All hands on deck: Cooperative research sheds light on status of ESA-listed rockfish populations.

In 2010, populations of yelloweye ( Sebastes ruberrimus ) and canary ( Sebastes pinniger ) rockfish in Puget Sound, WA were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Their designation as “distinct population segments” (DPS) was based mainly on genetic and demographic evidence from other Puget Sound rockfish species. Our primary objective was to test whether fishes within the DPS were genetically similar to or distinct from their respective coastal populations. In 2014 and 2015, we worked with local charter boat captains and experienced anglers to collect demographic data and fin clips from both species throughout Puget Sound, creating a working relationship with the recreational fishing community to answer management-relevant questions. We collected 51 canary and 49 yelloweye rockfish samples from within the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin DPS for comparison to fish from the Strait of Georgia, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and outer coasts of Washington State and British Columbia. We performed next-generation Restriction site Associated DNA (RAD) sequencing to capture single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) variation throughout the genomes for these samples. Analyses suggest distinct genetic structure between inland and coastal waters for yelloweye, while there was no evidence for genetic structure for canary rockfish. Further structure was observed within inland yelloweye rockfish as individuals collected in Hood Canal were distinct from other Puget Sound/Georgia Basin individuals. Management implications of this work may include potential changes to the DPS boundaries for yelloweye rockfish and the potential de-listing of canary rockfish from the list of threatened species under ESA. Future work will include exploring the landscape genomics of yelloweye rockfish to determine specific alleles responsible for the observed structuring among populations. Anecdotally, we collected fin clip samples from three bocaccio ( Sebastes paucispinis; listed as ‘endangered’ in Puget Sound) in Puget Sound, and we will perform similar analyses for this species