During a recent government webinar, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) discussed the status of the chili pepper fish species, highlighting significant concerns regarding its assessment and management. Although the National Integrated Marine Monitoring System (NIMS) report did not specifically address chili pepper, CDFW noted that its benchmark assessment is comparable to that of the red banded rockfish.

Aging studies for chili pepper have been sparse since 2017, primarily due to the retirement of specialists skilled in reading the species. The CDFW presented a workload analysis indicating that achieving a target of 7,200 age reads would require approximately 10 months of work for a single reader. This raises questions about the feasibility of timely assessments.

Access to chili pepper off the California coast has been restricted since the early 2000s, with much of its habitat located within conservation areas for recreational and commercial rockfish. CDFW suggested that ongoing discussions about incorporating remotely operated vehicle indices or other methodologies could help address the challenges posed by spatial and temporal closures.

Moreover, the agency reported a significant increase in chili pepper mortality in recent years, particularly in the 2023 recreational fishery. CDFW has collected 125 otoliths from this fishery, but given the rising mortality rates, they propose that additional samples be gathered to better understand the population dynamics. The data presented indicated a concerning upward trend in recreational catch, underscoring the need for immediate attention to the management of this species.