Know Your Neighbours: Gone Fishin'

August-September 2000

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.

by Bryan Nichols

Fish are great. Even the word is cool. Fish. It's a noun. It's a verb. It's a band. It's in oodles of nifty sayings, including the gangster classic "swims wit da fishes". I love that one. Though in keeping with the healthy (and spiritual) theme of this issue, we'll stick to fish as brain food, religious symbols and great swimmers.

Anyway, fish were the first vertebrates. Not fish as we think of them nowadays-guppies and trout are newcomers. Fish go a long way back, and they've traveled lots of different directions en route.

So what is a fish? Pop quiz time-answer yes or no out loud. Is a catfish a fish? A dogfish? Pipefish? Starfish? Tuna fish? Jellyfish? Shellfish? How 'bout a sea horse? Moray eel? Stingray?

Feeling like a fish out of water? Yes, yes, yes, no, yes, no, no, yes, yes, yes.

There's something fishy about the term fish. It's because we call at least three distantly related groups of aquatic vertebrates fish. Jawless fish (like lampreys in Northwest rivers or hagfish on muddy ocean bottoms) have the earliest pedigree-the few species left are remnants of a group that hit its peak about 400 million years ago. For the chronologically impaired, that's like-WAY before the dinosaurs.

Elasmobranchs go back a ways as well but they're still a happening group. They have cartilaginous skeletons and stiff fins-we call them sharks, skates and rays.

Bony fish have only recently hit their stride-there are presently over twenty thousand species of them. Colonizing fresh water habitats is their forte, using their maneuverable fins and swim bladders for neutral buoyancy (sharks sink). All us terrestrial vertebrates evolved from one of their ancestors a long while back, though which one (lungfish? lobe fin? Charley the Tuna?) is hotly contested.

But we have other fish to fry. We don't really paddle with fish of course-we drift over their realm, startling them with our sharklike shapes. Fishwatching for kayakers is possible on calm days, when we can see through that window between our worlds, the ocean surface. It is also possible along shore-you'll find several fishes on this month's checklist while poking under rocks or peering into tidepools. You might also try a glass bottom box-I'm trying to come up with one that would work well from a kayak.

Of course many of us are not just fish watchers, we are fish predators. Piscivores. Renders of fishy flesh. Fish are tasty, as lots of other critters know well-we share the ocean with all sorts of fish eaters, from bald eagles to resident killer whales, from squid to puffins to other fish themselves, big and small. One of the most interesting ways to watch fish is to watch their predators eating them.

This outing though, restrain your stomach and check out these fish while they are alive and well and living in the sea. Fish may be tasty, but they are also fascinating creatures to watch, and (like any animal) always more beautiful and interesting when alive, healthy and in their element. If you're looking up close, be gentle (hooks or no hooks)-fish are at the mercy of gravity when out of the water, and dry hands can damage their skin. Here's a dozen fish to look for while kayaking.

Checklist # 14-Go Fish

GUNNELS (lie in wait) Beachcombers who turn over rocks or root around in seaweed at low tide often jump when they spot one of these little "eels" slithering for cover. There are several similar species including the crescent and penpoint gunnels-they come in a variety of colors and patterns, some quite striking (none are really eels though). With a small net and a bucket you might get a closer look at one of these slippery shoreline fish.

NORTHERN CLINGFISH Gobiesox maeandricus (meandering goby) This is one of those fish that divers hardly ever see but tidepoolers find often. Growing to only 15 cm with variable patterns, it is very shy and uses a big adhesive disk on its belly to cling to the undersides of rocks and algae. In case you were wondering, it is perfectly capable of sticking to your paddling partner's forehead but doesn't enjoy being out in the open like that.

TIDEPOOL SCULPIN probably Oligocottus maculosus (spotted few/sculpin) When you see small fish flitting about in tidepools, it's a good bet they are sculpins. Small (less than 10 cm) and adaptable, tidepool sculpins can also be very colorful. Their vivid patterns and odd shaped projections make them worth a close look.

PILE PERCH Rhacochilus vaca (ragged lipped cow) Very common and recognizable, pile perch are the large silvery fish kayakers often see among pilings or near kelp. They grow to about 40 cm and have a dark vertical bar down their side. Fishing for them is very popular from docks. Several other species of silvery surfperches are common in protected and rough waters-all are notable because the females get pregnant and bear live young, unlike most bony fish which lay eggs.

FLATFISH sandabs and various soles Wade in or launch and you 'll encounter several species of flatfish that love shallow, sandy bottoms. It is next to impossible to see these well camouflaged little fish until your foot (or the outline of your bow) startles them-then they shoot along the bottom and may even dig themselves in up to the eyeballs. Take a close look if you can-one of those eyeballs has migrated right around the head while the flatfish was a juvenile, allowing it to lie sideways on the bottom as an adult.

TUBESNOUTS & PIPEFISH Aulorhynchus flavidus (yellow tube nose) Syngnathus griseolineatus (gray lined together jaw) You'll spot these small, very skinny fishes hovering around docks or schooling in shallow bays, sucking tasty little crustaceans into their narrow mouths. They are closely related to seahorses (which are just bent pipefish really) and both are favorites of fertile feminists. Male tubesnouts build a nest and then raise the children-male pipefish go even further, taking the fertilized eggs from the female and raising them inside a brood pouch.

HERRING Clupea harengus (schooling herring) Herring are probably the most common of the small, silvery fishes that school near the surface-juveniles in particular are often right under our boats. Huge numbers of adults come into shallow water to spawn, coating beaches with eggs. It's also fascinating to watch other critters feast on herring-diving birds, salmon, dogfish, eagles, seals & sea lions, cetaceans... they all love these tasty little fish.

SALMON coho, chinook, pink, chum, sockeye Salmon are amazing critters and us kayakers often see them leaping from the water as they make their way back towards mother river. If you 're lucky you've also seen them hunting smaller fish-or being hunted themselves. Rivers and river mouths are great places to see salmon right below you if your timing is good. In the fall salmon gather in bays, waiting for rains to fill the rivers so they can make that one way trip upstream and go out in a blaze of orgiastic glory.

BLACK ROCKFISH Sebastes melanops (magnificent black face) Rockfish are magnificent fish indeed. Our 70 plus species are often mistaken for types of cod or snapper but they are actually scorpionfish, though their spines have only a mild version of the venom found in their notorious tropical cousins. Black rockfish are one of the most active species, growing to 60 cm and often feeding in schools near the surface. You've also likely seen the summer juveniles in shallow water.

KELP GREENLING Hexagrammos decagrammus (six line ten line) These beautiful and abundant shallow water fish love kelp beds, so if you're like me and love to park your kayak among the fronds and watch all the life go by, you'll probably spot one. The males and females look drastically different but both feature nice blues in their color schemes. They are bold and curious.

SPINY DOGFISH Squalus acanthius (spiny shark) This globally distributed species gets called things like mudshark, grayfish, spurdog, and the ludicrous "rock salmon" (I hate market names for fish). What is it really? It's a shark all right, though a smallish one by Hollywood standards-they (slowly) grow to just over a meter and a half. Lucky kayakers see them when they school and feed on smaller fish at the surface, their dorsal fins slicing back and forth like miniature versions of "jaws". Their eyes reflect like cats and they're at least as curious, so try a night paddle with a flashlight.

BASKING SHARK Cetorhinus maximus This is it guys and dolls, the holy grail of Northwest fishwatching from a kayak. Basking sharks are the second biggest fish in the world, reaching well over 10 meters (which is WELL over the length of your kayak). They hang out near the surface so kayakers have a decent chance of seeing them if they're around-alas, they're rare now. An unsustainable commercial fishery, deliberate (inane) slaughter and perhaps environmental changes have reduced their numbers off our coast-and kept them low. Ask around at Tofino as Clayoquot Sound used to be a good spot to see them.

Bryan Nichols (brynance@pacificcoast.net) is convinced that old and wise rockfish are privy to the meaning of life underwater but despite considerable (one sided) discussion, they're not telling him-yet. Meanwhile he's looking for basking sharks. ©

For more info I recommend the book Coastal Fishes. See my review of this book below.

Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest
by Andy Lamb & Phil Edgell

Northwest fish might not be as colorful as their tropical counterparts but they certainly have their charm. Those who take time to learn some species besides salmon will find a wide range of odd and beautiful fishes, from the diminutive and perversely likable spiny lumpsucker to the dazzling red irish lord and impressively bulky six gill shark.

Back in the mid 80's B.C. locals Andy Lamb (a Vancouver biologist) and Phil Edgell (DFO Port Alberni) put together an excellent field guide that is still in print and remains the best guide to Northwest fish.

THE GOOD STUFF
Concentrating only on Northwest fish, it covers darn near all of them, and mentions most of those it doesn't. This comprehensive nature makes it superior to anything but the fairly obscure Peterson guide to Pacific Coast Fishes which is less entertaining and considerably harder to use.

"Coastal Fishes" starts with color plates of Edgell's photographs, which are taken in the wild on natural backgrounds. They are typically clear and often very colorful. The bulk of the book contains one species per page - an easy format to leaf through. Each species starts with a drawing - these drawings are excellent, often considerably more helpful for id than the photographs. Noted right on the drawings are field marks, which are invaluable for divers and tidepoolers who don't have the luxury of a dead or helplessly hooked specimen to examine up close.

Following the drawing is the scientific name with it's meaning stated - always a bonus as it makes remembering them far easier. Alternate common names are listed as well, many of which are regional and/or completely inaccurate. Fish names are a pet peeve of mine, especially "market" names. Spiny dogfish are NOT rock salmon. We don't catch "red snapper" in B.C.; snapper are warm water fish. This sort of deception and ignorance is dangerous now that so many food fish are endangered. Consumers need to know what they are buying (or catching) in order to make informed decisions. Good field guides such as this one can help.

There is also information on size and distribution, followed by five special categories. These contain information on catching, observing and/or eating the fish, which makes this more than just a field guide. Of particular interest to those without hooks or nets are the categories for divers and beachcombers. These valuable tips on how to spot fish will have you finding far more species than you thought possible, even from shore or docks.

The descriptions aren't just dry facts either - they make for interesting reading. For instance, the seafood heading for the adorably ugly grunt sculpin reads "How could anyone think of eating this cute little fellow?"

IF I WERE EDITOR
Well first off, this guide has been out for 14 years - it's time for a second edition! There are a few fishes conspicuously absent that could be added (basking and blue sharks come to mind). Unfortunately, escaped Atlantic salmon now seem worthy of their own entry as well. Conservation, especially of dwindling rockfish and ling cod, has become a worrisome issue in the last decade and needs to be incorporated into the text. On a more technical note, a new edition would allow digitized photos to be used throughout the book, making it much easier to use. Regardless, I would add a heading on coloration to the species descriptions, especially since many species have variable colors and one photograph is not sufficient.

NITTY GRITTY
One of the first of Harbour's excellent 14x22cm field guides. The 224 pages are mostly text with line drawings - there are a series of color photograph plates at the beginning. Species accounts include tips for sport fishers, divers, beachcombers and gourmets, with a note about commercial harvest as well. At the end is a very brief bibliography, a list of the (mostly
obscure) species that were skipped and an index of common and scientific names.

TAKE IT HOME?
Despite its age, this is still the best book available on Northwest marine fishes. Kayakers, tidepoolers, seafood lovers, fishers and most of all divers should all own a copy.

GORY DETAILS
Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest
Andy Lamb & Phil Edgell
Harbour, 1986
224p, $21.95 cdn
0-920080-75-8