Exploring the use of otolith shape analysis to identify the stock spatial structure of dusky rockfish (Sebastes variabilis)
Advanced Search
Select up to three search categories and corresponding keywords using the fields to the right. Refer to the Help section for more detailed instructions.

Search our Collections & Repository

For very narrow results

When looking for a specific result

Best used for discovery & interchangable words

Recommended to be used in conjunction with other fields

Dates

to

Document Data
Library
People
Clear All
Clear All

For additional assistance using the Custom Query please check out our Help Page

The NOAA IR serves as an archival repository of NOAA-published products including scientific findings, journal articles, guidelines, recommendations, or other information authored or co-authored by NOAA or funded partners. As a repository, the NOAA IR retains documents in their original published format to ensure public access to scientific information.
i

Exploring the use of otolith shape analysis to identify the stock spatial structure of dusky rockfish (Sebastes variabilis)

Filetype[PDF-1.01 MB]



Details:

  • Journal Title:
    Fisheries Research
  • Personal Author:
  • NOAA Program & Office:
  • Description:
    Dusky rockfish (Sebastes variabilis) is a commercially valuable groundfish species in Alaska waters, with its highest abundance and fishery catch occurring in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), and lesser abundance and catch occurring throughout the Aleutian Islands and southeastern Bering Sea. Despite its commercial importance, information regarding stock structure of dusky rockfish has been data-limited. In this study, otolith shape analysis was used to evaluate the stock structure of dusky rockfish across five geographical subareas exhibiting ecological differences in the GOA and Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI), where dusky rockfish are managed as two separate stocks. A combination of size and shape indices, wavelet, and elliptic Fourier descriptors were examined from left and right-side otoliths collected from these regions (n = 522). Individual variation existed across subareas. Wavelet and elliptic Fourier descriptors indicated that mean otolith shapes were partitioned between the two management regions but also showed a high degree of overlap among subareas. Classification accuracies of otoliths to their subarea of origin through linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were variable (6.3–73.5 % and 15.4–65.8 % correctly classified for the elliptic Fourier and wavelet analyses, respectively). The highest classification rates were found between the western GOA and eastern Aleutian Islands, contributing to the observed differences between management regions and providing some support for current management paradigms. Dusky rockfish exhibited low to moderate overall classification rates (43.9–52.2 %), suggesting minimal stock structure within Alaska waters. This study highlights the utility of otolith shape analysis as a stock discrimination tool, and results will help refine further investigations and support fishery management in Alaska.
  • Keywords:
  • Source:
    Fisheries Research 281 (2025) 107189
  • DOI:
  • Format:
  • Document Type:
  • Rights Information:
    Accepted Manuscript
  • Rights Statement:
    The NOAA IR provides access to this content under the authority of the government's retained license to distribute publications and data resulting from federal funding. While users may legally access this content, the copyright owners retain rights that govern the reproduction, redistribution, and re-use of this work. The user is solely responsible for complying with applicable copyright law.
  • Compliance:
    Submitted
  • Main Document Checksum:
  • Download URL:
  • File Type:

Supporting Files

More +

You May Also Like

Checkout today's featured content at repository.library.noaa.gov

Version 3.27.1