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
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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…
