Age validation of four rockfishes (genera Sebastes and Sebastolobus) with bomb-produced radiocarbon

In rockfish (Family Scorpaenidae), age determination is difficult and the annual nature of otolith growth zones must be validated independently. We applied routine age determination to four species of Gulf of Alaska rockfish: two shallower-water species, namely harlequin rockfish (Sebastes variegatus) and redstripe rockfish (Sebastes proriger), and two deep-water species, namely shortspine thornyhead (Sebastolobus alascanus) and shortraker rockfish (Sebastes borealis). The estimated ages (counts of presumed annual growth zones in the otoliths) were then evaluated with bomb-produced radiocarbon (14C) and Bayesian modelling with Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations. This study successfully demonstrated the level of accuracy in estimated ages of redstripe rockfish (a 35% probability of underageing, and ~5% probability of overageing) and harlequin rockfish (a 100% probability that they were underaged by ~3 or 4 years). Measured Δ14C in shortspine thornyhead and shortraker rockfish otoliths was lower and increased later than expected. Hence, incorrect age determination could not be evaluated. This is likely caused by dissimilar environmental and biological availability of 14C between these two species and the Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) reference chronology, or underageing of these two species.

Protecting rockfish through gear design: development of a selective flatfish trawl for the U.S. west coast bottom trawl fishery

This study evaluated the potential to reduce the bycatch of rockfish (Sebastes spp.) in a flatfish trawl fishery by developing a selective trawl that separates flatfish from rockfish using differences in their behavior as the trawl net approaches. Using an alternate haul, randomized block design, we compared catches between a commonly used combination trawl and a newly designed, low-rise trawl incorporating a "cutback" headrope. For most of the target flatfish species, the experimental trawl had a 25–59% higher catch rate (kilograms) than the control net (P < 0.05), consistent with greater footrope length in the experimental trawl. Increased catches of some small rockfish, skates, and sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) were also observed (P < 0.05). The catches of many larger roundfish and rockfish species, including canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger), redstripe rockfish (Sebastes proriger), Pacific hake (Merluccius productus), and shortspine thornyhead (Sebastolobus alascanus) more than 25 cm long, were reduced from 34 to 97% in the experimental trawl (P < 0.05). Under weak-stock management conditions, in which the bycatch of overfished rockfish species limits directed flatfish fisheries, trawl designs that permit nontarget species to escape before entrainment can significantly reduce bycatch mortality and prevent premature closures of directed flatfish fisheries.

Population genetics, phylogeography, and systematics of the thornyhead rockfishes (Sebastolobus) along the deep continental slopes of the North Pacific Ocean

Population genetic, phylogeographic, and systematic relationships are elucidated among the three species comprising the thornyhead rockfish genus Sebastolobus (Teleostei: Scorpaenidae). Genetic variation among sampling sites representing their extensive ranges along the deep continental slopes of the northern Pacific Ocean is compared using sequence data from the left domain of the mtDNA control region. Comparisons are made among the shortspine thornyhead (S. alascanus) (from seven locations), the longspine thornyhead (S. altivelis) (from five sites), which are sympatric in the northeast, and the broadbanded thornyhead (S. macrochir) (a single site) from the northwest. Phylogenetic trees rooted to Sebastes show that S. macrochir is the sister taxon of S. alascanus and S. altivelis. Intraspecific genetic variability is appreciable, with most individuals having unique haplotypes. Gene flow is substantial among some locations and others diverged significantly. Genetic divergences among sampling sites for S. alascanus indicate an isolation by geographic distance pattern. Genetic divergences for S. altivelis are unrelated to the hypothesis of isolation by geographic distance and appear to be more consistent with the hypothesis of larval retention in currents and gyres. Differences in geographic genetic patterns between the species are attributed to life history differences in their relative mobilities as juveniles and adults.