{"id":12,"date":"2014-11-24T16:34:09","date_gmt":"2014-11-24T23:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/rockfishconservationareas\/?page_id=12"},"modified":"2014-11-24T23:48:44","modified_gmt":"2014-11-25T06:48:44","slug":"did-rcas-work","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/rockfishconservationareas\/did-rcas-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Did RCAs work?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/a>

A diver on a SCUBA survey. Photo: Ron Caswell<\/p><\/div>\n

Unfortunately, RCAs have not shown much success in increasing size or abundance in rockfish so far. Many different methods have been used to evaluate the effectiveness of the RCAs. These include Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys, hook and line surveys and SCUBA surveys. These methods aim to see if rockfish density \u00a0inside RCAs is higher compared to rockfish density outside the RCAs. While\u00a0this isn’t the best method to determine if RCAs are effective, there is a lack of historical data on rockfish numbers. Most studies have not\u00a0shown an impact of RCAs, although\u00a0one SCUBA survey<\/a> showed them to increase rockfish density. A huge number of groups are involved monitoring rockfish and the effects of RCAs, including First Nations groups, DFO and academic researchers.<\/p>\n

The \u00a0Vancouver Aquarium<\/a>\u00a0even has a Rockfish Abundance Survey that every SCUBA diver can take part in. Check out their video on rockfish identification here:<\/p>\n