The Fish management program has undergone extensive changes during a recent reorganization. The changes resulted in a more regional organizational structure, and involved 1) the creation of a new region (Region 7- Tacoma), and 2) the deployment of staff from headquarters in Olympia to regional supervision. A total of 131.5 permanent positions were shifted to regional supervision including the regional salmon management positions and most field biologists that previously reported to headquarters. The program has reduced the number of divisions and division managers from four to three. Currently, the program has 308 permanent positions of which 117 work in Olympia, and 191 work in the field. Organizational charts, which depict in detail the distribution of staff between headquarters and the seven regions, are available upon request.

Administrative positions with Marine Fish responsibilities include:

Forage Fish/Pelagic Fish

A coastal pelagic fish project began in 1996. Mackerel sampled from sport fishing boats out of Ilwaco and Westport were examined for age, length and stomach contents. Preliminary results indicate that the mackerel found off Washington tend to be older than the mackerel found off California. Stomach contents were examined due to reports that the mackerel were feeding heavily on juvenile salmon. Examination of over 100 stomachs failed to identify any salmonid prey items. Most of the stomachs were full of invertebrates. Only 3 fish were observed in the stomach samples; a deep water species that appeared to be a viperfish, a plug cut herring, and a fish which could not be identified due to advanced stage of digestion.

Washington tagging data suggest that Cape Flattery and Cape Falcon may represent area bounds for a coastal black rockfish stock. To corroborate these results a Genetic Stock Identification pilot study of coastal black rockfish populations began in 1995 and was completed in 1996. A brief description of study results follows. Further data analysis is in progress and a final write-up will be completed this year.

Horizontal starch-gel electrophoresis was used to examine groups of black rockfish collected from ten sites in northern California, Oregon, Washington, and southern British Columbia. Forty-one loci were screened in all collections. Twenty loci were polymorphic (P_0.99 level), eleven loci exhibited rare variation, and ten loci were monomorphic. The percentage of polymorphic loci in each collection ranged from 26.8% - 36.6%. We found evidence of heterogeneity among the collections (P < 0.05). Significant allele frequency differences (P < 0.05) occurred at six loci (ADH, MEP-1, PEP-2, mSOD, PGM-2, and TPI-2). The average F_ST value over all twenty polymorphic loci was 0.017. Eight loci (sAAT-1, ADH, IDHP-1, MEP-1, PEP-2, PGM-2, mSOD, and TPI-2) had F_ST values significantly different from zero, indicating there is some restricted gene flow. Significant heterogeneity occurred among Oregon collections, while no evidence of heterogeneity was found among Washington collections. Dendrogram and multidimensional scaling analyses of genetic distances revealed three major groups: Group A, which included collections north of Cape Falcon; Group B, which included collections from Oregon south of Cape Falcon; and Group C, which consisted of a single collection from northern California. Contingency chi-square analysis indicated heterogeneity existed among collections within Group A and within Group B. There is an apparent large-scale geographical clustering of coastal black rockfish populations, however there does not appear to be any geographical pattern to the clustering of populations within Groups A and B. To corroborate these findings, GSI sampling may continue in 1997.

A new mark recapture study was designed to estimate abundance and fishing mortality rates for black rockfish. If implemented, this approach could yield valuable information for tuning future catch-at-age analyses. The experimental design employs internal tags which would be sampled by port samplers equipped with electronic detection devices. Preliminary work to validate assumptions regarding tag shedding and tag related mortality are presently underway.

Hydroacoustic sampling of nearshore rockfish will take place this summer to quantify biomass by fish size category and bottom type. Fish sizes of interest within bottom type areas of interest will be identified, separated, and quantified. Trawl, seine and limited hook and line sampling are proposed to verify species identification. Results of this study will be used to determine if black rockfish abundance can be assessed with hydroacoustic technology to a level of accuracy required for management.

Status of the yellowtail rockfish stocks was re-evaluated in 1996. Using the stock synthesis model, abundance was estimated for three stocks: Eureka/S.Columbia, N. Columbia, and S. Vancouver (the latter being a transboundary stock). The previous assessment occurred in 1993 and included age data through 1991. Since that assessment, NMFS conducted a coast-wide trawl survey in 1995. The revised assessment includes survey abundance (treated as a relative index), fishery age data from 1974 to 1995, and survey length frequency distributions. Analyzes assumed constant effort during the period 1993-95. Fishery selectivity at age was modeled as asymptotic, and female natural mortality as linearly increasing with age. Catch data included landings from the directed domestic otter trawl fishery, the shrimp trawl fishery and bycatch from the whiting fishery. U.S. domestic trawl landings were inflated to account for estimated discarded catch between 1985 and 1996.

Estimated abundance dropped dramatically compared with previous estimates. The 1996 spawning biomass was estimated to be only 16-22% of the unfished spawning biomass. In the transboundary stock, 1996 spawning biomass was 22% of the unfished value. Projected allowable yield ranged from approximately 900 to 1700 t, compared with average recent removals of about 5000 t. Incoming recruitment was nearly absent. The fishery now depends heavily on the abundance of 7-14 year old fish. Retrospective analysis indicated that estimated abundance with shortened data series appear to be consistently overestimated. Age data from recent catches depressed estimates of year class strength when contrasted with estimates from shortened data series. In general, the model fit commercial age data well, but fit the survey size data poorly.

Because of the dramatic down trend in estimated abundance, the PFMC has requested that the stock assessment be revised again in 1997.

A survey of lingcod in the nearshore area of Cape Flattery was again conducted in March. Through 1997, the data series includes 12 years of length frequency data, three years of age frequency data, and ten years of mark-recapture information. Data from the Cape Flattery lingcod survey have proven to be useful auxiliary information for tuning a catch at age analysis used as part of a PFMC stock assessment of the coastal lingcod stock. The mark-recapture data have been used to estimate fishing mortality, abundance, and movement of lingcod in the Cape Flattery area. The nearshore length and age composition data provide a signal of recruitment approximately two years in advance of offshore trawl fishery observations.

A draft manuscript which reports the results of a tagging study designed to estimate selectivity, fishing mortality, and interaction of coastal sport and trawl fisheries harvesting lingcod off Washington was distributed for review.

A TSC-sponsored workshop on lingcod stock assessment was hosted by WDFW on March 20 and 21 in Olympia, Washington. The workshop proved to be a valuable opportunity to develop modeling ideas and to exchange technical information among stock assessment scientists in Canada and the United States. Notes from the workshop will be submitted to the TSC at the 1997 meeting in San Francisco, California.

Three task groups comprise the Puget Sound Groundfish Unit. The Groundfish Task coordinates and manages Puget Sound groundfish resources and the fisheries that affect them. The Recreational Assessment Task focuses stock assessment efforts on recreational groundfish, especially rockfishes and lingcod. The Recreational Fishery Monitoring Task is a new group that executes the Marine Recreational Fishery Statistical Survey for Washington. Contact Wayne Palsson: (425) 379-2313, e-mail- palsswap@dfw.wa.gov

Status of Stocks. The primary achievement for the Groundfish Task was the completion of the 1995 Status of Puget Sound Bottomfish Stocks report published in November. The status report reviews fundamental stock assessment data for eighteen species or composite species groups of bottomfish for North and South Puget Sound including all the inland marine waters of Washington. For each stock, a primary stock indicator was designated, usually consisting of the pattern of catch rates for the major fishery on the species. Where appropriate, other survey data were incorporated to determine stock status and extent of fishery utilization.

The long-term and short-term patterns in the trend and average populations sizes were categorized into measures of stock status and trend. Only 28 stocks had sufficient information to determine stock status and recent trend. The majority of these stocks were in below average, depressed or critical abundance conditions. Thirteen of the 28 stocks were in decline while 8 were increasing. North Sound had more stocks at average or above average conditions than South Sound where 8 of 11 stocks were at below average or critical conditions. South Sound had 7 stocks which lacked recent information to assess stock status.

Spiny dogfish, skates, and ratfish appeared to be in satisfactory condition. In contrast, virtually all of the codfish stocks (Pacific cod, walleye pollock, and Pacific whiting) were in depressed or critical conditions or were in decline. Rockfishes and lingcod, species living in association with rocky reefs, showed mixed patterns of stock condition. Lingcod were declining in North and South Sound, and populations were depressed in North Sound but were at average levels in South Sound. Rockfish populations showed no trend in either area and were at average levels in North Sound and at below average conditions in South Sound. English sole and starry flounder, key flatfish stocks in North Sound, were increasing in abundance but the fisheries remove a substantial proportion of the adult population which are over-utilized. In South Sound, the lack recent fisheries precluded the determination of stock condition, but trawl survey data suggested the stocks are underutilized. A variety of species including greenlings, sculpins, and sablefish had very poor information to assess stock condition.

Bottom trawl surveys. For the third consecutive year, the Groundfish Task was able to partner with the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program and conduct a bottom trawl survey of two regions within Puget Sound. In 1996, a commercial trawler was chartered and fitted with a 400 mesh Eastern Trawl fitted with a 3.2 cm mesh codend liner. Stratified systematic survey designs were used to survey the Hood Canal and South Puget Sound Regions. Twenty five trawls were made in Hood Canal and 40 trawls were conducted in South Sound to estimate the numerical and biomass abundance of fishes living in soft-bottom habitats. Data from the 1996 surveys as well as previous years data are being analyzed and integrated into standard databases.

A bottom trawl survey will be conducted in the transboundary waters of the U.S. and Canadian Strait of Georgia during the spring of 1997.

Shrimp bycatch study. In August a special issue was raised by tribal fishers wishing to enter the lucrative shrimp fishery in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Groundfish staff co-developed and participated in a study to evaluate the bycatch of marine fish caught in beam and otter trawl fisheries for pink shrimp. The otter trawl fitted with a fish exclusion device was tested against a 58 foot plumb staff beam trawl with out any excluding device. In eleven paired tows, the trawl with exclusion device reduced the bycatch by a factor of ten compared to the beam trawl. The findings will be published in a technical report jointly co-authored with the Suquammish Indian Tribe.

Pacific cod management. Much attention was centered around the declining Pacific cod populations in most of the inland marine waters of Washington. Groundfish staff proposed reducing the cod catch from the remaining commercial trawl fisheries in the Straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca. Catch rates have been continually declining in the Strait of Georgia and the proposal was to change the fishery to a bycatch only fishery. Presenting this issue to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, the final proposal was to establish a 60,000 lb quota in the Strait of Georgia, more than a fifty percent reduction in the recent annual catches. In the Strait of Juan de Fuca, an anomalous aggregation of cod in the western areas has attracted much attention. Catches were well on their way to reaching one million lbs in 1996 until emergency regulations were enacted in mid-summer. Because of the weak stocks in adjacent stock areas and the unknown origin of this aggregation of fish, managers and staff recommended a 200,000 lbs annual quota which was adopted by the Fish and Wildlife Commission.

Transboundary issues. The Pacific cod issue in northern Puget Sound brings to light the problem of transboundary or straddling stock management for the inland waters of British Columbia and Washington. Both the Premier and Governor of the Province and State established a Transboundary Marine Science Panel to deal with the issues of exotic introductions, marine protected areas, habitat loss, and protecting marine life. These issues are being addressed by dedicated committees and their draft reports were in preparation during 1996. In addition, a meeting was called in February 1997 between state and provincial groundfish biologists to discuss the issues of transboundary stock assessment. The consensus of the meeting was that the TSC process might be more appropriate to convene future meetings and deal with common problems of stock assessment and fisheries management.

Staff: Greg Bargmann, Wayne Palsson, Sue Hoffmann, and Paul Clarke

The primary activity for the Stock Assessment staff is the Lingcod-Rockfish Project which is support by the Sport Fish Restoration Act funds administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The goal of the project is to improve the management and fisheries for lingcod and rockfish by developing a fishery independent stock assessment technique and new management strategies.

Video-acoustic surveys. For the past five years, staff has been advancing the Video-Acoustic Technique (VAT) to assess reef fish populations. The VAT survey incorporates a video camera mounted on a tripod to estimate densities of fishes within 2 m of the bottom and a scientific echosounder to estimate the fish living 2 m above the bottom. In past years surveys have been conducted in the San Juan Archipelago, Puget Sound, and the Straits of Juan de Fuca and Georgia. This year surveys were conducted in Hood Canal and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Rockfish and lingcod densities are being evaluated and the habitat data from the video surveys are being integrated into maps of rocky reefs in Puget Sound. Although the proportion of pelagic rockfishes appears to be small compared to the benthic population, acoustic target strength estimates have been made for several rockfishes.

Marine Protected Areas. The Lingcod-Rockfish Project continues work on the efficacy of marine protected areas (mpas) as a management tool for reef fishes. The fourth year of diving surveys were completed in 1996. The diving study reveals that more and larger rockfish and lingcod are found in no-take mpas compared to fished sites. The study suggests, however, that long periods of twenty or more years may be required to achieve unexploited population characteristics. The results of the VAT surveys and mpa studies are being integrated into a detailed stock assessment and management plan for reef species. 1996 project results have been detailed in the annual report to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Staff: Robert Pacunski, Richard Mueller, Wayne Palsson, Norm Lemberg, Steve Burton, Greg Bargmann, and Colleen MacDonald

RECFIN. At the beginning of 1996, the Marine Recreational Statistical Survey was re-instituted in Washington. This federal survey is focused to estimate the catch and effort expended by marine anglers fishing from private boats, charter/party boats, from docks and piers, and from beaches and banks. This survey duplicates state efforts to estimate the catch of salmon and marine fish but also offers several enhancements. The state survey does not consistently include shore-based modes of fishing and during the recent several years falls short of estimating bottomfish catch during extensive periods of salmon closures. The federal survey is integrated with the Recreational Fishery Network (RECFIN), a federal-state partnership that seeks to provide consistent marine recreational statistics across the nation.

RECFIN funded one biologist and 5 full-time equivalent samplers to conduct the creel survey in Washington. Unfortunately, funding cutbacks affected the intended sampling effort in the latter part of the year and substantially reduces the creel survey effort in 1997. Despite the funding cutbacks, RECFIN data has already contributed data to an analysis of recreational bycatch and will play an important role in stock assessment and fishery management in the future.

Staff: Pamela Erstad, Lori Takeoka, Michael Ulrich, Mary Cross, Kurt Perry, and Colleen MacDonald

Monitoring for contaminants continued for English sole, rockfish, and salmon in 1996. New focus areas included 1) A study in Elliot Bay to examine the distribution of contaminants, 2) An investigation to measure the effect of contaminants on reproductive competence in English sole and rockfish, and 3) Re-sampling of MESA sites for comparison with previous findings.

Jagielo, T.J., L.L. LeClair, and B.A. Vorderstrasse. 1996. Genetic variation and population structure of lingcod. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. 125:3.

O'Neill, S. M., J. E. West, and S. Quinnell. 1995. Contaminant monitoring in fish: overview of the Puget Sound Monitoring Program Fish Task. p. 35-50. In E. Robichaud (Ed.) Puget Sound Research '95 Proceedings, Bellevue, WA. Puget Sound Water Quality Authority. 2 Vols. 1038 p.

Palsson, W.A., J.C. Hoeman, G.G. Bargmann, and D.E. Day. 1996. 1995 Status of Puget Sound bottomfish stocks. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Olympia, Washington.

Tagart, J.V., and F.R. Wallace. 1996. Status of the yellowtail rockfish resource in 1996. Appendix D In: Pacific Fishery Management Council. 1996. Appendix Volume II: Status of Pacific coast groundfish fishery through 1996 and recommended biological catches for 1997: Stock assessment and fishery evaluation. (Document prepared for the Council and its advisory entities.) Pacific Fishery Management Council 2130 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 224, Portland, Oregon 97201.

West, J. E. 1996. Rockfish study reveals contaminants increase with age. Puget SoundWaves. Sep/Oct 1996 p. 6.

West, J. E., and S. M. O'Neill. 1995. Accumulation of mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls in quillback rockfish (Sebastes maliger) from Puget Sound Washington. p. 666-677. In E. Robichaud (Ed.) Puget Sound Research '95 Proceedings, Bellevue, WA. Puget Sound Water Quality Authority. 2 Vols. 1038 p.