Practicing sustainable recreational fishing on the West Coast

Practicing sustainable recreational fishing on the West Coast © NOAA Fisheries

Recreational fishing contributes to the fabric of our West Coast communities. On average, nearly 1.5 million recreational anglers take over 5 million fishing trips each year.

This supports over 10,000 jobs and contributes almost $1.5 billion in sales to the U.S. economy.

Here on the West Coast, fishing is a way of life.

We can protect marine fisheries, ecosystems, and habitats by fishing sustainably. That's not just our responsibility. It's your responsibility too. Let's be stewards, together.

NOAA Fisheries and recreational anglers on the West Coast recommend these tips to practice sustainable recreational fishing:

Learn your species

Learning how to correctly identify fish species prevents the illegal harvest of threatened and endangered species that need time to recover and restore their populations.

Only keep what you'll eat

We want to make sure there's enough fish in our ocean, lakes, rivers, and streams and are mindful to not take too much! Only keep what you need for the dinner table and release what you don't need to grow until your next trip.

Use the proper tackle and circle hooks to prevent bycatch

Use the proper tackle for the proper fish - reducing harm to other species you don't mean to catch. Using heavier gear and circle hooks when you're fishing for tuna, billfish, and sharks will increase your chances of landing the fish you've set out to catch and reduce hooking injuries or mortality if intending to release the fish.

Use barbless hooks for salmon and steelhead

Using barbless hooks, or crimping down the barbs from hooks you have, promotes survival of threatened salmon and steelhead.

Remember, catch and release is more than just putting the fish back in the water, but taking care to optimize its survival upon release. If you're on a river, consider facing the fish upstream to receive oxygen quickly. Always let it swim from your hands once on its own rather than dropping the fish too quickly.

Defend the descend: release rockfish

Deep-water rockfish reeled quickly to the surface often emerge from the ocean with fatal injuries—due to the sudden change in pressure. Rockfish descending devices are easy to use and increase survival of released rockfish and other species that are impacted by being brought to the surface.

Protect turtles and seabirds

Go Slow: Sea Turtles Below! Slow down as you exit the boat harbor to prevent collisions with sea turtles, particularly around the Southern California Bight. All species of sea turtles are threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act and vessel collisions are a major threat.

To prevent catching a sea turtle avoid casting your line if a sea turtle or marine mammal is in the area. Don't discard bait or cleaned fish remains into the water, as sea turtles and marine mammals may associate the area with food. Change your fishing location if sea turtles or marine mammals show interest in your bait or catch.

If you accidentally hook a sea turtle, remember it's OK to help! Learn how here: Fishing Tips to Protect Sea Turtles and Marine Mammals

Seabirds are also an important part of the marine environment or food web, and are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Recreational anglers can protect and avoid seabird interactions by being aware of seabird behavior and using barbless hooks or artificial baits to reduce the chances of hooking and injuring a seabird.

If you accidently hook a seabird, don't cut or break the line. If the bird is injured or severely tangled, the bird could easily drown, or die of starvation. Reel the bird in slowly and gently. Don't lift the bird by the line; instead use a dip net if available. When removing the hook from a seabird, never simply grab the hook and yank it out! Grasp the hook and carefully snip off the barb.

Learn more tips to avoid further injury to the bird or yourself if you accidentally hook a seabird while fishing.

Participate in the council process

U.S. fisheries management is a transparent and public process of science, management, innovation, and collaboration with the fishing industry. Collaboration is key to making fisheries management decisions.

The Pacific Fisheries Management Council, for example, implements catch limits, with seasons and bag limits, structured to provide the most benefit to anglers and our nation and prevent overfishing.

We look to recreational anglers, and their knowledge on the water, to review and inform those decisions.

You can become a member, or reach out to current members or fishing organizations involved in the decision making process to contribute your suggestions, ideas, potential impacts of actions, and more. Stay informed on opportunities for public participation through our Rec Fish Newsletter.

Report marine debris, derelict gear, and whale entanglements

Anglers can take a proactive and comprehensive approach to addressing entanglements. Avoid setting gear in the vicinity of whales and sea turtles.

Communicate locations of high whale activity to other fishing boats. Maintain your gear to ensure lines and buoys are in good working condition so they do not break and get lost. Mark gear consistent with regulations.

You are the eyes and ears on the water and stewards of the ocean environment. Anglers can pick up and throw away marine debris, host clean up events or competitions, and record it using the Marine Debris Tracker app. This ensures proper care of our marine ecosystem and prevents animals from becoming entangled in marine debris.

Fishing gear that has been lost, dumped, or abandoned in the ocean traps and kills wildlife like whales, turtles, birds, and dolphins. You can do your part to prevent ghost fishing by maintaining your gear.

Report derelict fishing gear to your state's fish & wildlife services.

If you see an entangled whale call the West Coast Large Whale Entanglement Reporting Hotline: 1-877-SOS-WHAL or 1-877-767-9425 or hail the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF Ch. 16.

Join community science efforts and surveys

Survey data is imperative to the health of our fish stocks. Through our Hook-and-Line surveys, anglers help NOAA identify prime habitat in areas traditionally unsampled. Data collected is then more representative of the trends in population and locations accessible by the recreational fishing fleet. Hook-and-line surveys have also contributed to a variety of research on the ecology and oceanography in the region.

We've also teamed up with the recreational fishing fleet to collect more biological samplers for use in fish population assessments. Captain and crews collect data from the fish you catch, sending NOAA carcasses of rockfish and measuring tunas, to inform age, diet, and maturity studies.

Anglers can contribute to our science! Help improve the health of our fisheries by reporting your catch to the dockside samplers upon return back to port, or completing the surveys you receive from NOAA or our state agencies.

How can I get involved?

Find out how you can get involved in monitoring the health of our oceans and fish resources.

• Stay informed through Rec Fish Newsletter
• Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program
• Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program
• Cooperative Research Program
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
• California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program