Declines in Nearshore Rockfish Recruitment and Populations in the Southern California Bight as Measured by Impingement Rates in Coastal Electrical Power Generating Stations

Changes in abundance of 16 nearshore rockfish populations in the southern California Bight were estimated using fish impingement data from Southern California Edison generating stations from 1977-93. Catch rates for the six most abundant species peaked in the early 1980s, declined by a factor of more than 100 to a low in 1984, and generally have remained low through 1993. One species has not been taken since 1984. Comparison of data from the King Harbor station with scuba transect data suggest that impingement data accurately reflect rockfish abundances in this area. Decreased recruitment success due to long-term adverse oceanographic conditions and overfishing probably are responsible for the drop in rockfish abundance.