Hawaii and California Fisheries

Extreme Ups, Downs for California and Hawaii Fisheries

California and Hawaii’s commercial fishing industries saw substantial activity—both good and bad—in 2023, and this year looks to be another mixed bag. The Golden and Aloha states saw dramatic fishery closures, overfished species and management changes, a new fishery aimed at improving West Coast access to a sought-after species and some important wins and losses on catch limits and fishing agreements. Read on for a recap of some of the more notable season closures, new regulations and fishery changes. California There was a lot of big news for commercial fisheries last year, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Marine Regional Manager Craig Shuman said in the department’s annual “By the Numbers” report. He called 2023 “a year of extremes.” Most notably, on April 6 of last year...

Hawaii and California Commercial Fisheries: A Status Update

The commercial fisheries of Hawaii and California may not be quite as active or receive as much media coverage as those in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, but that doesn’t mean that they are stagnant. In fact, fisheries in both the Aloha State and Golden State have had plenty of activity over the past year. This article provides a roundup and update of what’s been happening with the Hawaii and California commercial fishing industries over the past several months, and a preview of what could be on the horizon. Restricted Bottomfish Areas Reopen On Feb. 25, Hawaii’s Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) approved the re-opening of eight Bottomfish Restricted Fishing Areas (BFRA) that had been closed to fishing since 2007. The re-openings were effective immediately. The approval f...

Regional Report: Hawaii and California Commercial Fisheries

Recent data shows commercial fisheries in Hawaii and California are healthy, while officials support projects focused on conservation, sustainability and access to more abundant stocks. The Golden and Aloha states, though also facing challenges related to COVID-19, were able to remain stable. NOAA Fisheries did report declines in the U.S. fishing and seafood industry as a result of the pandemic, with a return to normal unlikely to be imminent. HAWAII Economic conditions were challenging as demand dropped during the first year of the pandemic. But it has since rebounded as travel and the broader economy begin to stablilize, said Brett Schumacher of the Sustainable Fisheries Division for NOAA Fisheries’ Pacific Islands Region Office (PIRO) in an email. In Hawaii, COVID-19 presented cha...