California Congressman Requests Funding for Rockfish Assessment

On April 29, Rep. Jared Huffman of District 2 requested the fiscal year 2023 funding for a coast-wide fishery-independent assessment of Pacific rockfish over rocky habitat. Huffman asked for the addition of a line to provide funding for the assessment in a letter to the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Committee on Appropriations and Ranking Member of the committee Robert Aderholt. “Given the economic and social value of these fisheries and the seriousness of these closures on fishing communities, it is critical that we ensure managers have the highest quality data possible upon which to base these decisions,” said Huffman in the letter. “Fishery-independent surveys exist for stocks targeted by commercial trawl fisheries. There is no less need for such surveys for the distinct stocks targeted by recreational and non-trawl commercial fisheries.” In the letter, he requests a $5,000,000 allocation to the Northwest Fisheries Science Center to conduct a coastwide assessment of rockfish fisheries over rocky habitats in California. To read the full letter, see here.