Should Anglers Release Lingcod Females?

April 26, 2012

Question: Last year before the end of rockfish season, I went on a charter boat out of Berkeley. Some of the lingcod caught were females with eggs. When do lingcod spawn and can keeping these females hurt the fishery in the future? Should we as anglers release females like we do for striped bass? I’m glad to see the size limit dropped and the season longer, but I don’t want to be back to where we were before. (Jason Green)

Answer: Lingcod and other groundfish are federally managed. Harvest management plans and stock assessments take into account the removal of both males and females when setting quotas, so fishery managers do factor in the take of females, too.

According to Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Environmental Biologist Travis Tanaka, the lingcod stock has fully recovered from their overfished status and so the spawning closure is no longer required to protect the stocks. Lingcod don’t get the bends (no swim bladder), so females can be released if handled properly.

In northern California, the seasons are closed for lingcod and other groundfish species in late fall, winter and spring for boat-based anglers. The closures help to protect mature female lingcod that have moved closer to shore to spawn, and protect the mature males that guard the egg nests.

Lingcod are a species that if handled properly can often be successfully caught and released. However, unless regulations prohibit keeping the fish (e.g. bag and minimum size limits) or the angler is releasing all fish, if it turns out the fish has been improperly handled or is bleeding and may not survive, the fish should be kept. Releasing bleeding females that may not survive in order to keep males instead just wastes fish and is not a good conservation method.

Lingcod generally spawn from November through February. Females do take longer to mature and they grow to a larger size than males. By some estimates, males only grow to 24-26 inches. Females are legal to keep, so keeping an egg-laden female would be up to that fisherman’s personal ethics. In addition, the practice of divers choosing to shoot male lingcod while they are guarding the egg beds is not prohibited, but it is a reflection of that fisherman’s ethics.

Bottom line … female lingcod are legal to take and so it’s up to the fisherman to decide whether or not they want to.

By some estimates, males only grow to 24-26 inches.

I had no idea I have been throwing back all the smaller males and keeping only the larger females.

By some estimates, males only grow to 24-26 inches.

I had no idea I have been throwing back all the smaller males and keeping only the larger females.

I'm pretty sure there's no shortage of lingcod. I say keep all the females you want.

I releas all but what I am going to eat that night. I like it fresh and there not that hard to catch

By some estimates, males only grow to 24-26 inches.

I had no idea I have been throwing back all the smaller males and keeping only the larger females.

I'm pretty sure there's no shortage of lingcod. I say keep all the females you want.

By some estimates, males only grow to 24-26 inches.

I had no idea I have been throwing back all the smaller males and keeping only the larger females.

I'm pretty sure there's no shortage of lingcod. I say keep all the females you want.

+1.

Two weeks ago I shot a limit of Lingcod out of the exact same spot in a crack...not just the same crack...the exact same spot....shot a 32 incher, put her on the yak, dove back down again and a 28 incher was sitting right in the exact same spot. I shot her too. 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Lings are out of control and taking over the reefs. Kill as many as the regs will allow, males females kill them all.  Remember when gophers used to be the annoying rockfish? Now it's underlings.

So help me understand how to identify between males and females other than by size.  If somebody wanted to leave females alone, they can't just assume all fish in the 24"-26" are males.

So help me understand how to identify between males and females other than by size.  If somebody wanted to leave females alone, they can't just assume all fish in the 24"-26" are males.

The males have a penis Michael. 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

So help me understand how to identify between males and females other than by size.  If somebody wanted to leave females alone, they can't just assume all fish in the 24"-26" are males.

The males have a penis Michael. 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

conical papilla

-Allen

So help me understand how to identify between males and females other than by size.  If somebody wanted to leave females alone, they can't just assume all fish in the 24"-26" are males.

The males have a penis Michael. 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

conical papilla

-Allen

Adult males can be distinguished externally from females by the presence of a small, conical papilla behind the anal vent.

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=2385.msg18150#msg18150

 

Sincerely,

Jim

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

i see many thin headed- skinny ones i believe are males (we call them snakeheads)
i see less of the THICKER ones with thicker heads, which are usually bigger, which i think are females.
I rarely keep any lings, but will keep a few this season to gift. Blacks and blues are my tablefare of choice.

KielLingSoup!!  KielLingSoup!

Only keep the small lings, under 35 inches. Anything bigger gets to swim away.