Great feedback on the fish descender device. The best is the Seaqualizer that clips on a downrigger. We are working on a grant to get those and give them out in 2016 and 2017 to the general public. We have already been doing the ocean for two years and now the Puget Sound this year We already got most of the Washington state charterboats supplied with Seaqualizers.

For the ocean we have used the pigtail swivels on our mainlines. We have a 5 pound ball sitting in a holder with a shelton fish descender attached. Who ever catches a bycatch rockfish, grabs the shelton and twists off their lure and puts the shelton on and sends it back down. Its very easy and quick. Like you said though might not happen with others. I dont think you need more than three pounds in here. 5 pounds will sink most rockfish in the ocean. We keep additional weights close by to clip on the main line if the fish doesn't go down. We caught a 3' yelloweye several years ago and it took 11 pounds to get it back down. 5 pounds pulled its head under water. Added 3 pounds more and it pulled it straight down, 3 more pounds took it right down.

I am sure that most people would have and use a fish descender if it kept their fishing area from shutting down.

Right now this MPA stuff is still a work in progress. WDFWs ROV did see one of their tagged yelloweye in Hood Canal that was pregnant and ready to spawn. This is the best news ever. This was one that they previously caught, visual tagged it and took it back down with a Seaqualizer fish descender. This shows that descended yelloweye/rockfish not only live, but recover give birth to more rockfish.


The problem with the ESA listing of these rockfish is it has the potential to be one of the worst fishing impacts on recreational fishing that we have ever seen.

There are many groups advocating MPAs or fishing closures in the Puget Sound. Many are funded by crisis. No crisis no funding. So they want to play it up to the max. Divers are telling us rockfish are rebounding very well. Some divers put this video together for us to show this as no one else is advocating they are rebounding. You have to see this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiRbRmkWXWc

To date the hundreds of closures around Vancouver Island have shown no change. They have not gotten better or worse. There is no proof they work in our region. In fact Lingcod unchecked can take them out.