4. Fishing Profile: Commercial and Recreational Fisheries

4.1 Gear Types

Fishermen from Dana Point primarily use the following gear types:

• Dive
• Line Gear
• Trap and Pot Gear

4.2 Commercial Fishery

4.2.1 Fleet Description

In 2021, 18 of the state’s 6,650 commercial fishing license holders reported Dana Point as their home address, 46 of the state’s approximately 1,674 active commercial fishing vessels landed catch at the port, and 68 of the state’s 3,214 registered commercial fishing vessels were homeported at Dana Point (Note: License counts are based on addresses in Dana Point and do not include other communities in the larger Dana Point area. For all state licenses count does not reflect those with out-of-state addresses. For vessels registered with the US Coast Guard, owner mailing address city was used to determine home port.). The number of fishing license holders in Dana Point grew from 14 in 1998 to 20 in 1999, then varied, but overall declined to 18 in 2021 (Figure 5). Dana Point-based fishers are slightly younger than California fishers as a whole in terms of age: the average age of commercial fishing license holders in Califorinia in 2021 was 49, with a median age of 48, whereas in Dana Point the average age was 44 and the median age was 38.

Figure 5: Commercial Fishing License Holders in Dana Point 1998-2021

For several state- and federally managed fisheries, a fishery-specific permit is required. In some cases such as the state-managed managed Nearshore Fishery (which covers 19 species, most of them rockfishes), the permit is assigned to the fisherman. In others such as the Dungeness crab fishery, the permit is assigned to the vessel. Fishing permits in 2021 (Figure 6) that were either linked with vessels homeported in Dana Point or to fishers with a Dana Point address included: 8 swordfish permits, 6 lobster permits (including operator and crewman), 2 gillnet permits, and 2 spot prawn.

Figure 6: Commercial fishing permits by type held by fishers and vessels with a Dana Point address and statewide, in 2021

CaliforniaDana Point

The number of commercial fishing vessels operating out of Dana Point has declined over time (Figure 7). Between 1992 and 2001 the resident fleet shrank by almost two-thirds (11 vessels), in part as a result of declines in the red sea urchin fishery. From 2001 to 2021 the number of vessels varied from year to year, but increased overall, due to expansion of the spot prawn, rock crab and California spiny lobster fisheries. In 2021, vessels homeported at Dana Point averaged 34 ft in length, ranging from 18 to 85.7 ft, with a median length of 32 ft (Figure 8).

Figure 7: Commercial fishing vessels homeported at Dana Point and average vessel length 1989-2021

Figure 8: Commercial fishing vessels homeported in Dana Point by length in 2021

4.2.2 Primary Fisheries and Trends

In terms of commercial landings for 1992-2021 (Figure 9), red sea urchin, California spiny lobster and groundfish were the top three fisheries, together accounting for 69% of pounds landed at the port (Figure 10). In terms of ex-vessel value, California spiny lobster and spot prawn were the primary fisheries, accounted for 72% of value (Figure 11). The groundfish fishery also accounted for a notable proportion (9%) of ex-vessel value over that same period, ranking third on this measure.

Figure 9: Top Commercial Fisheries for Dana Point for periods, 2021, 2017-2021, 1992-2021

California spiny lobsterCoastal pelagic speciesHighly migratory species

Spot prawn GroundfishRock crabRed sea urchinOther

Figure 10: Commercial landings (by weight) at Dana Point for top fisheries and all else, 1989-2021*

* The dataset for this graph has been redacted to remove data deemed confidential by California Department of Fish and Wildlife. CDFW does not publicly release data pertaining to three or fewer fishers, vessels, or businesses. 

Figure 11: Ex-vessel value of commercial landings at Dana Point for top fisheries and all else, 1989-2021*

* The dataset for this graph has been redacted to remove data deemed confidential by California Department of Fish and Wildlife. CDFW does not publicly release data pertaining to three or fewer fishers, vessels, or businesses. 

Along the California coast, annual groundfish landings dropped substantially through the 2000s after the 2000 groundfish disaster, however, in Dana Point landings and value peaked in 2003 and again in 2010 (Figure 12). As Figures 13 and 14 show, the distribution of catch among groundfish species groups (e.g. nearshore rockfish, shelf and slope rockfish, roundfish including sablefish, etc.) shifted with implementation of the Nearshore Fishery Management Plan and the establishment of the Federal Rockfish Conservation Area (Table 2).

Figure 12: Dana Point commercial groundfish fishery landings and ex-vessel value, 1989-2021*

* The dataset for this graph has been redacted to remove data deemed confidential by California Department of Fish and Wildlife. CDFW does not publicly release data pertaining to three or fewer fishers, vessels, or businesses. 

Figure 13: Ex-vessel value of commercial landings of groundfish species groups at Dana Point, 1989-2021*

* The dataset for this graph has been redacted to remove data deemed confidential by California Department of Fish and Wildlife. CDFW does not publicly release data pertaining to three or fewer fishers, vessels, or businesses. 

Figure 14: Weight of commercial landings of groundfish species groups at Dana Point, 1989-2021*

* The dataset for this graph has been redacted to remove data deemed confidential by California Department of Fish and Wildlife. CDFW does not publicly release data pertaining to three or fewer fishers, vessels, or businesses. 

Overall, red sea urchin landings have declined at the port since the early 1990s, following the implementation of a restricted access program in 1989 based on concerns about the health of the stock. In 2000, the Japanese export market collapsed; however, the processing sector developed a domestic sea urchin market which helped to buffer the impact (Figure 15). In Dana Point, and coastwide, the value of California spiny lobster has trended upwards since the 1990s, although landings have declined over the same time (Figure 16).

Figure 15: Dana Point commercial red sea urchin fishery landings and ex-vessel value, 1989-2021*

* The dataset for this graph has been redacted to remove data deemed confidential by California Department of Fish and Wildlife. CDFW does not publicly release data pertaining to three or fewer fishers, vessels, or businesses. 

Figure 16: Dana Point commercial California spiny lobster fishery landings and ex-vessel value, 1989-2021

Other species that landed at the port include rock crab and spot prawn. Rock crab landings and the value of landings skyrocketed in 2018, accounting for 22% of the port’s total landings that year. Spot prawn landings increased through the late 1990s and 2000s, peaking in 2005, 2012, and 2017 (Figure 17). From 2017-2021 California spiny lobster (Figure 16) and coastal pelagic species (Figure 18) were Dana Point’s top fisheries in terms of ex-vessel value. Coastal pelagic species, California spiny lobsters, rock crab and highly migratory species were the top fisheries by landings.

Figure 17: Dana Point commercial rock crab fishery landings and ex-vessel value, 1989-2021

Figure 18: Dana Point commercial spot prawn fishery landings and ex-vessel value, 1989-2021

4.3 Recreational Fishery

Of the state’s 622 licensed Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessels (CPFV)—for-hire recreational fishing boats—in 2021, 27 (4%) were homeported in Dana Point, accounting for 4% of trips statewide. Based on CPFV trip logs and landings data, the primary target species were basses, nearshore groundfish, and bonito. These numbers do not reflect recreational fishing conducted on private vessels or shoreside. Rockfish catches accounted for 36% of all for-hire landings at the port in 2021, followed by ocean whitefish (19%), scorpionfish (14%), basses (12%), and Pacific bonito (5%) (Figure 19). Although barracuda has historically been an important recreational species for the port, landings declined in the 1980s and 1990s as a result of increased fishing pressure and environmental factors.

Figure 19: CPFV landings by species at Dana Point, 1989-2021

In 2021, the 30 CPFVs homeported at Dana Point reported a total of 1,302 trips. Based on the CPFV logbook data for 1989-2021, the number of reported CPFV trips has stayed relatively consistent at 1,300-1,700. Trips peaked in 1997 (2,093), 2000 (1,936) and 2015 (1,912). Averaged over the years 1989-2021, basses accounted for 49%, Pacific mackerel accounted for 11%, rockfish accounted for 9% and barracuda accounted for 7% of CPFV landings (Figure 19). Landings overall declined from almost 168,000 in 1989 to just over 50,000 in 2021. There were however a series of drastic increases and decreases from 1995-2005 (Figure 20).

Figure 20: CPFV landings at Dana Point, 1989-2021

4.4 Fishery Management

California’s commercial and recreational fisheries are variously governed by a mix of state and federal entities with distinct and overlapping management authorities depending on the species and sector. State management authority lies with the Legislature, the Fish and Game Commission and the Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). Federal authority lies primarily with the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Other state and federal entities also play a role in the governance of some fisheries.

Information about management of this port’s primary fisheries:

• California Spiny Lobster
• Groundfish
• Red Sea Urchin
• Rock Crab
• Spot Prawn

For Dana Point’s primary fisheries, Table 3 summarizes relevant management authorities and measures and Figure 21 summarizes seasonality as of 2018-19.

Figure 21: Seasonality of Selected South Coast California Fisheries, 2018-19 (adapted from Culver & Pomeroy)

4.5 Fishing Organizations