The West Coast Pacific hake (also known as Pacific whiting) fishery appears poised for a multi-year stretch of high productivity and, more than likely, high harvest volumes.

Recent surveys for the fishery, which stretches roughly from Northern California to Northern British Columbia, indicate the spawning biomass is on a major upswing on par with levels in the mid-2000s.

"Our assessments indicate we have a very abundant resource," John Devore, groundfish management coordinator with NOAA Fisheries, told IntraFish.

The US-Canadian joint management committee earlier this year established a coastwide adjusted total allowable catch (TAC) of 365,112 metric tons for 2013.