State Finfish Management Project

Note: Links with an asterisk (*) lead to pages outside the DFG Marine Region website.

The State Finfish Management Project (SFMP) was created in July 2006 with a full time staff of seven scientists (reduced to five scientists in 2010). Project staff is currently based in Monterey and Los Alamitos, and focuses on fisheries that are recreationally, commercially and ecologically important to California, and which are managed by the State alone. California halibut, surfperch, nearshore basses, and hagfish are among the species for which the SFMP collects data. The fishery data collected by the SFMP includes length-at-age, catch per unit-of-effort, seasonal maturity, fishing gear effects on undersized fish, and relative species composition within habitats. Not all types of data are collected for all species. These data are collected in order to manage fisheries with the best available information and ensure their long term resource sustainability for economic and recreational benefits.