Longline Fishing In Washington State

Hollywood offered movie audiences a look at the life of longline fishermen in the movie "The Perfect Storm," which follows the final trip of the "Andrea Gail," a longline vessel hunting swordfish in the North Atlantic. Washington's longline fleet has hardworking, older boats like the Andrea Gail that line the ocean floor with hundreds of hooks hoping to catch a 500-pound halibut that sells for thousands of dollars at the dock. The longline fleet's newer and larger high-tech freezer boats follow the fish for weeks through the deeper water of the Gulf of Alaska. Both are part of Washington's longline fleet, which has been fishing for nearly 150 years and is a cornerstone of the state's maritime culture.

The Fish

The prize catch for Pacific Northwest longline boats is halibut, a flat, diamond-shaped groundfish that grows up to 9 feet and weighs between 500 and 600 pounds. Seafood cooks around the world value halibut for its sweet flavor and solid texture. Fishermen hook some halibut in Washington's coastal waters, but much of the catch comes from the central Gulf of Alaska and further north toward the Bearing Straight. Longline boats also fish for sablefish, or black cod. Sablefish grow up to 3 feet in length and average about 20 pounds. Cooks describe the flavor as sweet and buttery; nutritionists tout the fish for its high content of omega-3 fatty acids. Longliners also land rockfish, sometimes called ocean perch. There are more than 70 species, but brown and red rockfish have the best market value.

The Gear

Longliners use one fishing line that sometimes stretches for miles. Fishermen bait hundreds of hooks with squid and herring and attach them at intervals of about 12 feet to the weighted longline. They feed the hooks into the water, and when the entire line is set, they usually wait, sometimes up to 24 hours, before retracing their route. As a winch hauls in the line, the crew hooks huge thrashing fish with a gaff and pulls them onto the deck floor.

The Problems

A lot of commercial fishing gear either unintentionally interferes with other species or disrupts the marine habitat. Longlines do both. Sea birds, including the highly endangered short-tailed albatross, sometimes dive for the bait as vessels set their line. Birds swallow the hooks, are dragged underwater and drowned. Fishermen teamed up with scientists at Washington State University and created a device called a paired streamer line that runs above the surface on both sides of the baited longline. Like scarecrows, the streamers keep the birds at bay and successfully protect them. Scientists classify longlines with other types of gear that run or are dragged along the ocean floor and have the potential to harm that habitat.

The Rules

Washington longline vessels work under an individual quota system. Every year, scientists set a total allowable catch, or TAC, that limits the harvest of specific species to ensure future generations of fish. In 2011, the TAC for halibut was just over 41,000,000 pounds. Each fishing vessel is allowed to land a share of the TAC. The size of each share is based on different factors such as the length of the boat and the operator's history within the fishery.

The Future

Thanks to years of conservation and cooperation among Washington fishermen, environmental groups and fisheries regulators, populations of halibut, sablefish and rockfish are healthy, and Washington's longline fleet is thriving. Regulators credit the catch-share system for building a measured and sustainable fishery well-positioned to take advantage of a global market demand for fresh fish from the Northern Pacific.