Research Document - 2006/076

A review of yelloweye rockfish Sebastes ruberrimus along the Pacific coast of Canada: biology, distribution and abundance trends

By Yamanaka, K.L., L.C. Lacko, R. Withler, C. Grandin, J.K. Lochead, J.C. Martin, N. Olsen and S.S. Wallace

Abstract

This paper compiles information on the distribution, biology, and abundance trends of yelloweye rockfish Sebastes ruberrimus, in Canada, for use in a Committee on Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) status report. Yelloweye rockfish are found in the northeast Pacific from Baja California to the Aleutian Islands. In British Columbia (BC), there are two designatable units of yelloweye rockfish recognized in this report; an "inside" unit that is undefined but includes the Strait of Georgia and possibly north to Queen Charlotte Strait and an "outside" unit that extends from southeast Alaska through to northern Oregon and includes the whole of the BC offshore and central coast areas. Fisheries catch yelloweye rockfish between 19 and 251 metres in depth over an estimated 41,694 square kilometres in BC. Yelloweye rockfish are aged to 115 years in BC and 50% of individuals 18 years of age are sexual maturity. Generation time is defined as the mean age of reproductive females and is estimated at 37.5 years for the "inside" unit and 32.5 years for the "outside" unit. Females tend to be larger and older than males and reach a maximum size of 88 cm in BC. Total mortality rate ranges from 0.03 to 0.06 depending on the model used and natural mortality is estimated at 0.02 using catch curve analysis. Fishery dependant catch per unit of effort (CPUE) is heavily influenced by management actions applied to the fishery and can not be used to interpret population trends. Abundance trends may be determined from research surveys over the long-term, however, the time series of data to date may be too short to detect any trends.

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