Dramatic declines of fish populations around the world have prompted scientists and citizens to call for the establishment of large marine reserves to promote the recovery and conservation of marine ecosystems. Similar declines in Puget Sound groundfish and other marine resources have prompted the creation of some mandatory and voluntary reserves throughout Washington’s inland marine waters. For over ten years, a team of biologists from WDFW has investigated the response of rockfish and lingcod to the creation of marine reserves. Initially, we found increased abundances and sizes of rockfishes and lingcod, but more recently, we have observed higher densities of large lingcod may be at the expense of rockfish, smaller fish species and prey. Reserve building is still in its infancy, and the results of our studies and other researchers provide some of the building blocks for reserve design. Much is left to be understood, particularly how reserves can be integrated with conventional and multi-species fisheries management. Many of these questions can be answered from a team approach including tribal and state co-managers, university researchers, scientists, and citizens.
Wayne Palsson is a Research Scientist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and works with groundfish populations in Puget Sound. He has been studying saltwater fishes in Puget Sound for twenty-five years. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Zoology (U.C. Berkeley) in 1977, he earned his Master of Science in Fisheries Science at the University of Washington in 1984. Palsson works with groundfish resources in Puget Sound focusing on their assessment, management, and ecology. He and his co-workers have been examining the response of rockfish, lingcod, and other fishes to no-take refuges and have been considering how a refuge system can be designed for conservation and management needs.