Population Genomics of West Coast and Alaskan Sablefish

The sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) is a wide-ranging species in the Northern Pacific Ocean.  It is the target of a multinational fishery and there has been recent interest in the commercial aquaculture of the species.  It is generally accepted that two stocks of sablefish exist; a northern population that inhabits waters north of Vancouver Island, British Columbia and a southern population that is found off the West Coast of the United States south to Baja California.  The delineation of these two stocks is based on growth rates, size at maturity and migration rates inferred from tagging studies.  With little knowledge available on the population genetics of this species, this study uses next generation sequencing technology to survey the sablefish genome in order to characterize sablefish population structure and identify genomic regions that may be under selective pressure.  We sampled sablefish from the Bering Sea to Southern California and used restriction site associated DNA (RAD) sequencing to identify thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) throughout the sablefish genome.  A better understanding of the natural genetic variation in sablefish populations and the selective forces that they are subject to may help guide management efforts of this species.