Lingcod caught in British Columbia, Canada, is rated yellow or red. Lingcod’s stock status and whether current fishing levels are sustainable are unknown, and this species has characteristics that make it more vulnerable to overfishing. Except in one fishery, lingcod is caught with species that are undergoing overfishing OR they’re overfished or highly vulnerable, and it’s unknown if overfishing is happening. Some fisheries have lower numerical scores for bycatch impacts, resulting in red ratings. Management of these complex multi-species fisheries is moderately effective overall. Some aspects are strong, but fishery managers don’t know if many species are being harvested sustainably. Closed areas and other measures reduce overall habitat impacts, and broader efforts to protect ecosystems are being developed and are likely to be effective.
Yellow-rated fisheries catch 71 percent of the volume, and the remainder is red-rated.
Impacts on the Species Under Assessment
1.732
Impacts on Other Species
1.526
Management Effectiveness
3.000
Impacts on the Habitat and Ecosystem
2.449
FISHING METHOD
Bottom trawls herd and sieve fish with two or more cone-shaped nets that have smaller mesh bags called codends, which retain the catch. Trawl nets are configured to stay open in different ways. Often floating headropes and weighted footropes hold the nets open vertically, and beams, otter boards, or two boats keep them open horizontally. When in use, fish are herded into the codend as the gear is towed on or near the seafloor. Bottom trawls are used to catch cod, crab, flounder, pollock, rockfish, shrimp, and many other species.
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