Coast groundfish fisheries Unit 15

The Pacific Coast groundfish fishery is conducted along the entire coastline of Washington, Oregon, and California, and includes a diverse range of habitats, species, and participants. The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (PFMC) Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) contains more than 90 species organized into several sub-fisheries, including 1) the Dover sole, thornyheads, and sablefish (DTS) complex; 2) nearshore rockfishes, lingcod, and cabezon; 3) shelf and slope rockfishes; 4) flatfishes; and 5) Pacific hake (whiting). Many of the stocks included in the FMP have geographic ranges that extend beyond the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) into Canadian or Mexican waters. The fishery has four general sectors: commercial limited-entry, comPhoto above: Yelloweye rockfish. N W FS C , F R A M D iv is io n