Overview
CDFW is committed to partnering with the stakeholder community to make informed decisions about the management of the California halibut fishery to support a healthy species, ecosystem, and fishing community.
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In 2019, CDFW assessed the state’s fisheries under the 2018 Master Plan for Fisheries (PDF) framework. A prioritization process identified California halibut (Paralichthys californicus) as a species in need of management attention due to potential risks to bycatch species (including sub legal-sized California halibut) and from a changing climate. CDFW is currently working on a California halibut management process which includes all fishery sectors statewide: recreational, commercial hook-and-line, trawl, and gill net.
Since 2022, CDFW has been focused on six management priorities for the California halibut fishery:
- refining the 2020 stock assessment (completed for the southern stock, ongoing for the northern stock)
- writing the Enhanced Status Report (completed)
- carrying out an ecosystem evaluation (completed)
- conducting the California Halibut Southern Trawl Ground assessment (PDF) (completed)
- developing the halibut bag limit MSE tool (ongoing)
- performing a bycatch evaluation for the gill net fishery (PDF) (completed) and trawl fishery (beginning, see below).
These six management priorities are in different stages of completion and continue to be a high priority for CDFW.
Trawl Bycatch Evaluation
CDFW invites interested members of the public, Tribes and Tribal communities, and stakeholders to an in-person kickoff meeting to learn about fisheries bycatch acceptability within the California halibut trawl fisheries. Under the direction of the Marine Life Management Act Master Plan for Fisheries (Master Plan), CDFW is tasked with assessing bycatch in California fisheries, firstly evaluating California halibut trawl and set gillnet fisheries. Using the best available datasets and the framework established within the Master Plan, CDFW completed a bycatch evaluation for the gillnet fishery in Fall of 2023. CDFW will be continuing this effort to evaluate bycatch acceptability within the statewide halibut trawl fishery occurring in federal waters. The intent of this meeting is to provide participants with information regarding the bycatch evaluation process and for participants to ask questions and share concerns.
Initial in-person workshop:
Wednesday, April 30, 2025, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Bay Model Visitor Center
2100 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA 94965
As space is limited, please RSVP by March 30 your planned attendance to mlmafisheriesmgmt@wildlife.ca.gov. Include:
- Your name and the number of any additional guests that will be attending
- A description of your relationship to California halibut and/or California marine resources
A detailed meeting agenda will be shared in advance of the meeting.
Exploring Scaled Management for the California Halibut Fishery
Two-Part Public Webinar Series
In late summer, 2021, CDFW invited stakeholders of the California halibut fishery to a two-part webinar series to learn about and discuss California halibut. The first webinar on August 12 was focused on the recreational sector, and the second webinar on September 16 was focused on the commercial sector. The goal of these webinars was to engage in a discussion with the fishing industry and other interested stakeholders to explore CDFW and stakeholder’s shared priorities and concerns for the long-term sustainability of the species, ecosystem, and fishing community.
- Webinar #1: Focused Discussion for the Recreational Sector | Thursday, August 12, 2021
- Webinar #2: Focused Discussion for the Commercial Sector | Thursday, September 16, 2021
California Halibut Stock Assessment
A primary goal of fishery management under the Marine Life Management Act (MLMA) is to ensure that fishing levels are sustainable and do not result in an overfished stock. To aid in this goal, managers develop stock assessments that establish the current and historical status of the fishery resource. Stock assessments utilize all available data, which most commonly includes catch, abundance indices, and biological data specific to the species. Stock assessments are highly informative management tools used to assess the abundance of fish populations, determine the level at which a resource may be sustainably exploited, and sometimes to predict the potential consequences of policy decisions.
In 2011, the first statewide stock assessment of California halibut was completed. Performed by an external expert, with funding from CDFW, the results were independently peer reviewed prior to release. The assessment examined two stocks of California halibut, with the boundary between northern and southern stocks at Point Conception.
In 2020, CDFW completed an update to the 2011 stock assessment, drawing on the prior modelling approach and considering recent data as well as recommendations from the prior review process.
Facilitated by California Ocean Science Trust (OST), an independent scientific peer review of the updated 2020 California halibut stock assessment was completed by a panel of experts. The review focused on whether the technical components, models, and analysis that underpin the stock assessment were applied in a manner that is scientifically sound, reasonable, and appropriate.
The review identified that while the southern model results are more stable, both the southern and northern models required improvement prior to informing management. CDFW has worked to incorporate the technical improvements suggested by the 2020 peer review panel for the southern stock and in December 2024, undertook a second external, independent peer review of a new assessment of the stock.
Reviewers included:
- Chantel Wetzel, Mathematical Statistician, NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center
- Kiva Oken, Stock Assessment Scientist, NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center
- David Sampson, Emeritus Professor, Oregon State University
- Cheryl Barnes, Assistant Professor, Oregon State University
CDFW invited interested members of the public, Tribes and Tribal communities, and stakeholders to a series of review panel meeting presentations regarding the California halibut stock assessment for the southern California region (south of Point Arguello). During these meetings, stock assessment reviewers and CDFW staff conducted a technical review of the completed California halibut stock assessment for the southern California region.
CDFW will host a public webinar following receipt of the final peer review report in Spring 2025. During this meeting, CDFW will present the final results of the stock assessment and share the conclusions of the peer review process. An invitation to this meeting will follow once a date and time are finalized.
To receive an invitation for the public webinar on the final results of the southern stock assessment, please email mlmafisheriesmgmt@wildlife.ca.gov.