EPA's Vessel General Permit and Small Vessel General

Bocaccio are live-bearers with internal fertilization. Once females become mature (at 54-61 cm
total length), they produce 20,000-2.3 million eggs annually, with the number increasing as
females age and grow larger (Hart 1973b, Echeverria 1987, Love et al. 2002). However, either
sex has been known to attain sexual maturity as small as 35 cm or 3 years of age and, in recent
years as populations have declined, average age at sexual maturity may have declined as well
(Hart 1973b, Echeverria 1987, Love et al. 2002, MacCall 2002b). Mating occurs between
August and November, with larvae born between January and April (Lyubimova 1965, Moser
1967, Westrheim 1975, Wyllie Echeverria 1987, Love et al. 2002, MacCall and He 2002b).
Growth
Upon birth, bocaccio larvae measure 4-5 mm in length. These larvae move into pelagic waters
as juveniles when they are 1.5-3 cm and remain in oceanic waters from 3.5-5.5 months after birth
(usually until early June), where they grow at ~0.5-1 mm per day (Moser 1967, Matarese et al.
1989, Woodbury and Ralston 1991, Love et al. 2002, MacCall and He 2002b, MacCall 2003).
However, growth can vary from year-to-year (Woodbury and Ralston 1991). Once individuals
are 3-4 cm in length, they return to nearshore waters, where they settle into bottom habitats.
Females tend to grow faster than males, but fish may take 5 years to reach sexual maturity
(MacCall 2003). Individuals continue to grow until they reach maximum sizes of 91 cm, or 9.6
kg, at an estimated maximum age of 50 years (Eschmeyer et al. 1983a, Halstead et al. 1990,
Ralston and Ianelli 1998, Love et al. 2002, Andrews et al. 2005, Piner et al. 2006). However,
individuals tend to grow larger in more northerly regions (Dark et al. 1983).
Foraging
Prey of bocaccio vary with fish age, with bocaccio larvae starting with larval krill, diatoms, and
dinoflagellates (Love et al. 2002). Pelagic juveniles consume fish larvae, copepods, and krill,
while older, nearshore juveniles and adults prey upon rockfishes, hake, sablefish, anchovies,
lanternfish, and squid (Reilly et al. 1992, Love et al. 2002).
Status and trends
Bocaccio were proposed for listing on April 23, 2009 (74 FR 18516). Bocaccio as a species has
undergone severe decline in the past several decades, with the species currently estimated to be
3.6% of its abundance in 1970 (MacCall and He 2002b). Prior to World War II, commercial
landings of rockfish species generally remained under 20,000 lbs, but sky-rocketed during the
war to 375,000 lbs annually and fluctuated between 50,000 and 220,000 lbs until 1970, when
landings increased linearly with fishing effort to a peak of 900,000 lbs by 1980 (Palsson et al.
2008). Levels fluctuated after this between 48,000 and 300,000 lbs for the next decade and
clearly crashed in the 1990’s, with landings below 30,000 lbs annually. At the cessation of
commercial fishing in 2003, 2,600 lbs of rockfish were harvested. Similar trends are seen in
recreational landings from Puget Sound (WDF 1975-1986).
Among rockfish of the Puget Sound, bocaccio appear to have undergone a particular decline
(MacCall and He 2002b). This has likely because of the removal of the largest, most fecund
individuals of the population due to overfishing and the frequent failure of recruitment classes,
possibly because of unfavorable climactic/oceanographic conditions (MacCall and He 2002b).
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