4. Fishing Profile: Commercial and Recreational Fisheries

4.1 Gear Types

Fishermen from Ventura primarily use the following gear types:

• Purse Seine
• Trawl
• Traps and Pots

4.2 Commercial Fishery

4.2.1 Fleet Description

In 2021, 133 of the state’s 6,650 commercial fishing license holders reported Ventura as their home address, 103 of the state’s approximately 1,674 active commercial fishing vessels landed catch at the port, and 100 of the state’s 3,148 registered commercial fishing vessels were homeported at Ventura. (Note: License counts are based on addresses in Ventura and do not include neighboring communities. 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 Ventura grew from 124 in 1998 to more than 151 in 2001, then varied some, dropping to 105 in 2007, before climbing to 133 in 2021 (Figure 7). Ventura-based fishers are younger on average than California fishers as a whole: the average age of commercial fishing license holders in California in 2021 was 49, with a median age of 48, whereas in Ventura the average age was 45 and the median age was 44.

Figure 7: Commercial Fishing License Holders in Ventura 1998-2021

For several state- and federally managed fisheries, a fishery-specific permit is required. In some cases such as the state-managed Nearshore Fishery (which covers 19 species, most of them rockfishes), the permit is assigned to the fisherman. In others such as the federally-managed groundfish trawl fishery, the permit is assigned to the vessel. Fishing permits in 2018 (Figure 8) that were either linked with vessels homeported in Ventura or to fishers with a Ventura address included: 56 urchin permits (dive and crew), 46 lobster permits (including operator and crewman), 20 squid permits (including vessel, brail and lightboat), 26 rock crab permits, and 3 spot prawn permits.

Figure 8: Commercial fishing permits by type held by fishers and vessels with a Ventura address and statewide, in 2021

CaliforniaVentura

The number of Ventura commercial fishing vessels has fluctuated over time (Figure 9). Between 1995 and 1999 the resident fleet shrank by about two-thirds (60 vessels), largely a result of declines in the groundfish, red sea urchin and highly migratory species fisheries. However, the number of fishing vessels steadily grew after 1999, reaching 105 in 2013, declining slightly in the years after. This growth in the fleet is due to the expansion of the California spiny lobster, market squid, and prawn fisheries. In 2021, vessels homeported at Ventura averaged 34 ft in length, ranging from 14 to 85 ft, with a median length of 35 ft (Figure 10).

Figure 9: Commercial fishing vessels homeported at Ventura and average vessel length 1989-2021

Figure 10: Commercial fishing vessels homeported in Ventura by length in 2021

4.2.2 Primary Fisheries and Trends

In terms of both commercial landings and ex-vessel value for the period 1991-2021 (Figure 11), market squid has been the top fishery accounting for 94% of landings (Figure 12) and 67% of the ex-vessel value (Figure 13) at the port. The prawn (primarily ridgeback)(9%) and California spiny lobster (8%) fisheries also accounted for a notable proportions of ex-vessel value over that same period, ranking second and third on this measure (Figure 13). 

Figure 11: Top Commercial Fisheries for Ventura for periods: 2021, 2017-2021, 1992-2021

Market squidCalifornia spiny lobsterPrawnOther

Figure 12: Commercial landings (by weight) at Ventura 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 13: Ex-vessel value of commercial landings at Ventura 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. 

Among the other commercial fisheries with landings at Ventura are swordfish (indicated as highly migratory species), and, historically, groundfish and red sea urchin. Prawns made up 9% of ex-vessel value, though less than 1% of total landings, from 1992-2021 and 9% of value in 2021 (Figure 14).

Figure 14: Ventura commercial prawn (spot and ridgeback) fishery landings and ex-vessel value, 1989-2021

However, annual groundfish landings dropped substantially through the 2000s after the 2000 groundfish disaster as did sea urchin when the international market for the fishery collapsed (Figure 13). Highly migratory species, primarily swordfish, accounted for 5% of the total value of landings at the port from 1992-2021 and 19% of value during the 1990s before regulatory measures went in place in 2002 with the adoption of the Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan. Red sea urchin peaked in 1990, then went into steep decline in the 1990s (Figure 15). Both landings and value for red sea urchin have remained relatively low since 2000 at the port.

Figure 15: Ventura 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. 

More recently, from 2017-2021 market squid, spiny lobster and prawn fisheries were Ventura’s top fisheries in terms of ex-vessel value (Figure 11), and in terms of pounds landed, market squid dominated accounting for 93% of landings in the same period (Figure 16). The total ex-vessel value of the prawn fishery almost doubled from 2014-2018, but then declined in 2021(Figure 17).

Figure 16: Ventura commercial market squid 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 17: Ventura commercial California spiny lobster 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, 10 (2%) are homeported in Ventura, accounting for less than 2% of trips statewide. Based on CPFV trip logs and landings data, the primary recreational fisheries are groundfish and ocean whitefish; rockfish species and lingcod are the most targeted species. These numbers do not reflect recreational fishing conducted on private vessels or shoreside. Nearshore groundfish catches accounted for 63% of all for-hire landings at the port in 2021, followed by ocean whitefish (29%) (Figure 18). Although Ventura was historically an important port for rockfish sport (and commercial) fishing, landings declined leading up to the fishery disaster in 2000. Rock scallop and California spiny lobster became important supplemental target species throughout the 2000s, especially as groundfish restrictions constrained the fishery.

Figure 18: CPFV landings by species at Ventura, 1989-2021

In 2021, the 10 CPFVs homeported at Ventura reported a total of 586 trips. Based on the CPFV logbook data for 1989-2021, the number of reported CPFV trips has varied considerably over time, peaking in 1997 at almost 1,400 trips then declining by almost 75% 2004, following the federal groundfish fishery disaster declaration. (Note: The precise data on numbers of trips cannot be reported for most years for Ventura due to confidentiality rules when there are fewer than three vessels in a port in a given year.) Trips were maintained in the 300s from 2004-2010 before climbing to more than 800 in 2018. Averaged over the period 1989-2021, groundfish accounted for 50%, basses accounted for 16%, rock scallop accounted for 5%, and California spiny lobster and barracuda each accounted for 4% of CPFV landings (Figure 18). Landings were at a record low of 6,000 fish in 1989 (Figure 19) but quickly climbed to more than 170,000 fish by 1991. In 2000, landings dropped to under 16,000 fish and then dropped by almost half again in 2005. Landings did not begin to raise substantively again until the 2010s, increasing to more than 100,000 fish in 2018 but then dropping down to approximately 80,000 in 2021.

Figure 19: CPFV landings at Ventura, 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
• Coastal Pelagic Species
• Market Squid
• Spot Prawn

For Ventura’s primary fisheries Table 3 summarizes relevant management authorities and measures and Figure 20 summarizes seasonality as of 2018-19.

Figure 20: Seasonality of Selected Santa Barbara Channel Fisheries, 2018-19 (adapted from Culver & Pomeroy)

4.5 Fishing Organizations