Whatcom County MRC Project - Bottomfish
Background Infomation
What is a Bottomfish?
"Bottomfish” are
a wide variety of bottom-dwelling (“demersal”) fish
found in
Whatcom County and Puget Sound waters. As adults, they take forms as
varied
as flatfish and spiny rockfish and have adapted to habitats as diverse
as
sand or mud bottoms and steep rocky reefs. Many species like cod and
pollock,
flounder and sole, lingcod and rockfish are prized for their food and
recreational value. Others like skates,
sculpins and ratfish are not as well known, but all these fish have a
place
in the dynamic balance of our marine ecosystem.
Copper
Rockfish
Photo: Wayne Palsson, WDFW
The
Amazing World of Bottomfish
Adult flatfish like flounder and sole spawn from winter to early spring, with females laying up to a million eggs that float and are carried along by currents. Young flatfish look like other fish until one of their eyes migrates to the other side of their body and they begin swimming on their sides near the bottom with their eyeless side down. Flounder and Sole Factsheet
English Sole
Photo: Wayne Palsson, WDFW
Lingcod
(Ophiodon elongatus) grow to over 40 inches and are fierce carnivores
(“ophiodon” means
“snake-toothed”).
They’ve been found to devour octopi and fish up to 10 inches
long.
Females lay large masses of eggs attached to rock nests; these eggs are
guarded against predators until they hatch by lingcod males. Lingcod
Factsheet
Lingcod
Photo: Wayne Palsson, WDFW
Quillback
rockfish live up to an amazing 95 years and, once they settle in a
rocky
area, seldom move. Researchers have moved rockfish up to four miles
away
from their “homes”, only to find that they will
return. Rockfish
are unique in giving birth to live young, which float on and feed in
tidal
currents, then settle in sheltered bays and inlets and then move to
deeper
water as they grow. Rockfish
Factsheet
Quillback Rockfish
Photo: Wayne Palsson, WDFW
The Future of Our Bottomfish
The health and abundance of Whatcom County bottomfish are of concern
not only to state and tribal fisheries managers but also to all Whatcom
residents because the state of our fish is an indication of how
healthy
our waters are.
Compared to the rest of the Puget Sound basin, the populations of
bottomfish
in the Strait of Georgia and San Juan Archipelago are relatively
healthy. However, once-plentiful Dover sole are critically
depressed.
Lingcod
populations are rebounding from their depleted condition in the
mid-1990s.
Populations of Pacific cod, once an abundant mainstay of commercial and
sport
fisheries, are depressed in Whatcom County waters and critically
depressed
throughout the Puget Sound basin. According to state fisheries
managers, the
size and abundance of rockfish in Whatcom waters aren’t
known. In the
Puget Sound basin, however, many populations are considered depressed
because
there are fewer and smaller fish. The Whatcom County MRC is
currently involved in baseline rockfish surveys using remotely-operated
vehicles to assess populations.
Protecting healthy bottomfish populations and restoring those in poor conditions, which includes improving population abundance and overall health, requires the help of all Whatcom residents and visitors. Harvesting too many fish or too young fish depletes fish stocks. Toxic chemicals that enter the marine food chain through pipes, surface runoff, and contaminated sediments have been shown to accumulate in fish, impairing growth, resistance to disease and reproductive capability. Nearshore activities that disrupt eelgrass and kelp beds in bays and inlets where young fish find shelter and grow take away important nursery areas.
If we want healthy fish to catch and enjoy now and for the future, we need good fisheries management, clean water, and protected shorelines.
(Bottomfish Educational Materials Written by Mike Sato, People for Puget Sound)
Bottomfish Interview Surveys
Bottomfish Brochure
and Fact Sheets
Bottomfish Workshops
Rockfish ROV Surveys
