The Nature Conservancy in Washington

Support Our Work

There are many ways to give to the Conservancy. We rely on your support to accomplish our ambitious conservation goals.

Yellow Island

Yellow Island is perhaps the most colorful of The Nature Conservancy's preserves, known for its dramatic wildflower displays. Learn more about this small preserve, and the many animals that depend on it.

More About Rockfish

Did you know rockfish give birth to live young? Find out more fun facts at the Northwest Coast Fisheries Science Center rockfish club.

What fish can live up to 100 years old and grows more fecund every year? The rockfish! There are more than 65 species of rockfish known to live off the Pacific Coast. They live to be ancient, and grow in fertility every year. Some species don’t even start reproducing until they are six years old.

Rockfish in Danger

The rockfish is in trouble. Its popularity as a food item has grown, and stocks have been overfished in the last 20 years. You’ll find rockfish on restaurant menus under the name rock cod or Pacific red snapper.

What The Nature Conservancy is Doing

The waters around the Conservancy’s Yellow Island Preserve in the San Juans are part of the San Juan Islands Marine Preserve, and fishing for salmon or bottom fish such as rockfish is prohibited around the island. The Conservancy is conducting studies to see whether restricting fishing in these waters will enable the rockfish to thrive around Yellow Island.

Nature picture credits (left to right): Photo © Peter Dunwiddie/TNC (Yellow Island); Photo © Phil Green/TNC (brown rockfish).