(Credit: Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
Two-hundred-year-old fish?! That's right — some rockfish swimming in our coastal waters have been alive since Europeans first settled here in B.C.
The oldest of the rockfish species in B.C. is the wonderfully named rougheye rockfish. In nearby Alaska, rougheyes have been aged at 205 years, with rougheye rockfish of a similar age living in Canadian waters.
Most rockfish find a suitable home and pretty much stay put throughout the course of their life. Their non-migratory nature, and the fact that many species don't reproduce until they're about 20 years old, makes populations vulnerable to uncontrolled fishing.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada have set up Rockfish Conservation Areas to protect rockfish in some of their critical habitat. We're still waiting to find out if the conservation areas are effectively protecting these incredibly long-lived fish.
Do you have a story, photo and/or video about rockfish to share with us? Do you have any other good (true) fish stories? Tell us.







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