Crescent City Profile - California Sea Grant

number of buyers peaked at 10–13 from 1981through 1986 and 1993 through 1994, and was5–9 throughout the rest of the pre-2003 period.Since 2003, however, the number of buyers hasfallen to 1–4.An average of 102 groundfish trips weretaken in Crescent City in recent years, a 79%decline from the long-term average of 478 trips(see Table 9). During the period 1981–1985,728–946 trips were made per year; over thenext 14 years (1986–1999), trips stayed withinthe 409–679 range. Effort declined to 221–401trips during the period 2000–2003, thendeclined even further to 56–90 trips between2004 and 2007 (after the trawl buyback).The annual price of trawl-caught groundfishaveraged $0.59 per pound (for all speciescombined) in recent years, a modest 5%increase over the long-term average of $0.56.The fishery targets a mix of species, with somespecies commanding a higher dockside priceper pound than others. Changes in the speciescomposition of landings, due to changingmarkets, abundance and limits on the catch ofindividual species, affect average ex-vesselprices.Groundfish trawl activity at Crescent City hasdeclined not only in absolute terms, but alsoas a proportion of total activity at the port.The proportion of vessels at Crescent Cityconsisting of groundfish trawlers averaged 8%over the long term, relative to 5% in recentyears. Over these same periods, the groundfishcontribution to total trips declined from 8% to3%, the contribution to landings declined from24% to 11%, and the contribution to landedvalue declined from 16% to 5%.The Salmon Troll FisheryThe commercial salmon troll fishery hashistorically played a vital role in the CrescentCity fishing community (see Figure 2).However, dramatic changes occurred inCrescent City’s salmon fishery during theperiod 1981–2007 (Figure 10, Table 10).Average annual landings in recent years(89,000 pounds) are 40% lower than thelong-term average of 149,000 pounds. Theseaverages reflect a precipitous decline thatoccurred largely in the 1980s. Since 1990,landings have been consistently and verylow, with the notable exception of 2004,when landings reached 337,000 pounds. The2004 spike is due to an unusual abundanceof Chinook salmon off the Southern Oregoncoast; California fishermen fished nearby inwaters off Oregon and delivered their catch atCrescent City. 23 Fishing was not allowed in theKMZ in 1985, 1992–1995 and again in 2006.Minimal landings occurring in those years, andwere due to a small number of trollers whofished in other areas but landed their catch atCrescent City.Ex-vessel values follow a pattern similar tolandings, with average landed value in recentyears ($270,000) 49% lower than the longtermaverage of $524,000. Landed valueranged between $3.7 million and $4.4 millionin 1981 and 1982, then fell to $57,000 in 1985;through the rest of the 1980s, ex-vessel valueranged from $364,000 to $1.5 million. Since1990, ex-vessel values have been consistentlyvery low (well below $200,000 per year), withthe notable exception of 2004, when the valuewas $980,000.The average annual number of boats in thefishery declined by 78% from a long-termaverage of 134 boats to an average of 29 boatsin recent years (Tab. Participation declinedfrom 911 boats in 1981 to 21 boats in 1985(closure of the California KMZ in 1985limited salmon participation to vessels fishingoutside the KMZ that were willing to travel toCrescent City to land those fish). Participationrebounded to 248 boats in 1986 (when theKMZ reopened), then continued its downwardtrajectory to 18 boats by 1991. ParticipationCrescent City Fishing Community Profile 25