Pacific Fishery Management Council News

West Coast groundfish fleet sees higher revenue, lower bycatch in catch shares’ first year. West Coast commercial fishermen who trawl for whiting and other valuable groundfish saw their revenues and efficiency increase substantially over the last year under a new fishery management system known as catch shares, according to preliminary data from NOAA’s Fisheries Service. Gross revenues increased in 2011 compared to the five-year average for the West Coast groundfish fleet, which targets either whiting or other groundfish.