Hydrolagus colliei

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Distribution

Range Description

Widespread off the western coast of North America from Southwestern Alaska to Baja and the Gulf of California, being most abundant between British Columbia, Canada and southern California, USA.

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International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

National Distribution

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

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NatureServe

Eastern Pacific: Cape Spencer, Alaska to Bahía Sebastian Vizcaíno, Baja California (Mexico). Isolated population in the northern Gulf of California.

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FishBase

Eastern Pacific: southewastern Alaska to Baja Californa and the northern Gulf of California.

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FishWise Professional

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FishWise Professional

Morphology

Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10

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FishBase

Size

Max. size

100.0 cm TL (male/unsexed; (Ref. 96339))

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FishBase

Maximum size: 970 mm TL

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FishWise Professional

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FishWise Professional

Habitat

Habitat and Ecology

Prefers muddy, soft bottoms. One of the few chimaeroids that occurs in nearshore waters and has been observed at the surface, but generally occurs at depths of 100 to 913 m. The species also occurs into the intertidal zone in the northern parts of its range. In southern California it has been reported as common on some reef slopes, particularly off Malibu and Redondo Beach below depths of 30 m. In the Gulf of California they are rare in water less than 183 m deep. Prefers water temperatures of 45 to 48°F (Ebert 2003).

Oviparous with peak spawning seasons in the spring and fall. Eggs are laid in pairs every 10 to 14 days over a period of several months. The incubation period within the eggcase is about 12 months, with newborns emerging at about 14 cm TL (Didier and Rosenberger 2002). The spine is known to be venomous in this species (Halstead and Bunker 1952). Johnson and Horton (1972) reported that attempts at age determination based on length-frequency distributions were inconclusive and that the use of hard body parts for ageing was unsuccessful. Diet consists of a wide range of bottom dwelling invertebrates and fishes. They are known to be cannibalistic, feeding on both free-swimming individuals and on their own eggcases (Johnson and Horton 1972).

Life history parameters
Age at maturity (years): Unknown.
Size at maturity (body length): Female: 24 to 25 cm BDL; Male: 18.5-20.0 cm BDL.
Longevity (years): Unknown.
Maximum size (total/body length): 60 cm TL; 36 cm BDL.
Size at birth: 14 cm TL.
Average reproductive age (years): Unknown.
Gestation time (months): Unknown.
Reproductive periodicity: Unknown.
Average annual fecundity or litter size: Unknown.
Annual rate of population increase: Unknown.
Natural mortality: Unknown.

Systems

Marine

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International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

Environment

demersal; marine; depth range 0 - 913 m (Ref. 6793), usually 50 - 400 m (Ref. 43939)

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FishBase

Habitat Type: Marine

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Ocean Biogeographic Information System

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NatureServe

Depth range based on 4063 specimens in 1 taxon.
Water temperature and chemistry ranges based on 2062 samples.

Environmental ranges
  Depth range (m): 3 - 437
  Temperature range (°C): 5.424 - 17.687
  Nitrate (umol/L): 0.334 - 37.822
  Salinity (PPS): 32.340 - 34.190
  Oxygen (ml/l): 1.139 - 5.506
  Phosphate (umol/l): 0.426 - 2.880
  Silicate (umol/l): 3.551 - 70.929

Graphical representation

Depth range (m): 3 - 437

Temperature range (°C): 5.424 - 17.687

Nitrate (umol/L): 0.334 - 37.822

Salinity (PPS): 32.340 - 34.190

Oxygen (ml/l): 1.139 - 5.506

Phosphate (umol/l): 0.426 - 2.880

Silicate (umol/l): 3.551 - 70.929

Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.

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http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

Depth: 0 - 913m.
Recorded at 913 meters.

Habitat: demersal.

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FishWise Professional

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FishWise Professional

Migration

Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

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NatureServe

Trophic Strategy

Feeds on fish and benthic invertebrates (Ref. 2850). Inhabits rocky regions between Alaska and California (Ref. 9137). A carnivore (Ref. 9137).

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FishBase

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Life Cycle

Distinct pairing during copulation (Ref. 205). The female extrudes two eggs at a time (each contained in a capsule) and may take up to 30 hours to extrude all her egg cases, which then hang from her body on a long filament for another 4 to 6 days. The egg cases end up planted vertically in the mud or just lying with filaments entangled on the bottom. Females extruding egss can be found year-round (Ref. 28499).

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Conservation Status

IUCN Red List Assessment

Red List Category

Least Concern

Red List Criteria

Version

3.1

Year Assessed

2006

Assessor/s

Dagit, D.D.

Reviewer/s

Ebert, D.A., Kyne, P.M., Fowler, S.L. & Compagno, L.J.V. (Shark Red List Authority)

Contributor/s

Justification

A common species found in nearshore waters to depths of 913 m along the west coast of North America from Southwestern Alaska to Baja California, Mexico (including the Gulf of California). This species appears to be abundant throughout most of its range, although not common in Alaskan waters. One of the best studied of all chimaeroid fishes, life history studies indicate segregation of populations by size and sex and seasonal abundance in parts of its range. Limited information on reproduction indicates that eggs are laid in pairs every 10 to 14 days over a period of several months with development taking up to 12 months. Available fisheries data from the Northeast Pacific indicates this species comprises a large proportion of the vertebrate biomass in Puget Sound (Quinnell and Schmitt 1991), although reported catches from California, Oregon and Washington are very small. This ratfish is not a targeted species and appears to be collected and utilized only locally in the Northeast Pacific and is taken as a bycatch in commercial trawl fisheries. This species is rarely landed from the Gulf of California where it appears to inhabit waters at depths greater than 180 m. Evidence does not suggest that the small local fishery and/or bycatch are impacting the population in the Gulf of California. Given its wide distribution, depth range, abundance in some areas and evidence to suggest that the impact of fisheries is minimal, the species is assessed as Least Concern.

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International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

National NatureServe Conservation Status

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

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NatureServe

NatureServe Conservation Status

Rounded Global Status Rank: GNR - Not Yet Ranked

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NatureServe

Trends

Population

Very little is known about their movement patterns other than they seem to be seasonally abundant in some areas. Populations appear to segregate by sex and size with larger fish moving into shallower waters while juveniles aggregate in deeper waters (Mathews 1975, Quinn et al. 1980).

Population Trend

Stable

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International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

Threats

Major Threats

Potentially threatened by inshore commercial trawling activities. A fishery for this species has been suggested, but has never proven commercially viable; however, there is the potential this "trash" species may become targeted as other more valuable species are depleted.

Available fishery data from the Northeast Pacific indicates this species comprises a large proportion of the vertebrate biomass in Puget Sound (Quinnell and Schmitt 1991), although reported catches from California, Oregon and Washington are very small. For example, State of Washington Department of Fisheries reported only 8 round pounds for 1992-1993 (Keith Wolf, pers. comm.) and Oregon landings in 1992 and 1993 were 250 pounds and 98 pounds, respectively (John Griffith, pers. comm.). This species is not a targeted species and appears to be collected and utilized only locally in the Northeast Pacific and is taken as a bycatch in commercial trawl fisheries. This species is rarely landed from the Gulf of California and appears to inhabit waters at depths greater than 180 m. Evidence does not suggest that the small local fishery and/or bycatch are impacting the population in the Gulf of California.

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International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

Least Concern (LC)

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FishBase

Management

Conservation Actions

No management or conservation measures are currently known to be in place, except in Oregon where trawlers utilize gear to avoid ratfish and other unwanted bycatch. This species is generally avoided as much as possible as the spiny frontal tenaculum and dorsal spine tangles in nets.

The development and implementation of management plans (national and/or regional e.g., under the FAO International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks: IPOA-Sharks) are required to facilitate the conservation and management of all chondrichthyan species in the region.

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International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

Benefits

Importance

fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: public aquariums

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