In the spring, they travel nearshore and to the north to feed along the continental shelf and slope from northern California to Vancouver Island.However, recent studies have also shown that they may spawn as far north as Canada. They are known to spawn in large numbers from January through March off south-central California, and were traditionally thought to migrate seasonally. Relatively little is known about their spawning season and locations.Pacific whiting grow fast, up to 3 feet in length, and can live to more than 15 years old.They are silvery in color with black speckles on the back and black inside the mouth.They’re most common in water between 164 and 1,640 feet deep, but adults are found in water over 3,000 feet deep and 250 miles or more offshore.Pacific whiting school in midwater but have also been observed resting on the seafloor.Pacific whiting is found off the West Coast from Southern Baja California and the Gulf of California to the Gulf of Alaska.There has been no directed commercial fishery for these stocks since 1991. The Puget Sound and Strait of Georgia stocks are considered species of concern.According to the 2021 stock assessment, the coastal stock of Pacific whiting is not overfished, and is not subject to overfishing based on 2019 catch data. Summary stock assessment information can be found on Stock SMART.There are three stocks of Pacific whiting: a migratory coastal stock, a central-south Puget Sound stock, and a Strait of Georgia stock.Recreational fishermen do not target Pacific whiting but sometimes catch them incidentally while fishing for other groundfish and salmon.There is 100 percent observer monitoring on at-sea processors and catcher vessels.Each sector’s catch is restricted by limits on bycatch of Chinook salmon and depleted rockfish species.Regulations restrict where fishermen may harvest Pacific whiting to reduce bycatch of Chinook salmon.Mesh on the narrow, back end (codend) of their nets must be at least 3 inches to prevent bycatch of small fish.Fishermen follow a number of regulations to reduce potential bycatch in the fishery.Mid-water trawling has minimal impact on habitat and low incidental catch of other species.Mid-water trawls are primarily used to catch Pacific whiting.Gear types, habitat impacts, and bycatch:.In 2020, commercial landings of Pacific whiting totaled 546 million pounds and were valued at $36.8 million, according to the NOAA Fisheries commercial fishing landings database.The result is a less wasteful, more environmentally friendly fishery that produces a higher quality product. They allocate their catch quota among cooperative members to allow them to use the quota more efficiently.The Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative was established in 1997 by fishing companies owning trawlers in the catcher/processor sector of the fishery.Total catch accounting and 100 percent observer coverage.Provisions that allow fishermen to decide how and when to catch their share.Catch limits based on the population status of each fish stock and divided into shares that are allocated to individual fishermen or groups.
The shore-based trawl fishery, which includes vessels targeting Pacific whiting, is managed under the trawl rationalization catch share program that includes:.Non-tribal vessels that both catch and process the catch at sea.Non-tribal catcher boats delivering to at-sea mothership processors.Non-tribal catcher boats delivering to shore-based processing facilities.whiting fishery, and managers divide allowable catch among them. Managers use annual harvest quotas to regulate the coastwide catch of Pacific whiting.Gear restrictions and area closures help reduce bycatch and impacts on habitat.Certain seasons and areas are closed to fishing.Permits and limited entry to the fishery.Managed under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan:.federal waters (3 to 200 nautical miles offshore). NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council manage the Pacific whiting fishery on the West Coast, in U.S.The United States is allocated nearly 74 percent of the annual quota and Canada the remaining 26 percent. The agreement allocates a harvest quota to American and Canadian fisheries.The coastal stock of Pacific whiting is managed through the bilateral Pacific Whiting Agreement between the United States and Canada.