Rockfish Monitoring Program

Rockfish are a diverse and unique group of fishes which hold ecological, economical, and cultural importance throughout the coast of British Columbia. Despite their significance, rockfish populations have been severely depleted since the rise of commercial fishing which peaked in the 1990s. In response to dwindling numbers, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) established 162 Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs) along the coast of BC, 11 of which are found in Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound. Within these areas hook and line fishing is banned, providing refuge areas for rockfish and other groundfish species such as lingcod. In addition, retention of any species of rockfish is prohibited throughout Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound and Burrard Inlet.

Despite these protections, recovery of these species has been slow and rockfish remain in low abundance to this day. Species of special concern include Quillback (Sebastes maliger), Canary (S. pinniger), and Yelloweye (S. ruberrimus) rockfish – learn more from the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and the Species at Risk Act (SARA). Recovery of these species has been challenging in part due to their life history. Rockfish are slow growing, late to mature species with some living to be over 100 years old! While remarkable, these traits make them particularly susceptible to overfishing, with some species requiring decades to properly recover.

Further complicating recovery is a low compliance from recreational fishers. Poaching in RCAs is commonly observed by MLSS as well as external scientists (see Haggerty et al., 2016), threatening the effectiveness of these conservation areas.

In response to these concerns, Ocean Wise developed a rockfish citizen science monitoring program as a way to track rockfish abundance throughout Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound and the rest of BC. In 2023, MLSS took this program over and in 2024, it became a large focus on MLSS.

Why collect this data?  Monitoring is an effective tool in the recovery of rockfish species and can be used to assess the effectiveness of management strategies (for example, the effectiveness of RCAs). Long term monitoring of rockfish populations is also particularly important for this species as recovery may not be noticeable until decades after protection measures were implemented. Learn more about RCAs and the need for a robust monitoring program here.

Our rockfish monitoring program is also a great way to engage the numerous divers that dive Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound to pay attention to rockfish and share in their experiences through Citizen Science! Rockfish surveys are easy to conduct and relies heavily on volunteer participation. If you are interested in helping save our rockfish populations, check out our survey methods to see how you can get involved!