Species population declines
Can you tell just by looking?
Can you tell if an ecosystem is healthy just by looking?
In the case of the Salish Sea, things look good on the surface. But that doesn't mean everything is healthy. Just as blood tests can reveal underlying conditions in a person who looks perfectly fit, science can show us what's really going on.
Joe Gaydos and Northwest Straits Commision chair Jonathan White have written about this issue in the May 12 edition of the Islands Sounder. Read it here: http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/sanjuans/isj/opinion/93596144.html
New Comments on Rockfish Conservation
Independent of the recent Federal listing of 3 rockfish species, Washington State is working on their rockfish recovery plan. Today SeaDoc submitted comments on the revised draft Environmental Impact Statement.
While most of the recovery plan is good, the State is still proposing that hatchery production and the use of artificial habitat be used as part of the recovery strategy. SeaDoc feels that hatcheries and artifical habitat are not good ideas.
PDFs:
Read the WDFW draft rockfish EIS
Comments must be received by 5pm on May 21, 2010. Visit the Washington Dept of Fish and Wildlife for more information.
Rockfish Listed by NOAA Fisheries
http://www.seadocsociety.org/files/pdfs/GB-PS_Species_of_Concern_2008%20Manuscript.pdf
Also see:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011714303_rockfish28m.html
Eulachon listed as Threatened species
In the March 17, 2010 Federal Register, NOAA lists the Eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus) as Threatened under the US Endangered Species Act. This fish, also called the candle fish because it is packed with so many calories you can light a dried one like a candle, is an important food source for many marine fish, birds and mammals. Historically it has been an important food source for many Native American tribes.
Interestingly, we don't have good data on Eulachon numbers in the Salish Sea. Unlike with herring, Washington State does not conduct quantitative stock assessments for eulachon, but it is believed that eulachon stocks have declined in the Columbia (WOEMP, 2001) and Elwha Rivers (Shaffer et al., 2007). In British Columbia, the Frasier River eulachon spawning stock biomass has collapsed and is at a precariously low level (DFO, 2007).
The listing of this species will hopefully ensure that more work is done to understand the natural history of this species in the Salish Sea so that we can ultimately restore the population.
Find out more about the listing of the eulachon at:
http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/Other-Marine-Species/Eulachon.cfm
SeaDoc is the only organization that tracks threatened or endangered species in the Salish Sea on an ecosystem-wide scale. Since 2002, we have been tracking "species of concern" as listed by Washington, British Columbia, the US Federal Government and the Canadian Federal Government.
Eulachon are listed as threatened (BLUE list) by BC, are candidates for listing in WA state, are Candidates under the Canadian COSEWIC with a status report expected this year, and were Candidates for listing under the US Federal ESA until now.
Download our PDF listing the species of concern and describing the listing processes (we publish this report every 2 years):
Gaydos and Brown, 2009
http://www.seadocsociety.org/files/pdfs/GB-PS_Species_of_Concern_2008%20...
What's the Deal with Rockfish and Seals?
Harbor seal populations have exploded nearly tenfold in the Salish Sea since the 1970s, while at the same time many rockfish species have plummeted. Some fishermen blame that on the increase in hungry seals. But coincidence is not science. So who ya gonna call?
In the second year, 12% of the samples contained rockfish remains, particularly in the winter when there are fewer salmon locally. With all the seals in the Salish Sea, those numbers could impact rockfish recovery. That doesn't mean, however, that we should start controlling seal populations: this study showed seals also have a taste for dogfish, another major fish predator. So fewer seals could mean more dogfish. The real answer is to remember that all parts of our ecosystem are tightly intertwined. Rockfish recovery depends upon ecosystem recovery, including salmon recovery, herring recovery and so on around the Sea.
More information on this topic:
- The original report on this study (so you can see what we've learned since the first round)
- The Puget Sound Partnership's resource page on rockfish.
- SeaDoc's comments on the proposed (12/2009) rockfish conservation plan by the WA Dept of Fish & Wildlife.
- All the info on our site about rockfish (automatic search)
- All the info on the site about predator/prey relationships (automatic search)
(You can do these last two searches yourself by choosing "browse by species" or "browse by issue" from the Salish Sea menu at left.)
Urban Orca: killer whales in Puget Sound
Rockfish Recovery Plan: Your Opportunity to Comment
Vermillion Rockfish by J. Nichols
[Comments are now closed on this plan. We will update the site with information on the final plan when it's available.]
Rockfish populations are in trouble, and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife is writing the first Puget Sound Rockfish Conservation Plan.
This is a major step in protecting rockfish. Like the killer whale and salmon recovery plans, it creates a coordinated plan for recovery.
The plan is currently a draft, and comments are being accepted until January 4, 2010.