Tag Archives: Fish

Oligocottus maculosus: Tidepool Sculpin–The Race Rocks taxonomy

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rmsculpinn

Sculpin image by Ryan Murphy

Sculpin have ability to blend in with their surroundings which is useful in escaping from enemies and in capturing their prey by ambush. The body is elongate, its depth about 10cm. Head somewhat depressed, its length about 6cm. The snout is blunt in profile and It is moderate in size, the upper jaw extending to mid-pupil.
The species is very abundant in tide pools around rocky the rocky shores of Race Rocks. Tide pool sculpins show a definite tendency to return to their home pool if moved. These are very abundant in the tidepools on the north east corner of Great Race Rock. A piece of edible tissue dropped into a pool usually causes a feeding frenzy.

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Class Actinopterigii
Order Scorpaeniformes
Sub Order Cottoidei
Family Cottidae
Genus Oligocottus
Species maculosus
Common Name: Tidepool Sculpin

 

 

 

 

 

Ryan Murphy took the following  photos of Sculpins when he was stationed at Race Rocks as the Ecoguardian . He was able to dive frequently while there and developed an excellence in underwater photography. 

His photographs can be viewed on his Flickr site:

We have not been able to identify all the following yet so are including them all with the tidepool sculpin: Oligocottus maculosus

Other Members of the Class Actinopterigii at Race Rocks.

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. original file : Dec 2002, by  Abdul Mobin.(PC)

 

Sealions that seemed to be ‘fishing’ together,

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Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 9.5 ºC »» Min. 3.9 ºC »» Reset 6.8 ºC
MARINE LIFE: Watched a group of 5 or 6 Northern Sealions that seemed to be ‘fishing’ together, since most of the action took place under the water it is only conjecture but 4 good sized fish were brought to the surface within seconds. Other marine animals are known to work together to corral fish so it is not too surprising that sealions might as well. There are still fish balls but are small and short lived with fewer birds.
HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 14 Ecotour boats,1 research boat( the Drifter) 3 sail boats, 1 Dive Charter and 2 pleasurecraft in the MPA today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:03 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis. 15 Miles »» Wind North East 7 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:47 AM

Sea lion population still down

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Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 9.5 ºC »» Min. 4.9 ºC »» Reset 7.9 ºC
MARINE LIFE: The population of Sealions is still down since the last series of blasts so it is fairly quiet,the animals hauled out by the winch house are quite nervous of any activity on or near the dock. With another series of blasts in the coming weeks they may just move away altogether. Saw only 5 small fish balls today and not many birds feeding, seem to have followed the food elsewhere for now. The geese were back, at least 6 of them.
HUMAN INTERACTION: The LGL observers arrived first thing this morning and left at 16:30 and as careful as they were the sealions closest to the dock took to the water.There were 8 Ecotour boats through today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:08 PM

Congregation of gulls

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Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.7 ºC »» Min. 8.9 ºC »» Reset 10.2 ºC »» Rain 0.4 mm
MARINE LIFE: Today there are hundreds of gulls on Gr. Race and hundreds more on all the other rocks and perched on the kelp. Did see a few fish balls but mostly the gulls are just sitting on shore. The majority are juveniles. The 6 geese are here again -think they must have spent the night.
HUMAN INTERACTION: Garry was over this morning in Hyaku to work on the computer for camera #2 which has been ‘acting up’ the last few days. There were 5 Ecotour boats and 3 pleasurecraft in the reserve today.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:01 PM

Recreational lingcod fishing prohibited in Strait of Juan de Fuca

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Saturday, June 01, 2002
Good Morning WEATHER: Sky Cloudy  Vis. 12 Miles  Wind West 11 Knots Rippled
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.0 C  Min. 8.1 C Reset 10.0
MARINE LIFE: Another beautiful day here, with quite a lot of marine activity. The Glaucous Winged Gulls are actively mating and nesting, being very defensive of their nests. Crows are harassing the Gulls, Oystercatchers and and Pigeon Guillemots, in search of an unattended nest and egg. One of the pairs of Canadian Geese on the Island are nursing their five young Goslings, despite the Goslings rapidly increasing size the Geese continue to be very protective of their youngsters. Divers spotted some large Ling Cod** around the docks, along with a healthy stock of smaller fish.
HUMAN INTERACTION: A lot of fishing activity around the reserve today, around 10 to 12 vesels on the reserve boarder actively fishing. Problems with both vessels motoring too quickly through the reserve and fishermen disregarding the reserve limitations and fishing around West Race rocks. Four eco-tourism vessels moved through the park today.
**Good news for the Ling Cod!! This note was just received from the Sierra Club:
June 1, 2002 Victoria, BC: Despite intense pressure from sports-fishery lobbyists, local Fisheries and Oceans managers have decided that this year’s recreational fishery for lingcod in the Strait of Georgia will not go ahead today as scheduled. In an unprecedented, last-minute move, regional Fisheries and Oceans officials decided late Friday to issue a variation order to the B.C. tidal waters recreational fishery regulations, to prevent the recreational fishery for lingcod from proceeding. In an unprecedented, last-minute move, regional Fisheries and Oceans officials decided late Friday to issue a variation order to the B.C. tidal waters recreational fishery regulations, to prevent the recreational fishery for lingcod from proceeding. The lingcod season, which would have run from today to September 30, would have allowed anglers a daily bag limit of one lingcod, a possession limit of two, and an annual limit of 10.
The commercial harvest of Strait of Georgia lingcod was banned in 1990, after commercial landings had steadily declined to 44 tonnes after a peak catch of 3,300 tonnes in the 1930s. Fisheries and Oceans scientists estimate that only five per cent of the 1950s-era lingcod biomass is left in the Strait of Georgia. Against the advice of federal fisheries scientists, the recreational lingcod fishery was allowed to continue, however, and by 2001 the sports catch was believed to result in an annual harvest of at least 30 tonnes. Friday’s decision to suspend the fishery will prohibit recreational lingcod fishing throughout Johnstone Strait, the entire Strait of Georgia area, and most of Juan de Fuca Strait.
“We believe that the vast majority of anglers will support this decision,” said Terry Glavin, fisheries adviser to the Sierra Club. “While we are encouraged by reports that there may be localized revivals in lingcod stocks, a full closure is the only hope that these precious fish will gain the time they need to recover to their former abundance.”posted by at 5:49 AM