This has been an economically valuable fishery for all three West Coast states for more than 100 years. Over time, the commercial harvest of albacore expanded north from the traditional fishing grounds off southern California. Troll and bait boat (live bait) are the principal commercial gears, although some albacore is incidentally caught by purse seine, longline, and large mesh drift gillnet. The fishing season varies from year to year, depending on oceanographic conditions, which strongly influence the occurrence of fish within range of the West Coast fleet, and economics. A typical season runs July through October, with landings peaking in August-September. This fishery lands albacore almost exclusively with little incidental catch.

In 2023 landings in this fishery totaled 3,161 metric tons worth $ 9.3 million compared to 8,794 metric tons worth $ 36.5 million in recent 10-year average.

Between 2013-2023, the top four West Coast ports for albacore landings have been Washington Coast, WA ( 54,462 metric tons, $ 218.9 million), Newport, OR ( 13,503 metric tons, $ 59.8 million), Coos Bay, OR ( 8,610 metric tons, $ 37.4 million), Astoria-Tillamook, OR ( 7,657 metric tons, $ 32.8 million).

This gear consists of floating gillnet panels suspended vertically in the water column to catch pelagic species. It has a minimum stretched mesh size of 17 inches and a single set of the gear may not exceed 6,000 feet in length. The gear is set at night targeting thresher sharks and swordfish; however in recent decades thresher sharks have been a smaller part of catch. Although historically operating as far north as Oregon, fishing has generally occurred south of Monterey, mainly in the Southern California Bight, in the fall and winter since the early 2000s. The fishery originally developed in the 1980s, but participation and catch has precipitously declined since then. This decline is at least in part due to restrictions on the operation of the fishery to mitigate catch of marine mammals and sea turtles. Both Federal and California limited entry permits are required to participate.

In 2023 landings in this fishery totaled 75 metric tons worth $ 481,280 compared to 166 metric tons worth $ 946,780 in recent 10-year average.

California’s harpoon fishery for swordfish developed in the early 1900s. While harpoon gear historically accounted for the majority of swordfish landings in California ports, participation has declined in the recent decades. In recent years, annual participation has ranged from 25 to 6 vessels. Fishing typically occurs in the Southern California Bight from May to December, peaking in August, depending on weather conditions and the availability of fish in coastal waters. Some vessel operators work in conjunction with a spotter airplane to increase the search area and to locate swordfish that are difficult to see from the vessel. This practice tends to increase the catch-per-unit-effort compared to vessels that do not use a spotter plane, but at higher operating cost.

In 2023 landings in this fishery totaled 36 metric tons worth $ 457,350 compared to 18 metric tons worth $ 2.4 million in recent 10-year average.

This fishery is composed of small coastal purse seine vessels operating in the Southern California Bight from May to October. These vessels generally target coastal pelagic species, such as Pacific mackerel, Pacific sardine, anchovy, and market squid. However, in the absence of these species (or once a quota has been reached), the fishery will target more tropically distributed yellowfin and skipjack tunas when intrusions of warm water from the south bring these species within range. Similarly, purse seine vessel operators will target temperate water bluefin tuna when they enter the coastal waters of the Southern California Bight if CPS are not available. In recent years, the availability of Pacific bluefin in Southern California has increased substantially and has comprised about 15% of landings.

In 2023 landings in this fishery totaled 163 metric tons worth $ 197,010 compared to 1,065 metric tons worth $ 1.4 million in recent 10-year average.

The HMS FMP, along with state regulations, prohibit pelagic longline fishing within the West Coast EEZ. Federal regulations also prohibit landings on the West Coast of billfish, such as striped marlin and shortbill spearfish.

Under the HMS FMP, permitting of shallow-set longline gear (which targets swordfish) is prohibited. However, permitting of deep-set longline vessels (which typically target tuna and opah) is allowed. Vessels possessing Hawaii limited access pelagic longline permits may fish outside of the West Coast EEZ with both shallow-set and deep-set longline gear and land into West Coast ports. These landings mainly occur in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego ports. The majority of pelagic longline vessels landing on the West Coast fish under Hawaii longline permits, and have home ports in areas outside of the West Coast. In recent years, an increased number of Hawaiian-permitted longline vessels have made San Diego their home port.

In recent years, pelagic longline landings have accounted for about two-thirds of total West Coast swordfish landings and a quarter of non-albacore tuna landings.

In 2023 landings in this fishery totaled 368 metric tons worth $ 2.6 million compared to 1,053 metric tons worth 6.6 million in recent 10-year average.

DSBG initially developed off the U.S. West Coast through a series of research fishing trials that began in 2011. This initial research indicated that both standard and linked DSBG were effective gear types for selectively targeting swordfish and potentially profitable to fishermen. DSBG also demonstrated high selectivity for swordfish with minimal bycatch and protected species interactions.

These promising results led the Council to recommend that NMFS issue EFPs to fishermen to expand testing of DSBG throughout the U.S. West Coast Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). EFP fishing began in 2015. On September 15, 2023, NMFS authorized DSBG fishing under the HMS FMP and began issuing limited entry permits for use of DSBG within the Southern California Bight.

Deep-set buoy gear can be fished in two configurations, termed standard and linked. In 2023, 99% percent of DSBG effort was made using the standard configuration. Data available only for the authorized fishery September 15, 2023 and later.