Reducing bycatch of yelloweye rockfish
Oregon's recreational fisheries for Pacific halibut and bottomfish are constrained by bycatch of yelloweye rockfish, an overfished species. Many of the regulations on these fisheries exist to keep bycatch of yelloweye rockfish within sustainable limits, in order to help the stock recover (for example, depth restrictions in the bottomfish fishery, and no lingcod or rockfish during all-depth halibut days). ODFW encourages anglers to reduce impacts by using descending devices to release yelloweye rockfish, and better yet, to avoid areas where they might be caught.
Just for the halibut: fish soft bottom areas for lower yelloweye rockfish bycatch
Bycatch of yelloweye rockfish is high during the all-depth halibut fisheries because many of the popular halibut fishing spots occur on or near the deep water rocky reefs where yelloweye rockfish reside. This includes the Bandon High Spot, Heceta Bank, Stonewall Bank (a.k.a. "Rockpile"), Chicken Ranch, Nelson Island, Daisy Bank, and others. Since bycatch rates of yelloweye rockfish in these rocky areas are approximately 10-20 times greater than in soft bottom halibut spots (such as Garibaldi's Halibut Hill, Banana Bank, off the Yaquina Head Lighthouse), yelloweye rockfish bycatch in the recreational halibut fishery could be reduced if anglers shifted their efforts more toward soft bottom fishing grounds.
Recommended halibut fishing grounds with low yelloweye rockfish bycatch
This map shows several soft bottom halibut grounds located off of Newport on the Central Oregon Coast. Sport halibut anglers can target these spots to reduce bycatch of yelloweye rockfish while maintaining a good chance of success for halibut. Areas with good halibut catch rates and low yelloweye rockfish bycatch other than those shown on the map may exist, and anglers are encouraged to share this information within the recreational halibut fishing community.
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