464 
Fishery Bulletin 96(3), 1 998 
From 1971 to 1976, sablefish were tagged and re- 
leased through a cooperative program involving the 
NMFS, California Department of Fish and Game, 
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and re- 
search vessels from Russia and the Republic of Ko- 
rea. Trawls, traps, and longlines were the predomi- 
nate gears used to capture sablefish, accounting for 
approximately 99% of the tag releases. 
In Alaska from 1978 to 1993, the U.S. -Japan Co- 
operative Longline Survey was the primary source 
of sablefish tag releases; a few releases were made 
from NMFS trap and trawl surveys. Along the U.S. 
west coast from 1979 to 1993, most tagged sablefish 
were released through NMFS sablefish trap index 
surveys and the remaining fish were released dur- 
ing NMFS trawl surveys. 
Tagging from 1971 to 1976 was carried out mainly 
on the west coast and in southeastern Alaska (Tables 
2 and 3). In 1978, tagging operations expanded into 
the Gulf of Alaska; in 1979, into waters off the Aleu- 
Table 1 
Releases and recoveries by gear and region of release. Also 
shown are the proportion of recoveries for each combina- 
tion of gear and region of release. Bottom table shows tag 
recoveries by gear and region of recovery. Tag types were 
all anchor tags. 
Gear of 
West 
release 
Alaska 
coast 
Total 
Tag releases by gear and region of release 
Trawl 
10,920 
28,899 
39,819 
Trap 
7248 
30,722 
37,970 
Longline 
136,077 
0 
136,077 
Unknown 
4206 
183 
4389 
Total 
158,451 
59,804 
218,255 
Tag recoveries by gear and region 
of release 
Trawl 
717 
1320 
2037 
Trap 
977 
3717 
4694 
Longline 
7987 
0 
7987 
Unknown 
166 
19 
185 
Total 
9847 
5056 
14,903 
Recovery proportions by gear and 
region of release 
Trawl 
0.0657 
0.0457 
0.0512 
Trap 
0.1348 
0.1210 
0.1236 
Longline 
0.0587 
— 
0.0587 
Unknown 
0.0395 
0.1038 
0.0422 
Total 
0.0621 
0.0845 
0.0683 
Tag recoveries 
by gear and region 
of recovery 
Trawl 
552 
1863 
2415 
Trap 
1331 
1856 
3187 
Longline 
6342 
826 
7168 
Unknown 
1209 
603 
1812 
Total 
9434 
5148 
14,582 
tian Islands; and by 1982, into the eastern Bering 
Sea. Tag releases from 1982 onward has been fairly 
consistent in all areas. 
Tagging 
All sablefish were tagged with anchor tags (Floy FD- 
68). The vinyl tubing (yellow, orange, or blue) on each 
tag was 60 mm long, 2 mm in diameter, and bore a unique 
number and a legend of where to return the tag. 
Captured sablefish were routinely put into “live” 
tanks supplied with fresh running sea water imme- 
diately after the catch was brought on board. Anes- 
thetics were not used. Usually within 15 minutes of 
completion of each haul, sablefish were dipped from 
Table 2 
We divided the northeast Pacific into 27 areas based on 
the criteria described below (Fig. 1). The historic regions: 
eastern Bering Sea (EBS), Aleutian Islands (AI), Gulf of 
Alaska (GOA), and west coast (WC) essentially maintain 
their integrity. Nominally, Alaska includes EBS, AI, and 
the GOA; whereas the west coast includes only WC. Areas 
are defined in decimal degrees of longitude and latitude. 
Area number 
and region 
Area definition 
Longitude 
Latitude 
1. EBS 
170°E-175°E 
Above 55°N 
2. EBS 
175°E-180°E 
Above 55°N 
3. EBS 
175°W-180°W 
Above 55°N 
4. EBS 
170°W-175°W 
Above 55°N 
5. EBS 
165°W-170°W 
Above AK Pen. 
6. EBS 
160°W-165°W 
Above AK Pen. 
7. AI 
170°E-175°E 
50-55°N 
8. AI 
175°E-180°E 
50-55°N 
9. AI 
175°W-180°W 
50-55°N 
10. AI 
170°W-175°W 
50-55°N 
11. GOA 
165°W-170°W 
Below AK Pen. 
12. GOA 
160°W-165°W 
Below AK Pen. 
13. GOA 
155°W-160°W 
Below AK Pen. 
14. GOA 
150°W-155°W 
Below AK Pen. 
15. GOA 
145°W-150°W 
16. GOA 
140°W-145°W 
17. GOA 
135°W-140°W 
18. GOA 
52.5°N -60°N 
19. GOA 
50°N-52.5°N 
20. WC 
47.5°N-50°N 
21. WC 
45°N-47.5°N 
22. WC 
42.5°N-45°N 
23. WC 
40°N-42.5°N 
24. WC 
37.5°N-40°N 
25. WC 
35°N-37.5°N 
26. WC 
32.5°N-35°N 
27. WC 
30°N-32.5°N 
