Washington Coastal Commercial Groundfish Port Sampling Program: 2015 Report

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) supports groundfish stock assessments and management of fisheries through several interrelated groups that collect and process biological and catch data. The commercial components of these data are collected by the WDFW Commercial Groundfish Port Sampling Unit (Unit) from coastal ports: Westport, Ilwaco, Chinook, Bellingham, Blaine, Neah Bay and La Push. The Unit has two major objectives: (1) collect biological data and samples, such as sizes, otoliths, and gonads, from commercially landed groundfish in support of research and stock assessments; and (2) collect groundfish catch data via commercial fisheries logbooks, fish receiving tickets, and species composition sampling of mixed-species market categories, in support of fisheries monitoring and in-season management decision making. This report summarizes the Unit’s activities and accomplishments through 2014 and includes a brief description of data collection methods.