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About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 2021)
A2 THE BULLETIN • MONDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2021 The Bulletin LOCAL, STATE & REGION How to reach us An example of fishery management under climate change: CIRCULATION Didn’t receive your paper? Start or stop subscription? 541-385-5800 PHONE HOURS 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-11 a.m. Saturday-Sunday and holidays GENERAL INFORMATION THE SHORTBELLY ROCKFISH 541-382-1811 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri. ONLINE www.bendbulletin.com EMAIL bulletin@bendbulletin.com AFTER HOURS Newsroom ................................541-383-0348 Circulation ................................541-385-5800 NEWSROOM EMAIL Business ........business@bendbulletin.com City Desk .............news@bendbulletin.com Features.................................................................. communitylife@bendbulletin.com Sports ................. sports@bendbulletin.com NEWSROOM FAX 541-385-5804 OUR ADDRESS Street .............. 320 SW Upper Terrace Drive Suite 200 Bend, OR 97702 Mailing ........... P.O. 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They may not be reproduced without explicit prior approval. “The question really becomes are we prepared with our management to lose species?” BY KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Astorian A small, spiny fish no one wants to catch has started to appear in trawl nets off the Ore- gon Coast. Shortbelly rockfish are com- mon off California but were rare in Oregon until recently. Boosted by several strong re- productive years, their appar- ent expansion into new ter- ritory triggered a discussion among West Coast fishery reg- ulators and raised concerns for conservation groups. It has also provided a work- ing example of exactly how tricky it could be to manage fisheries as species and ocean conditions shift under climate change. Shortbelly rockfish — a rel- atively shorter-lived type of groundfish that travels in large schools — has little market value. It has been decades since anyone even seemed interested in developing a fishery around them and they are not in dan- ger of being overfished, state biologists say. When the shortbelly rock- fish is caught by accident in other fisheries, its only com- mercial use is as fishmeal or fish oil, products made from fish byproducts, low- value fish and fishery bycatch that are used as fertilizers and ani- mal feed and in aqua- culture. But shortbelly rockfish is a critical source of food for many seabirds, which face challenging overall population declines, as well as for Chinook salmon and other marine species. The shortbelly’s expansion north puts them in the path of the state’s midwater trawl fisheries. The Pacific whiting fishery began to record increased encounters with shortbelly rockfish begin- ning in 2017. Most tows that snag short- belly may only land around 10 pounds of the rockfish, but every once in a while there will be a big tow — a light- ning strike — of over 100,000 pounds. Triggered a review The rising number of short- belly landings triggered a re- view by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. The council, which recom- mends fishery management measures in federal waters off California, Oregon and Wash- ington state, took several in- terim steps in 2019 and 2020 to protect the fish. They raised the annual catch limit and des- ignated the rockfish as an eco- system component species, a title that recognizes shortbel- ly’s value in the ecosystem as a forage fish but does not come with specific fishery manage- ment measures. Conservation groups argued that more proactive protection was needed. The Audubon Society and Oceana urged for a prohibition that would prevent the creation of a fishery targeting shortbelly rockfish. Right now, shortbelly is nearly useless to fishermen. Vessels in the Pacific whiting fishery actively try to avoid them. When a vessel does hit a school of shortbelly, the spiny fish tangle in the net, creating frustrating work for crew and sometimes damaging more valuable fish around them. But as interest in aquacul- ture opportunities and demand for fishmeal and fish oil grows, conservation groups worry about what the future could hold. In November, the council further limited catch of the fish — Caren Braby, marine program manager with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Keri Barber/NOAA Fisheries Vessels in the Pacific whiting, or hake, fishery snag other species in their nets, including, occasionally, a chili- pepper rockfish. Shortbelly rockfish, rarely seen in Oregon but abundant in California, have also started showing up in whiting landings — frequently enough and in large enough amounts to raise concerns. NOAA Fisheries Recent discussions around shortbelly rockfish highlight some of the challenges states could face when it comes to regulating fisheries under climate change. and could consider examin- ing a prohibition on a directed fishery for shortbelly next year. It’s a partial win, said Joe Li- ebezeit, a scientist and avian conservation manager for Portland Audubon. Anna Weinstein, the direc- tor of marine conservation with the National Audubon Society, agrees. She said the council’s ac- tion provides some truly mean- ingful safeguards and breaks. But in light of climate change, “It’s just more import- ant than ever to be proactive about the foundation of the food chain that supports all the species we care about,” Wein- stein said. The council does not want to see targeted fishing on short- belly rockfish either. However, a prohibition takes work and would require extensive anal- ysis of data, some of which is not readily available for short- belly. There has not been a stock assessment of the fish since 2007. “It seems like we should just be able to say, ‘Thou shalt not go out and target shortbelly rockfish,’” said Maggie Som- mer, with the Oregon Depart- ment of Fish and Wildlife, and a Pacific Fishery Management Council member. It’s not that easy. Fishery managers need to be clear ❝ Makenna Cervelli C: 425-622-3186 P: 541-633-2184 mCervelli@bendbulletin.com about what they are requiring and what they are enforcing. They need to understand how changing management for one species might impact and im- pede other fisheries. It isn’t clear yet why shortbelly rockfish are so abundant off the Oregon Coast now — though warmer ocean waters associated with a marine heat wave that began in 2015 are likely a factor. What is obvious is that short- belly rockfish have experienced several very good reproductive years and expanded north of their historical range. Caren Braby, the marine program manager with the Or- egon Department of Fish and Wildlife, has been involved in council discussions about var- ious climate change scenarios for West Coast fisheries. With shortbelly, she sees parallels to Oregon’s emerging market squid fishery. Landings of market squid surged off Oregon in the past five years after decades of be- ing almost nonexistent. Boats that fish for the squid in the animals’ more typical range off the California coast have headed north to take advan- tage of the boom. The situation caught regula- tors off guard. Oregon had no established quota and no set sea- son for market squid. Suddenly, as landings continued to come in strong and the number of participating vessels increased, fishery managers needed to discuss a whole new suite of management details. As with shortbelly, there are gaps in the data and uncertainty about how new man- agement could im- pact fisheries or ben- efit the animals in question. Dilemma It is the kind of dilemma council members like Braby expect to see more of under climate change and it further highlights the need to be nim- ble and flexible, she said. With climate change and shifting ocean conditions, some species will thrive and others will fail. Many are expected to move into new areas. There is one really easy ques- tion, Braby says: “Are we going to see new species emerge in our landings?” “And the answer,” she said, “is, ‘Certainly.’ This is an ex- ample.” “So the question really be- comes are we prepared with our management to lose spe- cies?” she added. “Are we pre- pared with our management to gain species? And the answer is, ‘Not yet,’ but we’re thinking really hard about it.” We have had great results with Whiteboard Media’s digital marketing program. I have a quarterly meeting with Makenna Cervelli, where she covers everything in detail and helps me make any adjustments. She is very thorough and helpful. 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