Canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 17

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Technical summary

Sebastes pinniger

Sébaste canari

Range of occurrence in Canada: Widespread in the coastal waters of British Columbia

Extent and area information

>60 000 km ²

Stable

Probably not

>32 000 km ²

Stable

Probably not

Widespread, continuous distribution

N/A – continuous distribution

N/A – continuous distribution

No known trends

Population information

20-30 years (22.8 U.S. estimate)

4 to 8 million, minimal estimate

Total population trend; % decline over the last/next 10 years or 3 generations.

West Coast of Vancouver Island (WCVI)

• West Coast of Vancouver Island shrimp survey (decline 78% 1975-2006)
• US Triennial survey (declined 96% 1980-2001)
• Pooled WCVI/Triennial (declined 86% 1975-2006)
• Commercial catch per unit effort (CPUE) (increasing since 1996 (low weight))

Queen Charlotte Sound (QCS)

• QCS shrimp survey (Increasing/no trend (low weight))
• QCS groundfish survey (Increasing (low weight))
• Hecate Strait assemblage survey (Declining (low weight))
• Goose Island Gully Pacific Ocean perch (POP) survey (Declining (low weight))
• Commercial CPUE (No trend (low weight))

North coast (west Queen Charlotte Islands)

• No information on trends

No evidence of this over 30 years

No evidence of this

Not applicable

Not applicable

Not applicable

Threats (actual or imminent threats to populations or habitats)

Fishing; controlled by quotas, well-monitored, but management not supported by risk analysis.

 

Rescue effect (immigration from an outside source)

U.S. waters: Adjacent population to the south is estimated at 5-10% of unexploited abundance, has been declared overfished. While the fishery has almost been eliminated and rebuilding in U.S. waters is thought to be occurring, the low population levels in U.S. waters would reduce likelihood of a “rescue effect” by movement of juveniles or adults from U.S. populations. Larval immigration leading to recruitment is possible.

Yes

Possibly

Yes

Low likelihood at the present time, given current U.S. biomass.

Quantitative analysis

Not applicable

 

Current Status

COSEWIC: Threatened, November 2007

 

Status and reasons for designation

Alpha-numeric code: Met criterion for Endangered, A2b, but Threatened, A2b, because the species is widely distributed, the population includes several million mature individuals, and changes in management since 1995 have improved control of the major threat

Reasons for designation: A comparatively large (maximum weight 5.7 kg), orange-yellow fish that typically inhabits rocky bottoms at 70-270 m depths from the western Gulf of Alaska south to northern California. Its late maturity (13 years for females), long lifespan (84 years), and long generation time (20-30 years) are characteristic of species that are slow to recover following population decline. The species is treated as a single designatable unit. Two surveys in the southern part of its Canadian range, considered the most reliable indicators of population trend, show abundance index declines of 78% and 96% over 30 years and 17 years respectively. Survey indices from the northern part of the range and commercial catch per unit effort indices show no consistent trends but are of relatively short duration and are in some cases based on methods which do not adequately sample areas inhabited by the species. There is uncertainty due to high variability in the various index series (characteristic of trawl surveys) and the unknown degree to which abundance trends in the southern part of the Canadian range reflect abundance trends throughout the species’ range in Canadian waters. Fishing is the most likely cause of the observed decline. Changes to management since 1995 include 100% observer or video monitoring coverage and implementation of individual transferable quotas, which are expected to improve control of fishing. Rescue from contiguous populations to the south is unlikely given that current abundance in the US is estimated at 5-10% of unfished levels, and rescue from populations to the north is uncertain because their status is not well known.

 

Applicability of criteria

Criterion A (Declining total population):
Meets criterion A2b for endangered. Meets criterion A2b for threatened.

Criterion B (Small distribution, and decline or fluctuation):
Extent of occurrence and area of occupancy exceed threshold values.

Criterion C (Small total population size and decline):
Current population size over 1 million individuals, exceeds threshold values.

Criterion D (Very small population or restricted distribution):
Thresholds exceeded.

Criterion E (Quantitative analysis):
Not undertaken.