This relatively deep-living rocky reef species is widely distributed in the northeastern Pacific. The three-generation period is 161 years, representing a past time period of ~1863–2024. It has intrinsic biological characteristics, including long-lived, delayed maturity and low productivity, that increase its vulnerability to declines by exploitation. Documented severe declines occurred in rockfish populations throughout the majority of this species' range from the early 1980s through the 1990s due to overexploitation. Stringent management and fishing regulation, including population monitoring, catch limits and spatial closures, were put in place to rebuild rockfish populations and these measures continue to the present. Although this species is a minor component of rockfish catches and no individual, species-specific stock assessments/population trend estimates are available, there are concerns for its population status in a majority of its range. In addition, there have been documented historical declines in other rockfish species within its range. It is inferred that some level of global decline has occurred, but due to the lack of quantified data, it is not known if this decline approaches or exceeds 30% over the past three generations at this time. It is listed as Data Deficient with a recommendation to research abundance trends.

This species is endemic to the eastern North Pacific from Unalaska Island, Alaska to Tanner and Cortes Banks in southern California, though it is most common from southeast Alaska to northern California (Kells et al. 2016). Its depth range is 2–298 m (Love et al. 2021) but the species is most commonly encountered deeper than 55 m (Orr et al. 2000).

Quantitative population trend information is limited for this species. It is relatively common in the Salish Sea (Pietsch and Orr 2015). It is uncommon and rarely caught in recreational fisheries in the Puget Sound (Palsson et al. 2009). It is uncommon at Cordell Bank (Graiff and Lipski 2023). Rockfish harvests within the range of this species significantly increased during the 1960s and 1970s to the mid-1990s and severe declines due to overexploitation were recorded during the 1980s and 1990s in rockfish populations (Palsson et al. 2009, Dick and MacCall 2010). Although this species is a minor component of rockfish catches and no individual, species-specific stock assessments/population trend estimates are available, there are concerns for its population in several parts of its range and some level of global decline is inferred.

Alaska: In the Gulf of Alaska, this species is managed as part of the Demersal Shelf Rockfish complex, which includes six other species of rockfish (Joy et al. 2022). Within this complex, the dominant species harvested is the yelloweye rockfish (90% of total catch) and the second-most harvested is the quillback rockfish. The stock assessment of this complex is primarily based on yelloweye rockfish data. Tiger rockfish account for a low percentage of landings and little data are available to assess its population status in Alaska (Joy et al. 2022). In Alaska, the maximum annual catch (includes commercial, recreational, and subsistence) between 2010 and 2014 was 0.8 t, the overfishing limit was 0.8 t, and the acceptable biological catch was 0.6 t (Olson et al. 2018, Joy et al. 2022). From 2012–2022, commercial landings varied from 0.12 t in 2020 to 0.42 t in 2012 and averaged 0.27 t (Joy et al. 2022).

Directed commercial fishing on this stock/complex began in 1979, and due to stock health concerns, this fishery was closed to harvest in 2020 and remains closed as of at least 2022. Stringent regulations have also been put in place for recreational fisheries in recent years. The rockfishes in this complex have also been historically retained as incidental catch in other commercial fisheries, particularly the Pacific halibut longline fishery. Biomass estimates of Yelloweye Rockfish generally declined over time (1980–2022) with a slight increasing trend in recent years. Overfishing is not occurring on this stock but there is 'substantially increased concerns' associated with the stock status (Joy et al. 2022).

Canada: In British Columbia, Canada, this species is taken in both recreational and commercial fisheries since at least the early 1980s but the stock is not individually assessed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). It is included in the 'Inshore Rockfishes' group, which was last evaluated in 2001 (Cornthwaite and Williams 2022). Quantitative abundance data are insufficient to estimate a percent decline or understand the status of the stock, but some level of decline has occurred in British Columbia based on other fishery indicators and the stock of inshore rockfishes was considered at least 'fully utilized' and likely 'over-utilized' in the Strait of Georgia and locally coastwide as of 2001 (Kronlund et al. 2001, Marliave and Challenger 2009).

U.S. West Coast: A full stock assessment is not available for the population in Washington to California and this species is managed as part of the Shelf Rockfish complex that includes 30 other Sebastes species. From 1999 to 2010, at least ten Pacific Coast Groundfish stocks were declared overfished, and mandated management measures implemented in response have been successful in rebuilding efforts (PFMC 2022). The estimated cumulative catch for this species from Washington to California in the period from 1916 to 2009 was 99 mt, of which 41 mt were caught in the last 20 years of that period (Dick and MacCall 2010) and based on the West Coast Groundfish Observer Program, an additional 26 mt has been estimated to have been caught from 2010–2022. According to catches estimated by the NWFSC West Coast Groundfish Observer Program for 2002–2022, or over the past ~two decades, total annual catch of tiger rockfish averaged 1.6 mt annually and fluctuated with a general increasing trend over the entire time period (Richerson et al. 2023, Somers et al. 2023). According to a precautionary catch-based evaluation of data-poor groundfish stocks from Washington to California conducted in 2010, this species was considered to be near the overfishing threshold (Dick and MacCall 2010).

This demersal species occurs over complex rocky bottoms and wall habitats with coves and crevices (Johnson et al. 2003). It mainly feeds on shrimps, crabs and amphipods at night (Love et al. 2002). This species is mainly solitary, exhibits site fidelity and is territorial (Palsson et al. 2009, Kells et al. 2016). This slow growing species reaches maturity at 16 years at approximately 35 cm length (McCain et al. 2005, Cope 2013). The maximum length is 61.6 cm (Suchomel and Belk 2022), longevity is up to 116 years and the estimated natural mortality is 0.04 (Palsson et al. 2009).

Generation length: One of the recommended methods in the IUCN Red List Guidelines for calculating generation length (IUCN Standards and Petitions Committee 2022) is “Age of first reproduction + [z * (length of the reproductive period)], where z is a number between 0 and 1; z is usually <0.5, depending on survivorship and the relative fecundity of young vs. old individuals in the population.”. Here, we use 16 years as age of first reproduction for this species, and longevity of 116 years. However, the constant z currently is not known, therefore we use z = 0.5 to estimate a likely maximum generation length for the species: 16 + [0.5 * (116-16)] = 66 years. Therefore, based on this method, we estimate three generations to be around 198 years.

Based on a natural mortality of 0.04 and age a maturity of 16 years, and applying an alternative equation recommended by the IUCN Red List methods: 1/adult mortality + age of first reproduction, the generation length is about 41 years. Therefore, based on this method, we estimate three generations to be around 123 years.

Based on these two estimates, the three-generation period applied for the purposes of this Red List assessment is 161 years, based on a single generation length of about 53.5 years.

In the Puget Sound, exploitation rates for this species are relatively low, though this species has a long lifespan, delayed sexual maturity and a very low productivity (Palsson et al. 2009), and due to these intrinsic characteristics, even low rates of exploitation can cause significant population decline (Lee and Berejikian 2009, Joy et al. 2022). This species is also considered moderately to highly vulnerable to climate change impacts, primarily based on impacts to prey availability (WDFW 2015).

This species is exploited by commercial and recreational fisheries in most of its range and is popular in public aquariums (Correia 2001, Dick and MacCall 2010). It is mainly taken in recreational fisheries in the northern part of its range (Love et al. 2002). It is also retained as incidental catch in commercial fisheries in Canada (Kronlund et al. 2001).

Conservation measures for this species are included under general rockfish fishing regulations that are in place throughout its range. To recover overfished groundfish stocks from Washington to California, significant management measures were implemented in the late 1990s/early 2000s. These measures were successful in rebuilding stocks and remain in place to the current day (PFMC 2022). The fisheries that land this species are managed as part of the demersal rockfish assemblage in the Gulf of Alaska Fishery Management Plan (Johnson et al. 2003), by the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (PFMC 2022) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada Groundfish Fisheries Management Plan in the Pacific region (Fisheries and Oceans Canada 2023).

This species also occurs in Rockfish Conservation Areas within its range where it is prohibited to capture rockfishes or utilize fishing gear that destroys its habitat (Fisheries and Oceans Canada 2018, NOAA Fisheries 2021). It also occurs in other marine protected areas (Palsson et al. 2009). In the Puget Sound, it has been identified as a Species of Greatest Conservation Concern under Washington's State Wildlife Action Plan due to the low number of individuals recorded in state surveys (WDFW 2015).

Research is needed on life history and abundance trends.