Results from Seven Years of Partnership Driven Young-of-the-Year Rockfish Surveys in the South Salish Sea

Knowledge of rockfish recruitment dynamics and habitat utilization by recently settled rockfishes is valuable for developing appropriate fishery management and recovery actions. Until 2015, no survey effort sought the spatial and temporal data necessary to fill these gaps in the southern Salish Sea. To address this need, NMFS collaborated with state and federal agencies, non-profit groups, and academic institutions to develop a citizen science SCUBA survey program directed at young-of-the-year (YOY) rockfishes. In this program, volunteer and professional divers perform timed roving surveys in discrete habitat types, recording data on rockfish abundance in four morphological classes, as well as qualitative habitat data. Continued and focused outreach effort has led to increased survey participation over time, while better coordination and agency support has allowed for more frequent professional surveys. We quantify the impact of outreach on partner survey participation and provide a preliminary evaluation of photo observations and data consistency across partner groups. General trends in YOY encounter across basins, habitat types, and seasons are also explored, along with the influence of current on YOY encounter rates and a basic interpretation of whether 2021 was a jackpot recruitment year. The applications of these data are growing as partner participation increases and additional years of data better define a baseline of YOY recruitment in Puget Sound and connected waters. After seven years, the program continues to grow and inform critical recovery actions outlined in the National Marine Fisheries Service Rockfish Recovery Plan for Puget Sound/Georgia Basin.