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Species Directory

Canary Rockfish

Overview Resources

Canary Rockfish

Sebastes pinniger

640x427-canary rockfish.png
Also Known As
Canaries, Canary rockcod, Rockfish

Quick Facts

Region
Alaska, West Coast
Fish Watch. U.S. Seafood Facts Logo
canary-rockfish-noaa-750x500.jpg

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.

Population Status Icon

Population Level

Above target population levels on the Pacific Coast.

Fishing Status Icon

Fishing Status

At recommended levels on the Pacific Coast.

Habitat Impacts Icon

Habitat Impacts

Most fishing gear used to harvest canary rockfish rarely contacts the ocean floor and has minimal impacts on habitat. Area closures and gear restrictions protect sensitive rocky, cold-water coral and sponge habitats from bottom trawl gear.

Bycatch Icon

Bycatch

Regulations are in place to minimize bycatch of overfished and protected species.

Status

  • According to the 2015 stock assessment, the canary rockfish stock on the West Coast is not overfished and is not subject to overfishing based on 2018 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.
    • No stock complexes are currently subject to overfishing.

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.

Featured News

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Feature Story

Local Knowledge and Angler Volunteers Helped Remove West Coast Rockfish from Endangered Species List

West Coast
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Feature Story

Canary Rockfish—A Story of U.S. Fisheries Management

West Coast
View More News

Recreational Fishing Regulations

Commercial Fishing Regulations

Subsistence Fishing Regulations

Science Overview

Documents

Document

Economic Analysis of Critical Habitat Designation for the Georgia Basin/Puget Sound Distinct Population Segments of Yelloweye Rockfish, Canary Rockfish, and Bocaccio

The purpose of this report is to identify and analyze the potential economic impacts associated…

West Coast
Document

Final Section 4(b)(2) Report for the Designation of Critical Habitat for Yelloweye Rockfish, Canary Rockfish, and Bocaccio

This report contains NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region’s analysis for designating critical habitat…

West Coast
Document

Biological Report for the Designation of Critical Habitat for Yelloweye Rockfish, Canary Rockfish, and Bocaccio

This report contains a biological analysis compiled by the Protected Resources Division of NOAA…

West Coast
Document

Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife Puget Sound Rockfish Scientific Research Environmental Assessment

On April 23, 2009, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposed to list the Puget Sound…

West Coast
More Documents

Research

Science Leading to Recovery and Delisting of Puget Sound Rockfish

Using genetics, experimental fieldwork and computer modeling to determine whether rockfish species meet criteria and recovery goals of Endangered Species Act.

West Coast

Science Leading to the Protection of Puget Sound Rockfish

Quantifying historical fishing pressure on and population trends of rockfish in Puget Sound to determine listing status under the Endangered Species Act.

West Coast

Ecosystem Science for Endangered and Threatened Rockfish in Puget Sound

In 2010, we listed Yelloweye Rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus) and Canary Rockfish (S. pinniger) as 'threatened' and Bocaccio (S. paucispinis) as 'endangered' in Puget Sound, WA under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) due to large decreases in their…

West Coast

Ecological Research on Rockfishes in Puget Sound

We used oceanographic modeling, acoustic tracking technology and stable isotope analyses to examine basic research questions for rockfish in Puget Sound.

West Coast
More Research
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