Submitted by Jessica “J.J.” Soski, Senior Aquarist, Aquarium of the Pacific
Edited by: Sean B. Eckley, Dive Safety Officer – Field Operations, Aquarium of the Pacific
Aquarium of the Pacific displays a diverse range of animals from both tropical climates and cold water regions. Our institution not only displays these animals; our staff gets to work towards their conservation as well. Our day-to-day mission is to teach and inspire the public through our world class displays that depict ocean ecosystems, but not everyone knows about our efforts out in the field. In both 2021 and 2022, Aquarium of the Pacific staff joined a group of intrepid, inspired, (and maybe a little insane) cold water divers to look for young of the year rockfish in the Salish Sea.
Rockfish are an important part of cold water ecosystems as both predators and prey. They are long-lived, slow to reach reproductive maturity, and have large clutches of paralarval young. Because rockfish have been heavily fished in this area, declines in rockfish populations have been observed since the 1970s. Some rockfish, like the Yelloweye rockfish, have been listed as endangered, while many others are listed as threatened or “of greatest concern” by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Because of this, current regulations state no rockfish may be taken within the Salish Sea. However, protections for rockfish must be informed; data is needed to determine if the restrictions on fishing are having a positive effect on rockfish recruitment, as well as fill in knowledge gaps about variations in yearly recruitment and habitat usage of juvenile rockfish (otherwise called “Young of the Year” or YOY). Luckily, many groups and individuals have answered the call to help survey YOY rockfish across the course of the year and at many locations within the Southern Salish Basin. Government agencies, aquariums, and even local citizen science dive groups have all coordinated to gather data and submit it to a unified database.
YOY rockfish like to hang out in a diverse and relatively shallow range of habitats. These areas are ideal for SCUBA surveys. Resources from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) make it possible for any diver to report findings of specific rockfish that are protected (Yelloweye, Boccacio, Canary) or participate in roving surveys looking for less specific juvenile rockfish. YOY rockfish identification can be nearly impossible even for experts, but taking notes on certain characteristics allows even casual rockfish lovers to group newly settled fish into 4 categories, giving the data crunchers enough information to determine if certain species are present. If you can record if a fish has a spot on its dorsal fin (or not) and if it is deep bodied or slender, then you have successfully collected important data! “Slender-body rockfish with no dorsal spot” encompasses both Boccacio and Yelloweye rockfish. In addition, divers are encouraged to take pictures so that exciting findings can be verified by experts. Divers also record the depth of their observations, the length of time they spent surveying, and the habitat type.
For the last 2 years, Aquarium of the Pacific has been able to send staff to support and participate in this project. As with other long term monitoring projects, every additional field season brings new data that can help inform fisheries policy that help these rockfish species on the road to recovery. The aquarium looks forward to supporting these ongoing survey efforts on the Northwest Coast by continuing to participate in dive surveys, as well as other conservation collaborations that get our divers out in the field collecting data. More information about this project can be found at Resources & Publications | Paua Marine Research.
For the last 2 years, Jessica “J.J.” Soski has been sent as one of the Aquarium of the Pacific’s AAUS scientific divers to participate in the Fall YOY surveys alongside NOAA research divers and industry colleagues. When talking about the trip(s), J.J. said: “It was great to build on my skills as an AAUS diver. Diving in cold water, with a drysuit, a slate, and a camera, sometimes in very murky and even nighttime conditions was a challenge, but extremely rewarding. These trips were also great research and development for me as a cold water aquarist. I got to see the habitats where my favorite animals that I am tasked with reproducing back at the aquarium live, and I definitely came home inspired and ready to re-aquascape all my exhibits.”
