Genetic analyses reveal a non-panmictic genetic structure in the sablefish Anoplopoma fimbria in the northern Pacific

Abstract

The sablefish Anoplopoma fimbria is distributed on the continental shelf of the North Pacific, has a high commercial value for both fisheries and aquaculture, and represents a shared resource between countries in the North Pacific basin. In the present study, we extend the geographic range surveyed in previous studies and reexamine the population's genetic structure by integrating phylogeographic patterns of mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite DNA markers. Our results contradict the proposal that sablefish constitute a single population throughout their distributional range. We observed a signal of ancient divergence in mtDNA that differentiates the North Pacific West Coast from the rest of the sample sites, and microsatellite markers reveal a contemporary isolation of Mexican sablefish. Our findings show genetic differences between localities that should be explored in more detail to fully understand the interconnectedness that appears to exist between populations.