A combined telephone and creel survey of the red abalone, Haliotis rufescens (Swainson), sport fishery in California from Monterey to the Oregon border, April through November 1988
1991
Karpov, Konstantin A.
Combined creel and random telephone surveys were used to estimate effort, take, and return mortality for the red abalone sport fishery in central and northern California from Monterey to Del Norte counties in 1988. The 1988 telephone survey results showed most red abalone sport fishing trips were in Mendocino county (61.4%) and Sonoma county (18.1%).The 1988 red abalone sport creel was conducted at seven key study areas in Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma counties where 909 divers and 625 shorepicker were interviewed. Divers were more efficient then shorepickers; with higher averaqe catch rates, fewer abalone returned, and larger average sizes taken in all study areas with adequate samples. Diver success continued throughout the sportseason while shorepicker success declined from a peak in May. Comparison to historical northern California creel surveys showed a six-fold increase in diving effort from the 1960's for northern California, with shorepicking effort declining for at least the Arena-Mote Creek Area. Smaller sizes and catch rates from the 1970's suggest declining stocks in northern California.The results of the 1988 combined creel and telephone survey for effort, take, and mortality indicate between 33,182 and 74,658 divers, and 14,303 to 39,639 shorepickers participated in the fishery. However, these counts were an overestimate that included sportsmen that repeated trips throughout the season. Between 63,832 and 115,560 diving trips, and 49,313 to 95,549 shorepicker trips were made. The estimate of landed weight in the shell by divers andshorepickers combined ranged from 889,838 to 1,413,938 pounds. Red abalone return mortality in 1988 as a percent of total mortality was 4.0% for divers and 7.4% for shorepickers.(84pp.)
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