The fishery is closed inside 25 miles from mid-December through January to protect migrating gray whales. Legislation prohibits netting for swordfish or thresher shark within 75 miles of the mainland from February1 through August 14. California's swordfish are most abundant from October through the Christmas holidays. Fishery scientists from these commissions monitor and assess highly migratory fish populations and provide a forum for harvesting nations to implement conservation measures. Pacific Ocean Swordfish Stocks are healthy.
Scientists consider Pacific Ocean swordfish stocks to be in good condition.
To sustain healthy Pacific swordfish stocks as well as other highly migratory species in the Pacific, the U.S. and other Pacific Rim countries are negotiating a long-term conservation and management plan. The U.S. is a signatory to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, the U.N. accord on straddling fish stocks and highly migratory species, and the Majuro Declaration, all of which which foster international efforts to conserve and manage highly migratory stocks in the Pacific. California's swordfish fleet, which has produced an average 2.3 million pounds a year for the last 20 years, has a small impact on Pacific swordfish stocks, yet California fishermen are the most strictly regulated of all Pacific Rim fleets. American fishermen are strictly regulated and allowed to catch a limited number of swordfish annually. The U.S. harvest is closely monitored.