EPA's Vessel General Permit and Small Vessel General

Declines have been noted in both numbers as well as frequencies. This likely due to the targeted
removal of larger, older, and more fecund individuals by commercial fisheries, reducing the
ability of canary rockfish to rebound from excessive mortality (NMFS 2008e). For example,
recreational fishing data have not reported any individuals caught greater than 55 cm since 2000,
whereas a variety of large size classes had formerly been caught. There are concerns that even
now some populations have been lost entirely, primarily due to over harvesting, but also due to
low dissolved oxygen levels in some areas of Puget Sound (NMFS 2008e).
Natural threats
Interspecies competition, predators, and climactic regimes are the primary natural factors that
depress canary rockfish numbers. Copper and quillback rockfish may compete with canary
rockfish in Puget Sound for available resources (NMFS 2008e). Predators of canary rockfish
include other rockfishes, lingcod (for which rockfish is a particularly important dietary
component), cabezon, seabirds, salmon, sharks, dolphins, seals, Steller sea lions, and perhaps
river otters (Merkel 1957, Miller and Geibel 1973, Morejohn et al. 1978, Roberts 1979,
Antonelis Jr. and Fiscus 1980, Ainley et al. 1981, Rosenthal et al. 1982, Stevens and Miller
1983, Love et al. 1991, Beaudreau and Essington 2007, Lance and Jeffries 2007). Canary and
other rockfishes appear to be negatively influenced by El Niño conditions, possibly reducing
available prey supply (Moser et al. 2000a, Harvey 2005).
Anthropogenic threats
Overharvesting the primary cause of canary rockfish declines, but habitat loss is also important.
Canary rockfish are considered overfished by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council and are
not presently harvested intentionally. However, bycatch is still considered to be a high impact
stressor to rockfish populations of Washington State waters (Palsson et al. 2008). Habitat loss is
also a factor in canary rockfish decline, with rocky habitats (reportedly, there are only 217 km 2 in
Puget Sound) being threatened by construction of bridges, sewer lines, cable and pipeline
deployment, and dredge spoil (Palsson et al. 2008). Low oxygen levels as well as pollutant,
chemical, and nutrient loading are also considered significant threats to canary rockfish recovery
(NMFS 2008e).
Critical habitat
Critical habitat has not been designated or proposed for canary rockfish.
Smalltooth Sawfish
Description of the species
The smalltooth sawfish is a tropical marine and estuarine elasmobranch fish (sharks and rays)
that has been reported to have a circumtropical distribution. Although they are rays, sawfish
physically more resemble sharks, with only the trunk and especially the head ventrally flattened.
Smalltooth sawfish are characterized by their “saw,” a long, narrow, flattened rostral blade with
a series of transverse teeth along either edge.
Distribution
In the western Atlantic, the smalltooth sawfish has been reported from Brazil through the
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