Inverse regional responses to climate change and fishing intensity by the recreational rockfish (Sebastes spp.) fishery in California

Abstract

The interactive effects of ocean climate and fishing pressure on nearshore rockfishes (Sebastes spp.) were examined using historical commercial passenger fishing vessel catch records from California. Principal component analysis was used to characterize the dominant patterns in catch per unit effort (CPUE) over time (1957–1999) and space (10′ latitude × 10′ longitude blocks). Ocean climate explained 60% of the variation in CPUE and revealed opposite responses in northern and southern California. In warm El Niño years, CPUE was 4.2 times higher in the north and 1.8 times lower in the south. CPUE responded similarly to low-frequency climate shifts by increasing in the north and decreasing in the south after 1976–1977. Four geographic regions responded as discrete units to environmental forcing and fishing intensity: North, Central, South, and Channel Islands. Over time, annual fish landings declined sharply in the South, with fishing effort remaining stationary and high relative to that in the other regions. In the North, landings and fishing effort remained tightly coupled, with effort an order of magnitude lower than in the South. These findings support a management strategy for nearshore rockfishes in California based on regional responses to ocean climate and fishing intensity.