Principal Investigator(s) and Recipient Organization(s):

• Main Author: A. J. Gharrett
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2002
• Subjects: Atka; Greenland; Pacific; Saltonstall; Turbot
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.486.9446; http://doc.nprb.org/web/02_prjs/r0209_final_all.pdf

This report is the culmination of work supported in the past by the Saltonstall-Kennedy Fund and the NMFS Auke Bay Laboratory (ABL). Support from NPRB allowed us to substantially increase sample sizes (from about 700 to more than 1200) with collections targeted to address specific questions about distribution, catch incidence, and coloration. The project was initiated by our discovery of two genetically distinct forms of rougheye rockfish (Sebastes aleutianus). The rougheye rockfish is a commercially valuable species caught in Alaskan longline and trawl fisheries. They are targeted by fishermen when possible, and often harvested to the maximum level allowed in incidental catch guidelines. Rougheye and shortraker rockfish (S. borealis) have been combined for fisheries management and together contribute to bycatch of fisheries for other species, particularly Pacific ocean perch, Atka mackerel, Greenland turbot, Pacific cod, sablefish, and halibut. Populations of rougheye and shortraker rockfish are quite sensitive to overharvest and slow to rebuild, as are populations of most long-lived species. Consequently, groundfish management pays careful attention to abundance assessments