FISH C ~ I S S I O NOF OREGON
CUMMERCUL FISHERIES RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACT
ANNUAL PROGRESS REPQRT
INVESTIGATION ,OF THE ABUNDANCE AND RECRUITBENT
OF BO'ITWISH OFF CREGON, WITH EMPHASIS ON DOVER SOLE
J u l y 1, 1967-June 30, 1968
Prepared by:
Approved by:
Robert L. Demory, A q u a t i c B i o l o g i s t
Robert E. L o e f f e l , Marine Research S u p e r v i s o r
U, S. Department of I n t e r i o r
F i s h and W i l d l i f e S e r v i c e
Bureau of Commercial F i s h e r i e s
S u b p r o j e c t No. 1-4-R-2
C o n t r a c t No. 14-17-0007-478
August 1968
INVESTIGATION OF THE ABUNDANCE AND UCRUITkiENT
OF BOTTOMFISH OFF OREGON, WITH EMPHASIS ON DOVER SOLE
ABSTRACT
The market sampling program f o r Dover, English and p e t r a l e s o l e and
P a c i f i c ocean perch continued. Bottomfish landings were sampled a t A s t o r i a
and Coos Bay.
Dover s o l e research c r u i s e s were made i n August 1957 and February 1968.
R e s u l t s on juvenile d i s t r i b u t i o n a r e discussed. A tagging c r u i s e f o r Dover
s o l e was completed i n A p r i l 1968. A s h o r t c r u i s e was made f o r P a c i f i c
ocean perch.
Aquaria experiments on Dover s o l e age and s c a l e growth were s t a r t e d .
REPORTS AND PUBLICATIONS
Five c r u i s e r e p o r t s were w r i t t e n .
Reports of c r u i s e 6 7 - 7 (August 1967)
and 68-2 (February 1968) concerned j u v e n i l e Dover s o l e ,
Reports of c r u i s e s
67-12 (November 1967) and 68-4 (April 1968) were t h e Dover s o l e tagging
c r u i s e , and r e p o r t of c r u i s e 67-9 concerned P a c i f i c ocean perch.
Three q u a r t e r l y p r o g r e s s r e p o r t s were submitted.
followingperiods:
These were f o r t h e
J u l y l , 1967-September30, 1967; October 1, 1967-
December 31, 1967; and January 1, 1968-Plarch 31, 1968.
A d a t a r e p o r t , I n v e s t i g a t i o n a l Report No. 7, UAge-length-frequency
d i s t r i b u t i o n s of Dover s o l e (Microstomas pacificcrs) larided i n Oregon i n
1948 and 1951-65 from PMFC a r e a 2D,ll was published by t h e S t a t e of Oregon
F i s h Commission in February 1968.
The paper, '!A s c a l e aging method f o r Dover s o l e (Microstomas p a c i f i c u s ) "
began t h e f i r s t rounds of e d i t i n g .
A paper on t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n of j u v e n i l e Dover s o l e and o t h e r j u v e n i l e
f l a t f i s h e s is being w r i t t e n .
PHhSE PROGRESS
A c t i v i t i e s during f i s c a l y e a r 1967-68 were i n t h r e e main a r e a s :
(1) market sampling, (2) r e s e a r c h c r u i s e s , and (3) a q u a r i a experiments.
Market sampling continued on a year-around b a s i s a t A s t o r i a and
during t h e summer of 1967 a t Coos Bay and Winchester Bay.
The numbers
of f i s h sampled f o r age and s i z e composition a r e shown i n Table 1, A l l
Dover and English samples have been aged and compiled i n t o summaries.
About one-third of t h e p e t r a l e o t o l i t h s have been aged.
O t o l i t h s of
P a c i f i c ocean perch have n o t been aged because s u i t a b l e techniques have
n o t been developed.
P o r t sampling w i l l a g a i n be conducted i n t h e Coos Bay-Winchester Bay
a r e a i n t h e summer of 1968.
Also f o r t h e f i r s t time c o n s i s t e n t sampling
of bottomfish and shrimp landings w i l l be conducted a t Newport.
Table 1.
Numbers of f i s h sampled, J u l y 1967-June 14, 1968
Port
Dover
English
Petrale
P a c i f i c ocean
perch
Total
Astoria
2,597
1,698
1,726
1,577
7,698
CoosWinchester
Bays
L
1 883
-
2,998
Total
4,580
1,577
10,596
45 1
2,149
664
2,3 90
L--L-
RESEARCH CRUISES
There were f o u r c r u i s e s during t h e r e p o r t period.
Two of these,
August 1967 and February 1968, d e a l t w i t h j u v e n i l e Dover s o l e d i s t r i b u t i o n .
The t h i r d c r u i s e was f o r tagging Dover s o l e f o r s c a l e and aging s t u d i e s
and t h e f o u r t h c r u i s e d e a l t w i t h c o l l e c t i o n of c a t c h - p e r - e f f o r t
P a c i f i c ocean perch,
d a t a on
Distribution studies
S i n c e J u l y 1966 t h e r e have been f o u r c r u i s e s aimed s p e c i f i c a l l y a t
d i s t r i b u t i o n of j u v e n i l e Dover s o l e ,
Thexe have a l s o been t h r e e shrimp
c r u i s e s t h a t provided a d d i t i o n a l information on d i s t r i b u t i o n of j u v e n i l e
Dover s o l e .
3.n a d d i t i o n t o 9over s o l e , a t t e n t i o n was a l s o p a i d t o
d i s t r i b u t i o n of j u v e n i l e s of P a c i f i c sand dab, s l e n d e r s o l e , English s o l e
and r e x s o l e on t h r e e of t h e f o u r Dover s o l e c r u i s e s .
To p r e s e n t a s complete a seasonal p i c t u r e of d i s t r i b u t i o n a s p o s s i b l e
t h i s r e p o r t w i l l u t i l i z e d a t a c o l l e c t e d p r i o r t o J u l y 1, 1967,
d a t a a r e arranged by season i n t o t h e following periods:
July-August,
and October-November.
by February, May, and August.
Dover s o l e
February, May,
Data on t h e o t h e r s p e c i e s is arranged
S i z e composition i s shown by length-frequency
histograms based on t h e c a t c h p e r average 15-minute t r a w l by 20 fathom depth
intervals.
Dover sole--In g e n e r a l t h e depth d i s t r i b u t i o n of small j u v e n i l e Dover
sole
(<
-
15 cm) i s a s foltows.
During t h e w i n t e r months most f i s h of t h e
incoming y e a r c l a s s a r e found a t g r e a t e r d e p t h s than o t h e r times.
By
s p r i n g they have moved toward shallower w a t e r s and by summer have made
t h e i r furthest inshore penetration,
By f a l l c h e r e i s a s h i f t t o deeper
w a t e r approaching a d i s t r i b u t i o n p a t t e r n s i m i l a r t o t h e w i n t e r months.
I n February small Dover s o l e were found between 40 and 99 fathoms
( F i g u r e 1).
A l l f i s h caught were immature and small j u v e n i l e s were most
abundant between 60 and 99 fathoms.
f i s h were caught.
Getween 80 and 99 fathoms only age 0
The l a c k of l a r g e r s i z e d f i s h was n e a r l y complete, b u t
n o t unusual s i n c e spawning, a w i n t e r a c t i v i t y , u s u a l l y t a k e s p l a c e a t
d e p t h s g r e a t e r than 100 fathoms.
I n Lay small j u v e n i l e s were found only between 20 and 79 fathoms.
Most were caught between 20 and 3 9 fathoms,
By July-August small Dover enjoyed t h e i r widest d i s t r i b u t i o n being
found a t depths less than 20 fathoms o u t t o depths of 79 fathoms.
They
were most abundant between 20 and 59 fathoms.
I n October-November t h e r e was a s h i f t t o deeper water.
were p r e s e n t between 40 and 99 fathoms.
Small j u v e n i l e s
Most were caught i n t h e 40-59
fathom i n t e r v a l .
English sole--Small, j u v e n i l e English s o l e
r e s t r i c t e d depth d i s t r i b u t i o n .
cm) show a pronounced
No j u v e n i l e s were found deeper t h a n t h e
40-59 fathom i n t e r v a l (Figure 2).
20 and 59 fathoms.
(<
- 20
In February they were found only between
I n Nay they were found a t depths l e s s than 20 fathoms
but n o t beyond 59 fathoms,
In August they w e r e found o n l y i n s h o r e from 39
-
f athoms. l/
Slender sole--Small, j u v e n i l e s l e n d e r s o l e
(5 15 cm) were found i n
n e a r l y a l l depth s t r a t a sampled r e g a r d l e s s of season (Figure 3).
Slender
s o l e were caught a t depths g r e a t e r than 100 fathoms i n May and August, but
were n o t sampled.
Also, s i z e composition i s remarkably uniform w i t h
r e s p e c t t o depth,
In August s m a l l j u v e n i l e s made t h e i r f u r t h e s t i n s h o r e
penetration.
They were n o t found a t any t i m e a t depths l e s s than 20 fathoms.
Rex sole--Rex s o l e j u v e n i l e s (<
- 15 cm) e x h i b i t a wide d i s t r i b u t i o n
w i t h r e s p e c t t o depth,
(Figure 4).
They were found a t n e a r l y a l l depths sampled
I n February they were most abundant between 40 and 74 fathoms,
I n May and August they occurred o u t t o 80-99 fathoms and 120-139 fathoms,
respectively.
The i n s h o r e p e n e t r a t i o n was t o t h e 20-39 fathom i n t e r v a l
f o r both months, but a few a d u l t f i s h were found a t depths l e s s t h a n 20
fathoms i n August.
1/
Observations i n a s e a water aquarium suggest t h a t , i f given a choice,
a g e 0 and age 1 English s o l e w i l l bury themselves i n sand. Thus t h e i r
range may be l i m i t e d t o sandy i n s h o r e n u r s e r y a r e a s ,
February
1-19 fms (3)
30
-
b y
1-19 fms (2)
n=3 4
August
1-19 fms (1)
n=108
TRACE
20 -
r,-"LJ'x%
10 --
20-39 fms ( 3 )
u.4
40-59 fms (5)
it-?
60-79 fms (2)
80-100 fms (1)
No English caught
Figure 2.
80-100 fms (1)
80-100 fms
No English caught
Length-frequency d i s t r i b u t i o n of English s o l e caught p e r average
15-minute haul. Numbers i n parentheses a r e number of hauls. n =
average c a t c h p e r haul p e r s t r a t a .
February
20-39 f m s (3)
30
August
&Y
20-39 f m s (3)
None caught
20-39 fms (1)
-34
TRACE
-L
20 -
10 -
n
30
-
20
-
40-59 fms (2)
n=16
40-59 fms (2)
n=8 6
-
40-59 fms (1)
~ 2 4 0
VI
i
60-79 fms (2)
rrc353
30
20
-
10
-
30
-
60-79 fms (2)
-102
{---ii;
i
-
60-79 fms (1)
n=27 5
!
I
3
0
80-99 fms ( I )
~1,174
Figure 3.
-.
i,
-
80-99 fms (1)
n=404
80-99 fms (1)
~ 1 7 9
Length-frequency d i s t r i b u t i o n of slender sole caught
per average 15-minute haul. Numbers i n parentheses
a r e number of hauls; n = average catch per haul per
strata.
.
9
f
i
30
20 -
February
1-19 fms (3)
lo -
No Rex caught
TRACE
30 .-
20-39 fms (3)
20-39 fms (2)
~ 1 2 5
20 -
No Rex caught
May
1-19 fms
August
1-19 fms (1)
n=12
20*39 fms (2)
~ 6 0 1
-tuz
10 -
$
t.
J
1:-L
40-59 fms (2)
n=5 63
40-59 fms (2)
1~573
30
,
40-59 fms (2)
n=8 90
20
10
"
30 -
60-79 f m ~(2)
~ 1 8 8
60-79 fms (2)
d 71
60-79 f
-284
m ~(1)
10
30 -
80-99 fms
80-99 fms (1)
n=330
80-99 fms (1)
n=43 2
Bex caught-.
not sampled
10
n
160-179 frns (1)
30
2010!
*:0'20'
Figure 4.
4b'
I
1 0 10 30 40
20 30 40
Cm
Length-frequency distribution of R e sole caught per
average 15-minute haul. Numbers i n parentheses are
number of hauls; n = average catch per haul per strata
30
10
10
.
P a c i f i c sand dab--Sand dab juveniles show a marked and r e s t r i c t e d
depth range (Figure 5).
The exception was i n February when they occurred
a t t h e maximum depth sampled, 91 fathoms.
fathoms.
They were most abundant a t 20-39
In May small juveniles made up n e a r l y t h e e n t i r e catch a t depths
l e s s than 20 fathoms; however, they were most abundant a t t h e 20-39 fathom
interval.
I n August only juveniles were found a t depths l e s s than 20 fathoms.
They occurred out t o t h e 40-59 fathom i n t e r v a l , but were most abundant a t t h e
20-39 fathom i n t e r v a l .
No sand dabs were caught a t depths g r e a t e r than 59
fathoms.
Tagging s t u d i e s
I n November 1967 a Dover s o l e tagging study was begun f o r t h e purpose
of making d i r e c t comparisons of s c a l e s a t tagging and a t recapture.
of t h e paucity of f i s h , tagging was postponed u n t i l A p r i l 1968.
of t a g s were used:
FD-67 anchor t a g s (Floy Tag and Mfg. Co.,
Because
Two types
Seattle,
Washington) and Petersen discs.
k t o t a l of 1,494 f i s h were tagged:
727 with anchor t a g s only, 272
with anchor t a g s and Petersen d i s c s ( t o g e t some measure of t a g l o s s ) , and
495 with Petersen d i s c s only.
Scales were taken a t t h e time of tagging.
Of t h e f i s h tagged with anchor t a g s o r anchor t a g s and Petersen d i s c s
75% were of sublegal s i z e (C28 cm).
d i s c s only 32%were of sublegal s i z e .
Of t h e f i s h tagged with Petersen
S i z e of f i s h tagged ranged from
16 t o 58 cm and averaged 27,3 cm,
P a c i f i c ocean perch
One c r u i s e , 67-9, was made i n September 1967 f o r t h e purpose of
gathering catch per e f f o r t d a t a on grounds f i s h e d by American t r a w l e r s
p r i o r t o Russian f i s h i n g i n 1966.
Tow l o c a t i o n s were preassigned t o a r e a s
t h a t had previously produced good q u a n t i t i e s of perch.
A t o t a l of 10 tows
58February
I
50 August
1-19 fms (2)
-57
k
1-19 ~ I R S(1)
n=50
-
-
-
1,
r
20-39 f m s (3)
~ 1 1 7
20-39 fms (3)
4
20-39 fms (2)
~ 5 3 4
3
-
40-59 fms (2)
n=13 8
-
-I
r-
-L,
d
<
40-59 fms (2)
w l 01
-I,
40-59 fms (2)
1~380
-
rk
-
r!'
j1.-r
J
Ir?
f
r
60-79 fms (2)
n=24
-
L~
60-79 fms
60-79 fms
Sand dabs caught-..
n o t samp 1ed
No sand dabs
caught
-.
!
Figure 5.
.
I
*
1
1
1
1
1
'
1
,
.
I
,
I
Length-frequency d i s t r i b u t i o n of P a c i f i c sand dabs
caught p e r average 15-minute haul. Numbers i n
parentheses a r e number of hauls; n = average c a t c h
per haul per s t r a t a
%
12
was made i n Loran blocks 2H4 2500 and 2H4 2600 (west of Depoe Bay).
average c a t c h of P a c i f i c ocean perch was 158 pounds p e r hour.
.
The
The c a t c h
of r o c k f i s h o t h e r than P a c i f i c ocean perch averaged 1,628 pounds p e r hour.
The c a t c h of perch ranged from 0 t o 720 pounds p e r hour.
For r o c k f i s h
o t h e r than perch t h e c a t c h ranged fram 20 t o 11,000 pounds p e r hour.
AQUARIW EXPERIMENT
An a r t i f i c i a l sea water aquarium of 150 g a l l o n capacity with temp e r a t u r e c o n t r o l was received l a t e i n 1967
and t e s t e d i n January 1968.
The u n i t was purchased s o t h a t a comprehensive study of Dover s o l e s c a l e s
could be undertaken.
Objectives of t h e experiment a r e t o study annulus
formation and s c a l e growth with t h e avowed purpose of answering questions
of i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of some Dover s c a l e p a t t e r n s .
This study i s supplemental
t o t h e tagging study completed i n A p r i l 1968.
The f i r s t f i s h 9 age 1 Dover, were introduced on February 8, 1968.
There was one survivor a f t e r 24 hours.
Subsequent i n t r o d u c t i o n s were made on
February 16, A p r i l 23 and 29, and May 30, 1968.
introduced.
I n a l l 51 Dover s o l e were
Most m o r t a l i t i e s occurred w i t h i n 48 hours.
A t present there
a r e t h r e e Dover from t h e February 16 i n t r o d u c t i o n and 12 from t h e May 30
introduction.
S c a l e s a r e taken monthly.
Age composition i s a s follows:
age 11, 2; age I1&5; age IV, 7; and age V I , 1.
The f i s h a r e f e d every o t h e r day on minced r a z o r clams.
Live clams
a r e kept 4 o r 5 a t a time i n t h e aquarium u n t i l needed a s food.