Action: RCAs

As rockfish populations continued to decline, it was clear that something had to be done to protect them. Through the Rockfish Conservation Strategy, Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs) were created by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) in 2002. RCAs were to provide refuge for rockfish populations to rebuild inside and outside the protected areas. RCAs do not prohibit all fishing; you can check who can fish and how in the table below.

 

Permitted and prohibited fisheries in RCAs. Image: Dana Haggaty (2013)

Permitted and prohibited fisheries in RCAs. Image: Dana Haggaty (2013)

 

Overall, 164 RCAs were put in along the BC coast from 2004 to 2007. You can see a map of them below, or go to DFO’s website for more.

Map of RCAs along the BC coast. Image: Yamanaka and Logan (2010)

Map of RCAs along the BC coast. Image: Yamanaka and Logan (2010)

The placement of RCAs was decided based on models to predict where the best rockfish habitat would be (since there wasn’t enough research to decide on data alone).  Recreational fishers, commercial fishers, First Nations fishers and local community members were consultation with, so their concerns would be taken into consideration with the modelled habitats.

Next: Were they successful?