Who sets sport caps for groundfish?
Groundfish limits are set by either the federal government or by the state. Federal harvest limits for groundfish are developed on the West Coast through the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) based on a stock assessment of each species. Species managed under federal limits and caught in Oregon’s sport fishery include: black rockfish, yelloweye rockfish, and canary rockfish. State caps for groundfish are set by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission. Species managed under state caps include: cabezon, greenlings (combined), black rockfish and blue rockfish (combined), and other nearshore rockfish (combined). More about the history of state caps can be found in ODFW’s 2003 Nearshore Groundfish Fishery Harvest Cap Report (pdf, 25 pages).
