On Prince William Sound just outside Whittier, Alaska
In my last days as a fishery biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the crew for the Prince William Sound management area invited me out on their job to make sure the research vessel was ready to go for the upcoming field season. We set out some shrimp pots, we caught a couple of little king crab, and a yelloweye rockfish, which looks like and oversized goldfish!


Taylor shows off her yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus) that she caught (and released with a descending device). You can see the distinct yellow eye that gives this fish its name!
See that balloon-like thing in the rockfish’s throat? That’s the swim bladder, which helps the fish control its buoyancy. When rockfish are brought up too quickly, the gas inside expands. That’s why descender devices are important—they help the fish return to depth so the swim bladder can recompress, giving them a better chance at survival.
