Adult sablefish as seen from submersible Delta.

Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) are members of the Anoplopomatidae family that includes sablefish and skillfish. Other vernacular names of the species in English include butterfish(US), black cod (US, UK, Canada), blue cod (UK), bluefish (UK), candlefish (UK), coal cod (UK), and coalfish (Canada), some of which are also used to refer to other species of fish, depending on the region.

They occur only in the North Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, and adjacent waters from Hokkaido, Japan to Baja, California, with the greatest abundance in the Gulf of Alaska. Adult sablefish occur along the continental slope, shelf gullies, and in deep fjords commonly in depths between 366 m to 914 m [200 to 500 fathoms (fm)], although they have been found in depths of less than 183 m (100 fm) to over 1829 m (1000 fm). Sablefish observed from a manned submersible were found on or within 1 m of the bottom.

Contact:
Dana Hanselman
Auke Bay Laboratories
Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries

Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute
17109 Pt Lena Loop Rd
Juneau AK 99801
Dana.Hanselman@noaa.gov

Featured Research, Publications, Posters, Reports, and Activities

• STURDEVANT, M. V., M. F. SIGLER, and J. A. ORSI. 2009. Sablefish predation on juvenile Pacific salmon in the coastal marine waters of Southeast Alaska in 1999. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 138:675-691. 
   
• MALONEY, N. E., and M. F. SIGLER. 2008. Age-specific movement patterns of sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) in Alaska. Fish. Bull., U.S. 106:305-316. (.pdf, 791KB)  Online.
   
• SIGLER, M. F., C. R. LUNSFORD, J. M. STRALEY, and J. B. LIDDLE. 2008. Sperm whale depredation of sablefish longline gear in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Mar. Mammal Sci. 24(1):16-27. 
   
• Tag Retention and Effects of Tagging on Movement of the Giant Red Sea Cucumber
  
  
• Southeast Alaska: Oceanographic Habitats and Linkages
  
  
• The Potential Role of Water-column Stability and Nutrients in Structuring the Zooplankton Community
  
  
• Stock-Structured Distribution of Western Alaska Juvenile Chinook Salmon From United States BASIS Surveys, 2002-07
  
  
• BASIS Symposium Held in Seattle
  
  
• Spatial Distribution, Energetic Status, and Food Habits of Eastern Bering Sea Age-0 Walleye Pollock
  
  
• GOA Sablefish SAFE report (.pdf, 2.4MB).

See the publications and poster databases for additional listings.