Lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus) ranges from Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska to Baja California, and its center of abundance is near British Columbia and Washington and genetic variation indicates that lingcod are genetically similar throughout the range (Jagielo et al. 1996). Lingcod is assessed in the full Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) management zone (the US-Vancouver, Columbia, Eureka, Monterey, and Conception INPFC areas). This species is managed as two units – a northern stock including the waters off Washington and Oregon and a southern stock including the waters off California. Jagielo and Wallace (2005) conducted an assessment of lingcod split into a northern and southern stock based upon the INPFC areas: Vancouver-Columbia (excluding Canadian waters) and Eureka, Monterey, Conception.

The most recent assessment (Hamel et al. 2009) kept the north – south split but based this on state boundaries – the Northern area being Washington and Oregon, and the southern area being California. This choice was made due to data availability and evidence that the Eureka area appeared to be connected to the northern and southern areas, so the Eureka area was split in half.

Management of this fishery on a national level is the responsibility of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). In the United States, management measures for the Pacific groundfish fishery are described in the Pacific Coast Groundfish Management Plan (Jagielo and Wallace 2005).

Fishery landings and catch distributions suggest no clear stock delineations for lingcod in U.S. waters and survey catches imply a continuous distribution over most of the range, with the largest catches occurring over a swath of latitude and depth (Jagielo and Wallace 2005).

Tagging studies on the other hand indicate that lingcod are generally non-migratory, though some tagged individuals have moved exceptional distances. Indirect evidence suggests a seasonal onshore movement associated with spawning (Jagielo 1996). U.S. and Canadian tagging studies have demonstrated movement between coastal areas off Washington and southwest Vancouver Island. However, there is little interchange between these areas and the inland marine waters of Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia. Thus, the exchange of adult lingcod across the US / Canada border appears limited. This also appears to be the case with the US / Mexican border (Medley et al 2014).

The current northern and southern stocks are based on a lack of demographic connectivity at moderate to large scales (~100-1000 km) along the coast despite general genetic similarities (Marko et al., 2007), data availability which restricts the number of areas that it is possible to model in an assessment, and evidence from comparison of length compositions and survey indices that the Eureka INPFC area is more like the areas to its north than those to its south (Medley et al 2014).

This fishery was certified by the Marine Stewardship Council system in June 2014. Click here to link to the MSC fishery page and to learn more about the MSC fishery certification unit.