In 2025, the last full year of PacFIN data, West Coast commercial fishermen landed 671.3 thousand pounds of shortspine thornyhead worth $2.6 million, averaging $3.87 per pound. Ex-vessel value rose 41% from 2024, and average price per pound rose 66%. Ranked by total catch value, shortspine thornyhead is 18th among the 263 species and species groups reported to PacFIN and tracked by Cormorant.
Washington landings of shortspine thornyhead total less than 1% of ex-vessel value (or are confidential) and are not charted.
Shortspine thornyhead is overwhelmingly a California fishery (93% of 2025 ex-vessel value), with smaller landings in Oregon and Washington. It was landed in 15 of the 19 PacFIN port areas, from Northern Puget Sound, Washington, south to Los Angeles, California, with confidential landings as far south as San Diego. Santa Barbara led all port areas with 41% of value.
Port areas ranked by ex-vessel value with landed weight and price per pound.
1 port area had only confidential shortspine thornyhead data and is excluded from these rankings.
Shortspine thornyhead is landed year-round; even the busiest month, September, accounted for just 13% of 2025 landed pounds. Timing differs by state: landings peaked in August in California and January in Oregon.
In 2025, the largest share of shortspine thornyhead ex-vessel value came from hook and line (91%), followed by trawl gear (9%), based on PacFIN gear-group landings.
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Data sourced from PacFIN (Pacific Fisheries Information Network) and carries the limitations of that source, including reporting lags and confidentiality thresholds for landings with fewer than 3 vessels. Cormorant does not guarantee accuracy and is not a substitute for official fisheries reporting.