaller crustaceans can escape from vents. Lobster fishermen will layout their pots in a trawl, with 15-20 traps tied together in a row. After three to four days, they haul their pots aboard but return those lobsters either too small or too large.
Fishermen known as strickers will use a 10-14 foot aluminum harpoon to spear bluefin tuna or swordfish. Their vessel gets fitted with a pulpit that extends up to 40 feet from the bow. A captain will use spotter planes and angle his boat against the sun so the stricker can get a clear shot. Once hit, the fish will play out on a line hundreds of feet long. Harpooners return to dock the same day to yield high prices for their catch.
