Oregon commercial fishermen will be able to land and sell yelloweye rockfish next year for the first time in 25 years, marking a major milestone in the recovery of a species once declared overfished.

According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, yelloweye rockfish was declared overfished in 2002, leading to the closure of commercial fishing for the species. A recent assessment found the population has since rebuilt enough to allow limited commercial harvest beginning in 2027.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fishery manager Troy Buell discussed the reopening with fishermen during a meeting in Port Orford.

“There was a time I didn’t think I’d ever see another yelloweye rockfish at the dock legally,” Buell told fishermen. “Now, it’s rebuilt.”

The amount fishermen will be permitted to land in 2027 and 2028 will remain small compared with catch limits for other species, but the reopening represents a significant step for Oregon’s nearshore fleet.

“It’s a big deal for us,” Phillip Russum, a member of the Port Orford Sustainable Seafood Cooperative, told OPB. “It’s a high-quality catch that we once harvested.”

Russum said the recovery also shows that restrictions put in place to rebuild the population worked.

Beyond providing fishermen with renewed access to the species, the reopening could give scientists valuable information about yelloweye rockfish for the first time in decades. Fisheries researchers rely heavily on samples from commercial catches to collect biological data used in stock assessments and management decisions.

“Fisheries data is where we get most of the data on these fish,” Buell said. “We’re going to be able to start collecting some of that again and getting ages and lengths and maturities.”

Scientists will use those samples to track the health of the rebuilt population and help inform future catch limits, making the return of yelloweye rockfish to Oregon docks both a fishing opportunity and a new source of data for managers.