LAUSR

Abstract Shortspine thornyhead (Sebastolobus alascanus) is a commercially valuable deep dwelling rockfish species that has been tagged in Alaska waters since 1992. These tagging results are the primary analyses available for evaluating the movement of this species, which will allow managers to determine the appropriate geographic scale of management. A total of 13,897 tagged fish have been released, with 228 recoveries reported during 1992–2016. Of the returned tags, 19% traveled 100 nm. While a small percentage of tagged shortspine thornyhead traveled large distances, at times crossing management and international boundaries, the low movement rate indicates that the current scale of management for shortspine thornyhead rockfish in Alaska appears to be appropriate.