The canary rockfish ( Sebastes pinniger), also known as the orange rockfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, the rockfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae. It is native to the waters of the Pacific Ocean off western North America.
Taxonomy
The canary rockfish was first formally described in 1864 by the American
zoologist Theodore Gill with the type locality given as
California.
Some authorities place this species in the
subgenus Rosicola. The specific name
pinniger is a compound of
pinnis which means "fin" and
iger meaning "to bear" thought to be a reference to the longer pectoral and ventral fins of this species in comparison to the similar
S. rosaceus.
Description
As the name suggests, this rockfish is notable for a general orange-yellow appearance, consisting of a blotchy orange pattern over a whitish or light gray background. The head has three stripes angling downwards and back, the middle one generally running across the eye, and the other two on each side of the eye. The
lateral line is within a narrow stripe clear of blotches. The fins are orange, with the pectoral, pelvic, and anal fins somewhat pointed and larger (thus the species epithet
pinniger, meaning "I bear a large fin"). Some individuals have dark blotches on the body or dorsal fin. Maximum recorded length is 76 cm (29.6 in).
Ecology
Young canaries live in relatively shallow water, moving to deeper water as they mature. Adults are mostly found at depths of 80–200 meters (with two recorded at 838 meters), tending to collect in groups around pinnacles and similar high-relief rock formations, especially where the current is strong. Some off
Oregon have been reported living over flat rock and mud-boulder bottoms. They may move considerable distances; one individual covered 700 km in four years after being tagged and released. Juveniles feed on small crustacea such as
krill larvae (and eggs),
and
, while adults eat krill and small fishes.
Conservation
They have been an important commercial species since at least the early 1880s, with fisheries off San Francisco, California and Washington state. They are caught in
trawling and hook and line operations, along with a variety of other fish such as yellowtail,
lingcod, and other rockfishes. The population on the U.S. West Coast were declared
overfishing in 2000 and a recovery plan was implemented in 2001. This stock was declared rebuilt in 2015.
In 2007, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) received a petition to list a distinct population segment (DPS) of canary rockfish, and four other rockfishes, in Puget Sound, as an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act).
Survival during catch and release
As with all rockfish (
Sebastes sp.), canary rockfish have closed
Swim bladder. As a result, they often experience various
barotrauma related injuries when captured and brought up from great depths, including inflated swim bladders. When released after capture, this causes them to float and eventually die at the ocean surface. However, if the fish are brought back down to the depths from which they came before being released, their body recompresses, giving them a chance at survival.
The post-recompression survival rate of canary rockfish is much lower than that of yelloweye rockfish.
Nutrition
Nutrition information for canary rockfish is as follows.
[ Exact Scientific Services. (2023). West Coast Groundfish Nutrient Profiles: Exact Scientific Lab Results.
]
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|
| { class="wikitable" style="margin:auto; text-align:left;"
! Serving Size
! 100g
|
Calories
88 kcal
|
Protein
19.1 g
|
| Protein calories: 82 kcal
Protein calories % : 92.4% | |
Fat
0.7 g
|
| Fat calories: 7 kcal
Fat calories % : 7.6% | |
Carbohydrate
0.0 g
|
| Carbohydrate calories: 0 kcal
Carbohydrate calories % : 0.0% | |
| Cholesterol | 73.6 mg |
| Sodium | 51.5 mg |
| style="width:50%;" |
|
| Omega 3 (EPA+DHA) | 316 mg | 346 mg |
| Vitamin B3 | 3.6 mg | 3.9 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.2 mg | 0.2 mg |
| Vitamin B12 | 1.9 mcg | 2.1 mcg |
| Vitamin D | 84 IU | 92 IU |
| Vitamin E | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Calcium | 7.3 mg | 8.0 mg |
| Magnesium | 23.3 mg | 25.5 mg |
| Phosphorus | 214 mg | 234 mg |
| Potassium | 406 mg | 445 mg |
| Selenium | 60 mcg | 66 mcg |
|}
