Canary Rockfish

About the Species

Canary rockfish have been an important commercial species since at least the early 1880s, with fisheries off San Francisco, California and Washington state. They are caught in trawling and hook and line operations, along with a variety of other fish such as yellowtail, lingcod, and other rockfishes. The population on the U.S. West Coast was declared overfished in 2000 and a recovery plan was implemented in 2001. This stock was declared rebuilt in 2015.

U.S. wild-caught canary rockfish is a smart seafood choice because it is sustainably managed and responsibly harvested under U.S. regulations.

Status

• According to the 2016 stock assessment, the canary rockfish stock on the West Coast is not overfished and is not subject to overfishing based on 2016 catch data. This stock had been overfished and was successfully rebuilt in 2015.
• The Puget Sound/Georgia Basin distinct population segment of canary rockfish was listed under the ESA in 2010 and delisted in 2017. There is more information about this in the Research section.
• In the Gulf of Alaska, canary rockfish are assessed as part of two stock complexes with other demersal shelf rockfish.
  • According to the 2017 stock assessment, the status of the demersal shelf rockfish complex is unknown.
  • According to the 2017 stock assessment, the status of the other rockfish complex is unknown.

Appearance

• Adult canary rockfish are bright yellow/orange mottling above and gray underneath, three orange stripes across the head, and orange fins.
• Animals less than 14 inches long have dark markings on the posterior part of the spiny dorsal fin.
• Adults have gray along the lateral line.
• The genus name Sebastes is Greek for "magnificent" and the species name pinniger is Latin for "large-finned."

Biology

• Canary rockfish are large rockfish that reach up to 2.5 feet in length and 10 pounds.
• They can live up to 75 years.
• Approximately 50 percent of adult canary rockfish are mature at 14 inches total length (about 5 to 6 years of age).
• Rockfishes are unusual among the bony fishes in that fertilization and embryo development is internal and female rockfish give birth to live larval young.
• Female can have 260,000 to 1.9 million eggs, considerably more than many other rockfish species.
• Larval rockfish feed on diatoms, dinoflagellates, tintinnids, and cladocerans.
• Juveniles consume copepods and euphausiids of all life stages.
• Adults eat demersal invertebrates and small fishes, including other species of rockfish.

Where They Live

• Canary rockfish are found between Punta Colnett, Baja California, and the Western Gulf of Alaska. Within this range, canary rockfish are most common off the coast of central Oregon.

Management

• NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council manage the canary rockfish fishery on the West Coast.
• Managed under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan:
  • Permits and limited entry to the fishery.
  • Limit on how much may be harvested in one fishing trip.
  • Certain seasons and areas are closed to fishing.
  • Gear restrictions help reduce bycatch and impacts on habitat.
  • A trawl rationalization catch share program that includes:
  • Catch limits based on the population status of each fish stock and divided into shares that are allocated to individual fishermen or groups.
  • Provisions that allow fishermen to decide how and when to catch their share.
• Prior to the canary rockfish stock rebuilding, fishing for other species like Dover sole and black cod was limited by canary rockfish catch limits. Now that the canary rockfish stock has rebuilt, fishermen can catch and land more of all these species.
• NOAA Fisheries and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council manage canary rockfish as part of the Gulf of Alaska demersal shelf rockfish (DSR) complex.
• Managed under the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska:
  • There is no directed fishing for this species in Alaska, and only minor amounts are landed incidentally in other fisheries.
  • The State of Alaska manages the DSR complex in the Southeast Outside district of the Gulf of Alaska.