Retention of some rockfish species is temporarily prohibited beginning June 1

ODFW release – NEWPORT, Ore – Beginning June 1, retention of copper, quillback, and China rockfish when fishing from a boat is prohibited during the recreational sport bottomfishing season. This temporary restriction is needed to remain under Oregon’s recreational harvest quota for nearshore rockfish. Catching these fish from shore is infrequent, contributing a very small amount of mortality and is excluded from the retention closure, although ODFW encourages releasing these fish uninjured. A group of 11 nearshore rockfish species are managed together, and copper, quillback, and China rockfish are the most commonly caught (and relatively easily identified), representing 98 percent of the total catch of the group. Other species in this group, including brown and gopher rockfish, are rarely caught and are not affected by the retention closure. Saltwater anglers are reminded the general marine fish daily bag limit is five fish per angler per day and the cabezon daily sub-bag limit is one; cabezon season begins July 1. The lingcod daily bag limit is two fish (22-inch minimum length) and is separate from the general marine fish daily bag limit. Use of a descending device to release rockfish is required when fishing outside of 30 fathoms and is recommended at any depth for fish that are not able to submerge on their own. Information is available online for recreational bottomfish seasons, along with rockfish identification tips and an ID quiz.