NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS This TM series is used for documentation and timely communication of preliminary results, interim reports, or special purpose information. The TMs have not received complete formal review, editorial control, or detailed editing. AUGUST 1998 MARINE HARVEST REFUGIA FOR WEST COAST ROCKFISH: A WORKSHOP Mary M. Yoklavich, editor Pacific Fisheries Environmental Laboratory Southwest Fisheries Science Center 1352 Lighthouse Avenue Pacific Grove, California 93950-2097 NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFSC-255 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE William M. Daley, Secretary National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration D. James Baker, Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere National Marine Fisheries Service Rolland A. Schmitten, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries MARINE HARVEST REFUGIA FOR WEST COAST ROCKFISH A Workshop TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents …………………………………………………………………….. iii Marine Harvest Refugia for West Coast Rockfish: An Introduction to the Workshop Mary M. Yoklavich …………………………………………………………….. 1 The Status of Federally Managed Rockfish on the U.S. West Coast Stephen Ralston ………………………………………………………………… 6 Experimental Rockfish Management and Implications for Rockfish Harvest Refugia Bruce M. Leaman ………………………………………………………….…… 17 Concepts Relevant to the Design and Evaluation of Fishery Reserves Mark H. Carr and Peter T. Raimondi …………………………………………. 27 Design Criteria for Rockfish Harvest Refugia from Models of Fish Transport Joshua Sladek Nowlis and Mary M. Yoklavich ……………………………….. 32 The Influence of Larval Transport and Retention on Recruitment Patterns and the Design of Harvest Refugia for Rockfish Lance E. Morgan and Louis W. Botsford ……………………………………… 41 Design Principles for Rockfish Reserves on the U.S. West Coast Richard M. Starr ………………………………………………………………… 50 Monitoring the Response of Rockfishes to Protected Areas Wayne A. Palsson ………………………………………………………………. 64 The Role of Law Enforcement in the Creation and Management of Marine Reserves Eugene Proulx ………………………………………………………………….. 74 Evaluating Marine Harvest Refugia: An Economic Perspecitve Cynthia Thomson ……………………………………………………………….. 78 Marine Harvest Refugia: An International Policy Perspective Thomas F. Hourigan …………………………………………………………….. 84 Marine Reserves: An Environmentalist’s Perspective Rodney Fujita ……………………………………………………………………. 86 iii Case Studies Marine Reserves: Lessons from Florida James Bohnsack …………………………………………………………………… 89 Stakeholder Group Perceptions of Marine Reserves in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Daniel Suman …………………………………………………………………….. 100 Trials and Tribulations of Attempting to Establish an Experimental Deep-Water No-Fishing Zone in a National Marine Sanctuary Peter J. Auster …………………………………………………………………….. 113 Closed Areas to Manage Rockfishes in the Gulf of Alaska Sung Kwon Soh, Donald R. Gunderson and Daniel H. Ito ………………………. 118 The Use of a No-Take Marine Reserve in the Eastern Gulf of Alaska to Protect Essential Fish Habitat Victoria O’Connell, W. Waldo Wakefield and H. Gary Greene …………………. 125 Restrictions on Rockfish Fishing in Existing California Marine Protected Areas Deborah McArdle ………………………………………………………………… 133 Working Groups Introduction …………………………………………………………………………….. 137 Working Group Reports: I. Fishery Management Considerations …………………………………………….. 138 II. Science-based Design Considerations ………………………………………….… 143 III. Socio-economic Considerations and Implementation ……………………………. 149 Consolidated Recommendations of the Working Groups ………………………….….. 154 Suggested Research ……………………………………………………………………. 155 Epilog A Call for Change in Managing Our Rockfish Resources Donald Gunderson ………………………………..…………………………………… 156 Rockfish Refugia Ed Ueber ………………………………………………………………………….. 157 Appendix 1. Workshop Participants …………………………………………………… 158 iv Marine Harvest Refugia For West Coast Rockfish: A Workshop 1 Marine Harvest Refugia for West Coast Rockfish: An Introduction to the Workshop Mary M. Yoklavich, NMFS, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Pacific Fisheries Environmental Lab, Pacific Grove, CA “The initial opportunity to take advantage of the unique life-history features of rockfishes has been missed. Many stocks of rockfishes have undergone severe depletion, and we have seen few, if any, results of management actions. A concerted effort is now required to reverse the process of depletion and generate management and monitoring programs more appropriate to the biology of these species.” B.M. Leaman (1991) Our multi-species rockfish (Sebastes northwest (Ianelli et al. 1995). New stock spp.) resources have been among the most assessments indicate significant declines (i.e. economically valuable commercial and at or below 20% of that estimated in 1970) in recreational fisheries along the west coast of biomass for three other rockfish species as North America for the last two decades. well (Ralston 1998). Bocaccio rockfishes Historically they represent a mainstay of recently have been considered a candidate for many coastal communities. For instance, IUCN's (World Conservation Union) Red List many of the 59 species of rockfish in of "critically endangered" species. While California waters have been commercially these declines likely are due to natural harvested from as early as 1875 (Phillips variability in the marine environment and 1957, Lenarz 1987). Various types of gear resultant survival of young fish, as well as have been used (e.g. hook and line, gill net, and overexploitation, it is clear that traditional trawl), but trawling with large mid-water and management efforts alone are not successfully bottom nets has yielded the largest catches of protecting and sustaining coastal rockfish rockfishes. Several stocks of rockfish have resources. been the target of intense fishing pressure Rockfishes are tremendously diverse from both domestic and foreign trawl fleets (about 102 species worldwide and at least 72 since trawl gear was introduced in the 1950s. species in the northeastern Pacific [Kendall After rockfish landings peaked 1991]), and can dominate coastal benthic dramatically in the mid-1970s to mid-1980s, habitats from subtidal kelp forests to rock exploitation rates have remained high and outcrops in submarine canyons at depths population biomass and size composition greater than 300 m. Many species of have decreased alarmingly for many individual rockfishes are slow-growing, long-lived (50- species, and indeed for rockfish populations 140 yrs; Archibald et al. 1981), and mature at in general. Following overfishing in the older ages (6-12 yrs; Wyllie Echeverria 1987). 1960's, there is still little sign of recovery of Survival and subsequent recruitment of young Pacific ocean perch rockfish stocks in the rockfishes vary widely from year to year 2 Marine Harvest Refugia (Ralston and Howard 1995). Because of these behavior, all of which apply to coastwide life history characteristics, as well as the rockfish stocks. sedentary and aggregating life styles of many Marine harvest refugia are being species, local stocks of rockfishes are promoted worldwide as a viable option for particularly vulnerable to overexploitation. resource managers to mitigate overfishing and As local nearshore stocks become the impacts of fishing activities to seafloor depleted, fishing fleets expand their range to habitats. Refugia potentially can conserve and greater distances from port and into deeper enhance fish populations by (1) increasing waters (Karpov et al. 1995, Mason 1995). fish abundance, size and age composition; (2) This trend is prevalent in many coastal protecting critical spawning stocks; (3) fisheries, and creates difficulties in providing multi-species protection; and (4) management based on catch statistics. providing undisturbed areas for research on Fishery managers have long thought the fishery-related problems. Aside from remote parts of the coast served as a buffer protecting and enhancing fishery resources, against overfishing, but are now concerned harvest refugia also can contribute to that fishing regulations alone may not prevent preservation and maintenance of the natural stock depletion. The most recent cause for diversity of individual species, genotypes, and concern is generated from the very effective habitats. Marine fisheries have been identified (and as yet to be managed) commercial live- as one of the most critical environmental fish fishery being conducted in very shallow threats to biodiversity (Boehlert 1996). water (often < 10 m) from small skiffs Although harvest refugia are now being launched from shore. From its inception in considered as a supplement to traditional southern and central California, this fishery resource management, their effectiveness in has grown exponentially in number of fishers fisheries management is poorly understood and vessels over the last eight years; catch of and refugia concepts, especially as they relate live rockfishes has increased four-fold during to temperate marine systems, largely are this time (T. Barnes, CA Dept. Fish and untested. Game, La Jolla, unpubl. data). This fishery A workshop, sponsored by the National continues to expand northward. Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of With increased fishing effort on stocks as Protected Resources, was convened at yet experiencing little exploitation, it becomes NOAA’s Pacific Fisheries Environmental all the more critical to evaluate the function Laboratory in Pacific Grove, California on and effectiveness of harvest refugia (aka September 17-19, 1997 to evaluate marine marine protected areas; reserves; no-take harvest