After bottoming out in 2007, Morro Bay’s fishing industry has begun to carve out a new niche for itself and in 2009 it comes back with bang. Dock workers at Morro Bay Fish Co. are busy unloading hundreds of black cod from the hold of the fishing vessel Black Mariah. Most of the large, sleek fish will wind up as sashimi or other seafood delicacies in sushi bars in Japan where, unlike America, there is an insatiable demand for the savory fish. Fishermen say this bountiful black cod catch is helping to fuel a steady resurgence of an industry that has seen hard times in recent years.
Jeremiah O’Brien, president of the Morro Bay Commercial Fisherman’s Organization, informed that after bottoming out in the mid-2000s, commercial fish landings have grown by about 30 percent per year for the past three years. Morro Bay commercial fisherman Wayne Moody testified before Congress on Thursday about the needs of Morro Bay and California’s other historic fishing towns.
The federal government is currently engaged in a catch share policy that will divide up the fish stocks on the West Coast, targeting the trawl fisheries first. According to the Morro Bay and Port San Luis Commercial Fishing Business Plan, local landings peaked in 1985 at 15 million pounds. In 2006, landings had shrunk to 1.2 million. Last year, fishermen landed nearly 1.5 million pounds of black cod, making it 40 percent of the local catch.
According to fishermen the current rebound is due to their efforts to shift away from trawling by using hook and line and traps, along with loosening of catch limits and other restrictions. Although fishing can be highly unpredictable from one year to the next, fishermen are feeling optimistic for the first time in years.
