The biggest environmental story that no one knows about”: The recovery of groundfish off the West Coast

Sorting through catch on Groundfish Survey


West Coast ground fish. Groundfish refers to more than 90 different types of roundfish, flatfish, rockfish, sharks, and skates off the West Coast. With a few exceptions, groundfish live on or near the bottom of the ocean. Fishermen from Washington, Oregon, and California catch them year-round using a variety of gear types. Photo and captions: NOAA

Excerpts;

A rare environmental success story is unfolding in waters off the U.S. West Coast.

After years of fear and uncertainty, bottom trawler fishermen — those who use nets to catch rockfish, bocaccio, sole, Pacific Ocean perch and other deep-dwelling fish — are making a comeback here, reinventing themselves as a sustainable industry less than two decades after authorities closed huge stretches of the Pacific Ocean because of the species’ depletion…

Read Full Article; CBS News(12-26-2019)

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