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Change is constant in our fisheries
Yellowfin still biting well
(left): Solid yellowfin tuna are still being caught, as exampled by this nice pair caught aboard the Old Glory during a 1.5-day run.
(right): The increased pressure on inshore fishing has produced some decent halibut this fall, including this fat flatty caught aboard the Daily Double.
(right): The increased pressure on inshore fishing has produced some decent halibut this fall, including this fat flatty caught aboard the Daily Double.
Dock Totals 10/27 – 11/2: 1353 anglers aboard 71 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 31 bluefin tuna (up to 90 pounds), 14 calico bass, 3 halibut, 9 lingcod, 1 mako shark, 44 rock crab, 4769 rockfish, 99 sand bass, 366 sculpin, 15 sheephead, 2 spider crab, 105 spiny lobster (312 released), 399 whitefish, 1441 yellowfin tuna (up to 90 pounds), and 55 yellowtail.
Saltwater: "The sea is the same as it has been since before men ever went on it in boats." - Ernest Hemingway. Well, that may be true in many senses, but there are always changes in weather, conditions, and migrations of the species we anglers target. With the availability of finding data, we can often see vast fluctuations in catch total year to year. For the four main landings running boats out of San Diego, Fisherman’s, Seaforth, Point Loma, and H&M, catch totals for the half-day to 3-day fleet are much different in 2024 than they were in 2023. Mind you, there are still two months left in the calendar year, but the trend for pelagic species over the past two years is observable.
Looking at each of four main species we catch through the high season, we can see a vast disparity. Bluefin tuna began the year biting well off the northern Baja coast then moved out to the banks west/southwest of San Clemente Island where the majority of those caught are now in mid fall. There was a flurry of smaller fish around the Coronado Islands about a month ago, but all in all we can say it was a good year for bluefin. That said, last year was much better, given the numbers. Total bluefin tuna caught by the four main landings in 2023 was 67,708 fish. With just two months left in 2024, the total bluefin count is 44,448 to date. Given the long run and slow pick, this year’s total will most likely be about 25% less than last year.
Yellowfin are biting well right now off the northern Baja Coast, and without counting the long-range fleet fishing south of 3-day range, the 2024 catch is at 3,308 fish to date. The low number is due to the very late developing bite this year and, even though biting well now, odds are we won’t catch much more than a quarter of the 22,711 caught in 2023 by the end of this year.
After three standout seasons, dorado have been all but absent this year, and even with the yellowfin they are usually found near finally showing up, dorado counts are very low. There were 22,861 dorado caught in 2023. This year, only 273 dorado have been caught to date and with no storms pushing warmer water north, I doubt we will see more than a few caught within 3-day range between now and the end of the year.
Yellowtail are more prevalent than the other main migrators we target within 3-day range, with many sticking around most of the year, and even some ‘homeguards’ are caught occasionally in the deadest part of late winter right off our coast here in San Diego. Unlike the tunas and dorado, yellowtail have been biting very well most of the year, and this year’s 27,807 yellowtail caught to date far surpasses the 2023 total of 15,583 fish hauled over the rail.
The takeaway from these numbers is that migratory species dependent upon water temperature can fluctuate drastically year to year for the fleet. The further south through the transition zone and into the semi tropical waters at the point where giant kelp gives way to sargasso, the more consistent for those species listed. Our endemic species, such as calico and sand bass, sheephead, sculpin, halibut, and rockfish, tend to remain more consistent year to year, and numbers are more depending on amount of time spent focusing on them, or like with rockfish, changes in regulations.
With this year’s depth restrictions on rockfish, those numbers are down a bit, while calico bass numbers are much higher. In September, rockfish were limited to boats fishing beyond the 50-fathom (300-feet) depth curve off the coast. Since that change, more short run boats have been spending time on calico and sand bass in nearshore waters that they might have on shallow water rockfish, which skews the counts while putting more pressure on species caught on the sand flats and kelp forest edges. As a result of that change in pressure, 22,441 sand bass have been caught to date in 2024, while 6,938 were caught in all of 2023. For calicos, the difference is 37,737 caught thus far this year, while last year’s total of caught and kept fish was 16,468.
Though Hemingway’s sea may be the same since before man entered it, our fisheries definitely change year to year. For our pelagic migrators, much of that is due to conditions and weather but changes in counts, especially for our endemic species, can be a result of our stewardship and adjusting regulations. Another change we can effect is in our dedication to not only preserving our fisheries, but in replenishing those we have depleted. Ongoing efforts have brought species back from the brink of disappearing altogether, such as the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute white seabass program.
Begun in 1963 with the mission statement; “To return to the sea some measure of the benefits derived from it”, the HSWRI folks have been integral in efforts to protect, preserve, monitor, and maintain our fisheries. Their white seabass program, in partnership with the Coastal Conservation Association of California, is often credited for the return of the once vastly depleted species. Since the first release of 2,000 juvenile white seabass in Mission Bay in October 1986, the white seabass hatchery and stocking program has released well over a million juvenile fish.
In taking that concept forward and with a focus on the future, the HSWRI Seabass In The Classroom program “allows students to personally grow, feed, monitor and release seabass which inspires them to become the next generation of marine scientists that will ensure a healthier planet.” We humans do affect our fisheries, and programs like those through the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and the Coastal Conservation Society help ensure a healthy marine environment for future anglers to enjoy. Those interested in learning more about the institute, volunteering, or programs offered, can contact HSWRI online or by calling 619-226-3870. Whether the beach, bay, lake, or offshore, they’re out there so go out and get ‘em!
Here's something you might be interested in.
Change is constant in our fisheries
Yellowfin still biting well
Change is constant in our fisheries
Yellowfin still biting well
(left): Solid yellowfin tuna are still being caught, as exampled by this nice pair caught aboard the Old Glory during a 1.5-day run.
(right): The increased pressure on inshore fishing has produced some decent halibut this fall, including this fat flatty caught aboard the Daily Double.
(right): The increased pressure on inshore fishing has produced some decent halibut this fall, including this fat flatty caught aboard the Daily Double.
Dock Totals 10/27 – 11/2: 1353 anglers aboard 71 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 31 bluefin tuna (up to 90 pounds), 14 calico bass, 3 halibut, 9 lingcod, 1 mako shark, 44 rock crab, 4769 rockfish, 99 sand bass, 366 sculpin, 15 sheephead, 2 spider crab, 105 spiny lobster (312 released), 399 whitefish, 1441 yellowfin tuna (up to 90 pounds), and 55 yellowtail.
Saltwater: "The sea is the same as it has been since before men ever went on it in boats." - Ernest Hemingway. Well, that may be true in many senses, but there are always changes in weather, conditions, and migrations of the species we anglers target. With the availability of finding data, we can often see vast fluctuations in catch total year to year. For the four main landings running boats out of San Diego, Fisherman’s, Seaforth, Point Loma, and H&M, catch totals for the half-day to 3-day fleet are much different in 2024 than they were in 2023. Mind you, there are still two months left in the calendar year, but the trend for pelagic species over the past two years is observable.
Looking at each of four main species we catch through the high season, we can see a vast disparity. Bluefin tuna began the year biting well off the northern Baja coast then moved out to the banks west/southwest of San Clemente Island where the majority of those caught are now in mid fall. There was a flurry of smaller fish around the Coronado Islands about a month ago, but all in all we can say it was a good year for bluefin. That said, last year was much better, given the numbers. Total bluefin tuna caught by the four main landings in 2023 was 67,708 fish. With just two months left in 2024, the total bluefin count is 44,448 to date. Given the long run and slow pick, this year’s total will most likely be about 25% less than last year.
Yellowfin are biting well right now off the northern Baja Coast, and without counting the long-range fleet fishing south of 3-day range, the 2024 catch is at 3,308 fish to date. The low number is due to the very late developing bite this year and, even though biting well now, odds are we won’t catch much more than a quarter of the 22,711 caught in 2023 by the end of this year.
After three standout seasons, dorado have been all but absent this year, and even with the yellowfin they are usually found near finally showing up, dorado counts are very low. There were 22,861 dorado caught in 2023. This year, only 273 dorado have been caught to date and with no storms pushing warmer water north, I doubt we will see more than a few caught within 3-day range between now and the end of the year.
Yellowtail are more prevalent than the other main migrators we target within 3-day range, with many sticking around most of the year, and even some ‘homeguards’ are caught occasionally in the deadest part of late winter right off our coast here in San Diego. Unlike the tunas and dorado, yellowtail have been biting very well most of the year, and this year’s 27,807 yellowtail caught to date far surpasses the 2023 total of 15,583 fish hauled over the rail.
The takeaway from these numbers is that migratory species dependent upon water temperature can fluctuate drastically year to year for the fleet. The further south through the transition zone and into the semi tropical waters at the point where giant kelp gives way to sargasso, the more consistent for those species listed. Our endemic species, such as calico and sand bass, sheephead, sculpin, halibut, and rockfish, tend to remain more consistent year to year, and numbers are more depending on amount of time spent focusing on them, or like with rockfish, changes in regulations.
With this year’s depth restrictions on rockfish, those numbers are down a bit, while calico bass numbers are much higher. In September, rockfish were limited to boats fishing beyond the 50-fathom (300-feet) depth curve off the coast. Since that change, more short run boats have been spending time on calico and sand bass in nearshore waters that they might have on shallow water rockfish, which skews the counts while putting more pressure on species caught on the sand flats and kelp forest edges. As a result of that change in pressure, 22,441 sand bass have been caught to date in 2024, while 6,938 were caught in all of 2023. For calicos, the difference is 37,737 caught thus far this year, while last year’s total of caught and kept fish was 16,468.
Though Hemingway’s sea may be the same since before man entered it, our fisheries definitely change year to year. For our pelagic migrators, much of that is due to conditions and weather but changes in counts, especially for our endemic species, can be a result of our stewardship and adjusting regulations. Another change we can effect is in our dedication to not only preserving our fisheries, but in replenishing those we have depleted. Ongoing efforts have brought species back from the brink of disappearing altogether, such as the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute white seabass program.
Begun in 1963 with the mission statement; “To return to the sea some measure of the benefits derived from it”, the HSWRI folks have been integral in efforts to protect, preserve, monitor, and maintain our fisheries. Their white seabass program, in partnership with the Coastal Conservation Association of California, is often credited for the return of the once vastly depleted species. Since the first release of 2,000 juvenile white seabass in Mission Bay in October 1986, the white seabass hatchery and stocking program has released well over a million juvenile fish.
In taking that concept forward and with a focus on the future, the HSWRI Seabass In The Classroom program “allows students to personally grow, feed, monitor and release seabass which inspires them to become the next generation of marine scientists that will ensure a healthier planet.” We humans do affect our fisheries, and programs like those through the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and the Coastal Conservation Society help ensure a healthy marine environment for future anglers to enjoy. Those interested in learning more about the institute, volunteering, or programs offered, can contact HSWRI online or by calling 619-226-3870. Whether the beach, bay, lake, or offshore, they’re out there so go out and get ‘em!
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