photo credit: Marc Albert/KRCB
Bodega Bay's fishing fleet stayed mainly in harbor last year

If you make your living from the sea, chances are, 2023 was a tough year. Salmon season was cancelled, crab season delayed and a dearth of nearshore groundfish had regulators cutting that season short.

At the same time, other species that have been off the menu for two decades, chilipepper and chameleon rockfishes, were reopened to anglers throughout the state thanks to a strong recovery.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife released it's '2023 By the Numbers' report last week, with figures on the total weight of catch at each major fishing port. That's along with the commercial value and a list of the most commonly caught seafood by value.

Trends haven't been great for those casting lines, according to Ross Cooper, a research data supervisor at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"In Bodega Bay, the last couple of years the landings, in terms of pounds has remained fairly consistent, but the value has declined over the last several years," Cooper said.

Statewide data collected in the report shows those fishing brought in 2.1 million pounds in 2023. That's 100-thousand pounds more than the year before.

But the total dollar value of the catch brought in to Bodega Bay plummeted by 40 percent.

Cooper said a number of factors may be at play.

"Certain species that have a lower price per pound being brought in, certain species not being able to be landed, like salmon or other species that the department is taking efforts to try to bring their population numbers back up," Cooper said.

Statewide, the 2023 report lists squid as the most caught species by weight, followed by Dungeness crab and anchovies.

In 2022, squid also led the list, followed by sardines, sablefish and Dungeness crab.

A dynamic ocean plays a role, Cooper added.

"Oceanic conditions cause different species to not even be in the area in which they might be caught, like an El Nino or unseasonably warm or cold water temperatures," Cooper said.