The California Fish and Game Commission is delaying the opening of the recreational Dungeness Crab Season and is closing the recreational rock crab season in oceans water north of Ventura County due to high level of domoic acid. The opening of the commercial Dungeness crab season, which is scheduled to open on November 15th, is also expected to be delayed. Link
News, advisories, and closure information will be posted at the following site. Link
The California Fish and Game Commission will meet on Thursday, November 5th to discuss recommendation delaying the start of the crab season due to high levels of domoic acid in rock and Dungeness crabs. Link
The Best Estimate Report (BER) is being updated to use the new database structure of the PacFIN System. It is anticipated that the new report will become active on October 26, 2015. Once the new report is active the legacy BER will no longer be updated. Historical reports will still be available through the legacy system.
To find the report go to the “DATA” menu and select “APEX Reporting System.” In the report navigation tree look for the QSM Best Estimate Reports Folder and select QSM001. This is currently password protected, but we anticipate removing the password protection on Monday the 26th.
There will be subtle difference between the estimates returned by the new BER and the legacy BER due to clean-up and alteration of background code. For example, the algorithm used to define sablefish landings has been updated to reflect management and data collection changes. We have been monitoring differences between the reports and will continue to do so behind the scenes. The changes in the report represent best estimates, and methods will continue to be revised as the hard data reveals better methods to update earlier estimates.
Here is an interesting report by one of our partner agnecies of initial data on “The Blob” and how “The Blob” might interact with El Niño. Link
After a series of internal database upgrades, we have also updated our website. While you can still connect to the legacy reports through the data menu, we highly encourage you to explore the APEX reporting system. The reports in APEX are dynamic, use data after area and species composition ratios have been applied, allow the use of prompts, and allow you to download data as a csv file or an Excel spread sheet. Please see the guide for instruction on the use of the APEX reports.
If you cannot obtain the data you need from the APEX system please contact PacFIN staff to discuss your needs and how we can meet them.
A non-confidential version of the whiting report is now available on the data menu as a pdf file. This report summarizes the commercial at-sea and mid-water trawl landings. When fewer than 3 vessels or dealers report landings the data is withheld to protect privacy. The report is updated daily during the week.