The demersal shelf rockfish (DSR) complex (yelloweye, quillback, copper, rosethorn, canary, China, and tiger rockfish) (Table 1) is assessed on a biennial cycle, with full stock assessments typically conducted in odd calendar years, however we are presenting a full stock assessment this year to coincide with new survey data and the development of a new model. Historically, the stock assessment was based on relative abundance estimates from a manned submersible (Delta), however as of 2010, the submersible was retired from use. No surveys were conducted in 2010 and 2011 while an alternate vehicle was sought. In 2012, we transitioned the survey from a submersible to a remote operated vehicle (ROV), and conducted stock assessment surveys in 2012 and 2013. In 2014, we planned to conduct a survey but had to cancel due to weather. The acceptable biological catch (ABC) and overfishing level (OFL) for this year’s SAFE (Table 2) are based on the most recent ROV and submersible density estimates of yelloweye rockfish in each management area using our historical methodology (Brylinsky et al. 2009). However, the results of a preliminary statistical age-structured model, which incorporates submersible and ROV yelloweye rockfish density estimates, commercial, sport, and subsistence fishery data, and International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) survey data, are presented in Appendix B.
