"Rougheye Rockfish"

Fish previously referred to as rougheye rockfish are now recognized as consisting of two species, rougheye rockfish (Sebastes aleutianus) and blackspotted rockfish (Sebastes melanostictus). Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands.

Fish previously referred to as rougheye rockfish are now recognized as consisting of two species, rougheye rockfish (Sebastes aleutianus) and blackspotted rockfish (Sebastes melanostictus) (Orr and Hawkins 2008). Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands.

Fish previously referred to as rougheye rockfish are now recognized as consisting of two species, rougheye rockfish (Sebastes aleutianus) and blackspotted rockfish (Sebastes melanostictus) (Orr and Hawkins 2008). Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands...

Fish previously referred to as rougheye rockfish are now recognized as consisting of two species, rougheye rockfish (Sebastes aleutianus) and blackspotted rockfish (Sebastes melanostictus) (Orr and Hawkins 2008). Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands...

In 2018 a full assessment was conducted for the BSAI blackspotted and rougheye rockfish complex.

Rougheye rockfish (Sebastes aleutianus) have historically been managed within various stock complexes in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) region. For example, from 1991 to 2000 rougheye rockfish in the eastern Bering Sea (EBS) area were managed under the “other red rockfish” species complex, which consisted of shortraker (Sebastes borealis), rougheye (S. aleutianus), sharpchin (S. zacentrus), and northern rockfish (S. polyspinis), whereas in the Aleutian Islands (AI) area during this time rougheye rockfish were managed within the rougheye/shortraker complex. In 2001, the other red rockfish complex in the EBS was split into two groups, rougheye/shortraker and sharpchin/northern, matching the complexes used in the Aleutian Islands. Additionally, separate TACs were established for the EBS and AI management areas, but the overfishing level (OFL) pertained to the entire BSAI area. By 2004, rougheye, shortraker, and northern rockfish were managed with species-specific OFLs applied to the BSAI management area.

The Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) report summarizes the best available scientific information concerning the past, present, and possible future condition of the stocks, marine ecosystems, and fisheries that are managed under Federal regulation. It provides information to the Councils for determining annual harvest levels from each stock, documenting significant trends or changes in the resource, marine ecosystems, and fishery over time, and assessing the relative success of existing state and Federal fishery management programs. For the FMP for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Area, the SAFE report is published in three sections: a “Stock Assessment” section, which comprises the bulk of this document, and “Economic Status of Groundfish Fisheries off Alaska” (i.e., the “Economic SAFE report”) and “Ecosystem Considerations” sections, which are bound separately.

The Other Rockfish (OR) complex in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) is assessed on a biennial stock assessment schedule to coincide with the availability of new trawl survey biomass estimates. In alternate (even) years we present an executive summary to recommend harvest levels for the next two years. Please refer to the last full stock assessment report for the OR stock complex for further information regarding the assessment calculations of ABC and OFL (Tribuzio and Echave 2015). A full stock assessment document with updated assessment results will be presented in next year’s SAFE report.

Rougheye rockfish (Sebastes aleutianus) have historically been managed within various stock complexes in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) region. For example, from 1991 to 2000 rougheye rockfish in the eastern Bering Sea (EBS) area were managed under the “other red rockfish” species complex, which consisted of shortraker (Sebastes borealis), rougheye (S. aleutianus), sharpchin (S. zacentrus), and northern rockfish (S. polyspinis), whereas in the Aleutian Islands (AI) area during this time rougheye rockfish were managed within the rougheye/shortraker complex. In 2001, the other red rockfish complex in the EBS was split into two groups, rougheye/shortraker and sharpchin/northern, matching the complexes used in the Aleutian Islands. Additionally, separate TACs were established for the EBS and AI management areas, but the overfishing level (OFL) pertained to the entire BSAI area. By 2004, rougheye, shortraker, and northern rockfish were managed with species-specific OFLs applied to the BSAI management area.

Rougheye (Sebastes aleutianus) and blackspotted (S. melanostictus) rockfish inhabit the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope of the northeastern Pacific. Their distribution extends around the arc of the North Pacific from Japan to Point Conception, California and includes the Bering Sea (Kramer and O’Connell 1988). The two species occur in sympatric distribution, with rougheye extending farther south along the Pacific Rim and blackspotted extending into the western Aleutian Islands (Orr and Hawkins 2008). The overlap of the two species is quite extensive, ranging primarily from southeast Alaska through the Alaska Peninsula (Gharrett et al. 2005, Orr and Hawkins 2008). The center of abundance for both species appears to be Alaskan waters, particularly the eastern Gulf of Alaska (GOA). Adults in the GOA inhabit a narrow band along the upper continental slope at depths of 300-500 m; outside of this depth interval, abundance decreases considerably (Ito, 1999). These species often co-occur with shortraker rockfish (Sebastes borealis).