EPA's Vessel General Permit and Small Vessel General

Canary rockfish
Description of the species
It is unclear how many populations compose canary rockfish as a species. Genetic analysis have
found that individuals south of Cape Blanco in southern Oregon lack an allele that individuals
north of this point have (Wishard et al. 1980). This has been used to support the proposal of a
northern DPS. In addition, canary rockfish are managed as two stocks in Canadian waters
(COSEWIC in press). However, clear evidence of genetically or morphologically distinct
populations is still lacking.
Distribution
Canary rockfish are found from the northern Baja peninsula north to the western Gulf of Alaska,
and with the greatest abundance along British Columbia to central California (Miller and Lea
1972, Hart 1973b, Cailliet et al. 2000, Love et al. 2002).
Habitat
Canary rockfish occupy a variety of habitats based upon their life stage. Larvae and younger
juveniles tend to occupy shallow waters at the beginning of their lives, but generally remain in
the upper 100 m of the water column (Love et al. 2002). Juveniles initially settle into tide pools
and rocky reefs (Miller and Geibel 1973, Love et al. 1991, Cailliet et al. 2000, Love et al. 2002).
Juveniles have also been observed in diurnal movements, occurring near sand-rock interfaces in
groups by day and moving over sandy areas at night (Love et al. 2002). After as much as 3
years, juveniles move into deeper rocky reefs, forming loose schools, rarely on but generally
near the bottom (Phillips 1960, Boehlert 1980, Lamb and Edgell 1986, Rosenthal et al. 1998,
Starr 1998, Cailliet et al. 2000, Johnson et al. 2003, Methot and Stewart 2005, Tissot et al. 2007).
Adults may be found in waters of up to 400 m, but tend to be most common in the 80-200 m
range, or even shallower (Moser 1996b, Methot and Stewart 2005, Tissot et al. 2007). Mid shelf
locations seem to have the highest concentrations of canary rockfish off Washington and Oregon
(Weinberg 1994). Adults tend to occur in shallow areas in higher latitudes than their southern
counterparts, although adults do appear to move into progressively deeper waters as they age
(Vetter and Lynn 1997, Methot and Stewart 2005). It is believed that, within Puget Sound,
canary rockfish were most common in the 1960’s and 1970’s in Tacoma Narrows, Hood Canal,
San Juan Islands, Bellingham, and Appletree Cove (Delacy et al. 1972, Miller and Borton 1980).
A latitudinal gradient may be present by age class, with older and larger individuals preferably
occupying more northerly habitat (Dark et al. 1983).
Movement
Individual canary rockfish can range widely (up to 700 km over several years), although patterns
of residency have been observed (Gascon and Miller 1981, DeMott 1983, Casillas et al. 1998,
Lea et al. 1999, Love et al. 2002). In addition, seasonal movements have been found, with
individuals moving from 160-210 m depths in late winter to 100-170 m in late summer
(COSEWIC in press).
Reproduction
Canary rockfish develop their young internally before giving birth to live young as larvae.
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