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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News AP Entertainment Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Readers' Choice Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Holiday Guide Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend December 21, 2006 Oregon gets liberal about lingcod Anyone who insists that the government never gives back what it takes away hasn't heard the story about Oregon's lingcod and New Year's Day. Jan. 1 marks the launch of the most liberal recreational fishing season on these ugly, big-mouthed bottomfish since the late 1990s, when over-fishing on these gnarly denizens of the deep almost killed the season. The 2007 sport-fishing season will be the first since 1999 when Oregon ocean anglers will be fishing for lingcod without a yearly quota threatening a mid-season shutdown. Also, a drop in the minimum size limit from 24 inches to 22 inches means it will be faster and easier for anglers to catch their daily limit of two lingcod. That's a far cry from 1999, when a series of tight angling rules was instigated while lingcod stocks were considered to be on the brink of disaster. Advertisement But Oregon's ever-expanding recreational fleet feasted on a fine lingcod season in 2006 while the overall biomass of these fish continues to expand amid good ocean conditons and angling protection. Now, lingcod are considered "rebuilt" and no longer over-fished, showing that fast-growing stocks like lingcod can make a comeback. "Lingcod is a great success story in surprising short order," says Wayne Butler, a Bandon charter boat captain. "Those restrictions went in place and you could see that they were coming back quickly. "It's nice to see them come back," he says. Though rough and ugly on the outside, lingcod's white and delicate flesh made it one of the most prized, and historically over-fished, species on the West Coast. Commercial fishermen caught vast numbers of lingcod, often the larger females, while sport-anglers were contributing a good bite as well. The recreational fishery had no daily limits until 1976, when the limit was set at five fish a day. Two years later, that has been slashed to three fish a day. Fishery managers aggressively cut back the commercial catch in the mid-1990s and a 22-inch minimum size was instituted in 1995, but the damage had been done. A 1997 marine survey concluded that lingcod have been fished down by 91 percent from levels before fishing began. That was low enough to trigger a shutdown on sport and commercial lingcod fishing under the new Magnuson Act. When a fish species plummets to less than 10 percent of pre-fishing levels, the act says fish managers must rebuild the population in the next 10 years — and ban fishing if need be. In 1998, the limit remained at three lingcod, but Oregon instituted the 24-inch minimum length to help more females escape the fishery to spawn. Sport-anglers almost lost lingcod altogether for the 1999 season, but the Pacific Fishery Management Council allowed a two-fish bag limit while keeping the 24-inch minimum. The fishery bottomed out in 2000, when the limit went to one lingcod with a slot limit, requiring the release of all lingcod under 24 inches and over 34 inches. The rule settled at one fish at least 24 inches long from 2001 until 2003, when the limit was increased to two. As the regulations slowly liberalized, the overall biomass of lingcod off the West Coast began to climb, thanks in part to the critter itself. Unlike slow-growing stocks such as yelloweye and black rockfish, lingcod grow quickly and can begin breeding as 1-year-old fish. Coupled with good ocean conditions in the late 1990s and earlier this decade, lingcod numbers were able to skyrocket quickly off the Oregon and Washington coasts in a fraction of the time it will take yelloweye or black rockfish to recover. "We had to lay off them pretty severely for half a dozen years," says Don Bodenmiller, project leader for recreational fisheries in the ODFW's marine program. "Now, they're one of the few (bottomfish) species considered rebuilt." Current lingcod numbers are likely high enough that they should continue to grow despite the drop in size limit, Bodenmiller says. "The sport fishery can take a lot of fish and there still will be a lot of lingcod left over," he says. Even the majority of ocean anglers agree that the limit should remain at two lingcod for now. That will help ensure that anglers don't over-fish sensitive species such as black rockfish while they are out jigging for that third lingcod. "If we didn't have these rockfish issues, I think you would see the three-fish bag limit in place for lingcod," Bodenmiller says. But getting back that 22-inch minimum and pulling away the recreational quota are proof to anglers that the government doesn't always keep what it takes away. "I guess this shows that's not always the case," Bodenmiller says. "It's nice to see at least temporary success." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] . Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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