Event Title
Identifying Rockfish Hot Spot Areas in Puget Sound Through a Spatial Analysis of Grey Data
Streaming Media
Presentation Abstract
Ongoing research continues to inform the conservation efforts and decision making processes related to rockfish recovery in the Salish Sea, and there is continued need in summarizing and quantifying historical information related to rockfish habitat and their areas of occurrence. The relative scarcity of existing empirical data on rockfish in Puget Sound makes every form of available data more valuable. Studies utilizing reviews of grey literature and interviews with local experts and resource users have highlighted the value of local ecological knowledge (LEK) and its use in conservation management. We spatially analyzed rockfish data compiled from historical fishing guide books with maps depicting rockfish fishing areas from 1971 to 2008, and interviews with 55 regional fishers and researchers, producing hand-drawn rockfish area maps. A hot spot analysis of these maps produced Rockfish Hot Spot Areas (RHA) for four groups of rockfish independently; general rockfish (non-ESA listed), yelloweye rockfish, canary rockfish, and Bocaccio. General Rockfish RHAs were the most common, accounting for 80% of the total RHA area, with a range throughout the five main sub-basins of Puget Sound. Of the ESA listed species, Yelloweye RHAs were most predominant, but with the smallest mean area per RHA (0.80 sq km) of the four groups. Canary and Bocaccio RHAs covered approximately the same amount of area in total (15 sq km), yet there were four times as many Canary RHA as Bocaccio. The majority of RHAs (84%) overlapped with NOAA designated critical habitat (55% in deepwater and 29% in nearshore), and rugosity within hot spots were also analyzed. Rockfish Hot Spot Areas we identified represent the spatial distribution of rockfish throughout Puget Sound, defined by the combined LEK from regional experts; providing a valuable addition to the best available data used in managing the conservation of rockfish in the Salish Sea.
Session Title
Groundfish
Conference Track
SSE4: Fish Science and Policy
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2022 : Online)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE-traditionals-52
Start Date
26-4-2022 1:30 PM
End Date
26-4-2022 3:00 PM
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.
Type
Text
Language
English
Identifying Rockfish Hot Spot Areas in Puget Sound Through a Spatial Analysis of Grey Data
Ongoing research continues to inform the conservation efforts and decision making processes related to rockfish recovery in the Salish Sea, and there is continued need in summarizing and quantifying historical information related to rockfish habitat and their areas of occurrence. The relative scarcity of existing empirical data on rockfish in Puget Sound makes every form of available data more valuable. Studies utilizing reviews of grey literature and interviews with local experts and resource users have highlighted the value of local ecological knowledge (LEK) and its use in conservation management. We spatially analyzed rockfish data compiled from historical fishing guide books with maps depicting rockfish fishing areas from 1971 to 2008, and interviews with 55 regional fishers and researchers, producing hand-drawn rockfish area maps. A hot spot analysis of these maps produced Rockfish Hot Spot Areas (RHA) for four groups of rockfish independently; general rockfish (non-ESA listed), yelloweye rockfish, canary rockfish, and Bocaccio. General Rockfish RHAs were the most common, accounting for 80% of the total RHA area, with a range throughout the five main sub-basins of Puget Sound. Of the ESA listed species, Yelloweye RHAs were most predominant, but with the smallest mean area per RHA (0.80 sq km) of the four groups. Canary and Bocaccio RHAs covered approximately the same amount of area in total (15 sq km), yet there were four times as many Canary RHA as Bocaccio. The majority of RHAs (84%) overlapped with NOAA designated critical habitat (55% in deepwater and 29% in nearshore), and rugosity within hot spots were also analyzed. Rockfish Hot Spot Areas we identified represent the spatial distribution of rockfish throughout Puget Sound, defined by the combined LEK from regional experts; providing a valuable addition to the best available data used in managing the conservation of rockfish in the Salish Sea.
