and Canada) Pacific hake stock is assessed annually by a joint technical team of scientists from both countries. The stock was declared rebuilt and no longer depleted in 2004. Pacific hake were declared overfished by the US government in 2002. Annual quotas are the primary management tool used to limit the catch of hake. Originally approved in 1982, the plan now manages over 90 different species through a number of measures, including harvest guidelines, quotas, trip and landing limits, area restrictions, seasonal closures, and gear restrictions (such as minimum mesh size for nets). waters is managed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council through its Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan. Of the three recognized stocks mentioned, the latter two stocks are managed by state and local management agencies, but the offshore, or coastal, fishery in U.S. Pacific hake support one of the most important commercial fisheries off the West Coast of the United States. The Strait of Georgia resident stock aggregates to spawn in the deep basins of the south-central strait, where peak spawning occurs from March to May.Ī collection of young North Pacific hake caught off the coast of central California during a bottom-trawl survey Resident Pacific hake in Puget Sound spawn in Port Susan and Dabob Bay from February through April. Since the early 1990s, a percentage of the offshore stock has remained off the west coast of Canada year round and some Pacific hake have been observed spawning off the west coast of Vancouver Island. In the fall, adults migrated southward toward spawning grounds. In spring and summer, adults migrated northward to feed to as far as central Vancouver Island (and as far as Queen Charlotte Sound in some years). The offshore North Pacific hake stock spawned off south-central California to Baja California in January and February during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The three recognized stocks of Pacific hake are a highly migratory offshore (or coastal) stock that ranges from southern California to Queen Charlotte Sound, a central-south Puget Sound stock, and a Strait of Georgia stock. They are an important prey item for sea lions, small cetaceans, and dogfish sharks. Their diet includes shrimp, plankton, and smaller fish such as lanternfish. North Pacific hake are nocturnal feeders that undergo daily vertical migrations off the bottom to feed on a variety of fishes and invertebrates. They occur from the surface to depths of 1,000 m (3,300 ft). Females mature at 3–4 years of age and 13.4 to 15.7 in (34–40 cm), and nearly all males are mature by age three and as small as 11 in (28 cm). Currently, length at 50% maturity for females in the Port Susan North Pacific hake population is about 8.5 in (21.5 cm), compared to 11.7 in (29.8 cm) in the 1980s. Historically, inshore female Pacific hake matured at 15 in (37 cm) and 4–5 years of age. They may spawn more than once per season, so absolute fecundity is difficult to determine. North Pacific hake spawn from January to June. Its pectoral fin tips usually reach to or beyond the origin of its anal fin. The North Pacific hake has two dorsal fins and a truncated caudal fin. Its coloration is metallic silver-gray with black speckling and pure silvery white on the belly. Its length is about 3 ft (90 cm) and it can live up to 20 years. productus California, Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary
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