Sablefish

Anoplopoma fimbria

Photo by: Wade D. Smith

Aquaculture Potential The sablefish has been identified by numerous individuals as a species with great aquaculture potential. In fact, farm raised sablefish from British Columbia have recently entered the market. As of 2002, numerous studies were being conducted at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center exploring the possibility of culturing this species in the Pacific Northwest. Sablefish may be a possible replacement for salmon in net pen culture and also has potential in an offshore cage culture or tank setting.

Opportunity Constraints Faster growth rate than Atlantic salmon (Rust 2001) Better food conversion ratio than Atlantic salmon (Rust 2001) Two to three times higher market price than Atlantic salmon (Rust 2001) High demand from Japan (Rust 2001) Fishery is fully utilized in U.S. and Canada (Kendall and Matarese 1987, Rogers and Builder 1999) Maturity reached at age one year (Love 1996) Highest growth rate of any juvenile teleost (Sogard and Olla 2001) Juveniles maintain high growth rate even with a high concentration of individuals (Sogard and Olla 2000) Observed in oxygen levels as low as 3.5 ppm (Rust 2001) Life cycle is not closed (except by the Island Scallop Company in Canada) (Rust 2001) Limited amount of seed stock available (Rust 2001) Carnivorous Cannibalistic (Kodolov 1976, Shenker and Olla 1986) Only one in 150 females spawned without hormonal treatment (Clarke 1994) Risk of getting furunculosis (Bell et al. 1986)

In-depth Information Regarding this Species

Alternate Common Names	Black Cod, Coal Fish, Coal Cod, Butterfish, Candlefish, Bluefish, Blue Cod, Deep Sea Trout, Black Candlefish, Beshow (Love 1996)
U.S. Range in the Pacific Ocean	Bering Sea to Baja (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Habitat	On or near bottom (Love 1996)
Substrate	Sand or mud (Love 1996) Mud (adults) (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Depth range (meters)	305–914 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Behavior	School (Love 1996) Migratory (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) Young prefer shallower water (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
General Temperature Range (°C)	13–15 current culture at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, but naturally occurs in cooler water (Rust 2001) 24 (high mortality) (Sogard and Olla 2001) See below for temperatures at specific stages
General Salinity Range (ppt)	25–26 current culture at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, but naturally occurs in full seawater (Rust 2001)
Maximum Overall Recorded Size (cm)	101.6 (Love 1996, Eschmeyer and Herald 1983) Usually less than 76 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Maximum Recorded Size for Males (cm)	N/A
Maximum Recorded Size for Females (cm)	N/A
Average Maximum Overall Length (cm)	N/A
Average Maximum Overall Length for Males (cm)	N/A
Average Maximum Overall Length for Females (cm)	N/A
Average Maximum weight (kg)	N/A
Average Maximum weight for Males (cm)	N/A
Average Maximum weight for Females (cm)	N/A
Length When Harvested (cm)	N/A
Weight When Harvested (kg)	N/A
Overall Length to Age Ratio (cm/age in years)	28.0/1 (Love 1996)
Male Length to Age Ratio (cm/age in years)	63.5/5 (Love 1996)
Female Length to Age Ratio (cm/age in years)	76.2/10 (Love 1996)
Overall Maximum Age (years)	5.5 (Love 1996)
Maximum Age for Males (years)	N/A
Maximum Age for Females (years)	N/A
Age when Harvested (years)	N/A
Overall Growth Rate	Females grow faster and live longer than males Some populations grow faster than others (Love 1996)
Male Growth Rate	N/A
Female Growth Rate	N/A
Overall Age at Maturity (years)	N/A
Male Age at Maturity (years)	4–5 (Love 1996)
Female Age at Maturity (years)	5–6 (Love 1996)
Overall Length at Maturity (cm)	N/A
Male Size at Maturity (cm)	50.8 (Love 1996)
Female Size at Maturity (cm)	61.0 (Love 1996)
Maturity/Temperature Relationship	N/A
Type of Reproduction	Oviparous (Love 1996)
Fecundity	N/A
Spawning Habitat	Deep water (Love 1996)
Spawning Behavior	N/A
Time of Year of Spawning	August–November (Love 1996)
Number of Spawns per season	3–4 (Love 1996)
Spawning/Temperature Relationship (°C)	6–7.5 for female ovulation (Clarke et al. 1993) 5/ 8 females ovulated and 6/ 6 males spermiated at 6–7.5°C 1/8 females and 0/3 males held at 8.5–9.7°C (Clarke 1993 in Stickney et al. 1995)
Spawning/Salinity Relationship	N/A
Description of Eggs	N/A
Habitat where Eggs are found	Below 182 meters (Love 1996)
Days to Hatch	12–15 days (Clarke 1994)
Time of Year when Eggs Hatch	N/A
Temperature for Egg Survival (°C)	6 (Clarke 1994)
Salinity for Egg Survival (ppt)	N/A
Predators on Eggs	N/A
Habitat where Larvae are found	Below 182 meters (Love 1996)
Days in Larval Stage	N/A
Temperature for Larval Survival (°C)	N/A
Salinity for Larval Survival (ppt)	N/A
Larval Food Preference	Copepod nauplii and adult copepods (Kendall and Matarese 1987) Rotifers in a hatchery environment (Rust 2001)
Habitat where Juveniles are found	Near surface, pelagic One year olds move to deep water (Love 1996)
Length when Juvenile Settles out (cm)	N/A
Temperature for Juvenile Survival (°C)	22 resulted in highest growth rate of any teleost 16–20 resulted in optimal food conversion efficiency (Sogard and Olla 2001) 20 optimal (Rust 2001)
Salinity for Juvenile Survival (ppt)	N/A
Where and When Juvenile Feeds	N/A
Juvenile Food Preference	Euphasids and Pelagic Tunicates (Sigler et al. 2001) Sablefish over 60 cm mainly eat fish (Sigler et al. 2001) Mysid shrimp in aquaculture setting (Shenker and Olla 1986)
Habitat where Adults are found (depth in meters)	305–914 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Temperature for Adult Survival (°C)	N/A
Salinity for Adult Survival (ppt)	N/A
Adult Feeding Type	Carnivorous
Adult Food Preference	Small individuals eat Squid, Fish, Amphipods, and Krill Large individuals eat Fish (Rockfish and Herring), and some Krill, Salps, Octopi (Love 1996) Fed ration of 14% wet body weight every 7–10 days growth rate was 2–3 times greater than wild fish (Sullivan and Smith 1982 in Stickney et al. 1995)
Food Eaten in Laboratory Setting	See life history stage specific information
Amount of Food Eaten in Laboratory Setting	When fed 14% body weight per 7–10 days, adults have two to three times the growth rate of wild sablefish (Sullivan and Smith 1982)
Additional Laboratory Findings	Sablefish research into spawning adults started in mid 1980’s (Clark in Nosho and Freeman 1994)
Environmental Considerations	N/A
Commercial Fishery	Large fishery (especially in Gulf of Alaska) 1988 fishery worth $100 million (Love 1996) Important (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Market	Japan (Love 1996) In Asia (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Sold Fresh or Frozen	Fresh and frozen (Love 1996) Quick frozen
Style Species is Sold	Sashimi (popular in Japan) Smoked (Love 1996, Rust 2001)
Additional Use of the Species	N/A
Shelf-life in Fresh State (days at 40°F)	3–5 (Love 1996)
Shelf-life in Frozen State (months at 0°F)	6–9 (Love 1996)
Shelf-life Canned (months)	N/A
Weight sold in Oregon (kg)	3.6 but up to 18 (Easley and Dulcich 1990)
Parasites or Disease	Furunculosis related to proximity to effluents of fish processing plants (Bell et al. 1986)
Additional Remarks	N/A
Location where Species has been Researched/Farmed	Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Washington Island Scallop Company, British Columbia Department of Fisheries in Nanaimo, Canada University of Washington began research on halibut and Department of Fisheries and Oceans Pacific Biological Station (Canada) began work on lingcod, halibut, and sablefish but all of the projects were stopped. (Nosho and Freeman 1994).
Appropriate Aquaculture Systems	Exploring possibilties for offshore, net pens, and tanks (Rust 2001)

Recent Wild Harvest Data for Oregon
Data from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Year	Total Catch (Pounds)	Ex-vessel Value (U.S. Dollars)
1989	8,704,848	3,834,542
1990	8,230,977	3,587,209
1991	8,667,954	5,228,787
1992	8,726,275	5,712,658
1993	8,660,394	4,753,287
1994	9,037,720	7,757,008
1995	6,980,400	9,270,421
1996	7,065,064	9,867,602
1997	6,542,958	10,404,773
1998	3,888,688	4,647,964

Photo contributed by: Douglas F. Markle Department of Fisheries & Wildlife Oregon State University

© 2003 Stephen Sempier