NOAA FISHERIES RECENTLY removed Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca populations of canary rockfish from the federal list of threatened and endangered species after a recent collaborative study found those fish are not genetically distinct from other canary rockfish on the West Coast.
The move doesn’t affect state fishing restrictions on rockfish in inside waters, which prohibit anglers from targeting, possessing or retaining any rockfish species, because yelloweye rockfish and bocaccio remain listed under the Endangered Species Act.
It does, however, show the value of citizens interacting in a positive manner with government agencies and affecting change.
In 2010, NOAA listed canary rockfish, yelloweye rockfish, and bocaccio in the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin under the ESA as “distinct population segments,” presuming that they were genetically discrete from the rest of the species. But they didn’t have the data to back that up, instead drawing on genetic variation among populations of other rockfish species.
So a test study to collect and study listed rockfish samples drew on the expertise of area fishing guides, along with members of the Puget Sound Anglers and Kitsap Pogie fishing clubs to catch enough canary and yelloweye rockfish to conduct the genetic analysis using small tissue samples taken from the fins of each fish.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife compiled data on ESA-listed rockfish in the area from previous surveys and deployed a remotely operated vehicle below the surface of the Sound to locate rockfish and guide test fishers to their location.
“By combining the at-sea experience of long-time bottomfish anglers with the scientific knowledge of the WDFW, we were successfully able to locate and sample hundreds of fish,” said Dayv Lowry, senior research scientist with Fish and Wildlife.
“It was a perfect example of collaboration and cooperation in search of actionable knowledge for rockfish management.”
Clam size change
An increase in the minimum size limit for clam harvesters at the Quilcene Bay Tidelands will go into effect Saturday.
The minimum size limit for Manila, native littleneck, cockle or butter clams taken for personal use from public tidelands on the west side of Quilcene Bay north of the county boat ramp is increased from 1 1/4 inches to 1 1/2 inches measured across the longest dimension of the shell.
The smaller minimum size of 1 1/4 inches was in place because of a historical precedent for this tideland.
Port Townsend-based Fish and Wildlife Biologist Camille Speck said clams on the public tidelands in Quilcene Bay tended to be stunted and did not often reach the standard minimum harvest size of 1 1/2 inches.
Changing ecology, likely related to a decrease in oyster biomass on the Quilcene Bay Tidelands, has resulted in more normal growth patterns for Manila clams at this location.
State and tribal co-managers have agreed that the smaller minimum size restriction for clam harvest on the west side of Quilcene Bay, north of the boat ramp, is no longer necessary.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
