NOAA researchers sample catch on a pot vessel off Alaska
Alaska Groundfish and Prohibited Species Catch Accounting System
The purpose of the Catch Accounting System (CAS) is to assess the amount and type of catch and bycatch in groundfish and halibut fisheries off Alaska. The CAS relies on both observer data and landings information to generate estimates of total groundfish catch, including at-sea discards, as well as estimates of prohibited species catch and other non-groundfish bycatch. Observer information, dealer landing reports (“fish tickets”), and at-sea production reports are combined to provide an integrated source for fisheries monitoring and inseason decision making. An important aspect of the CAS is to provide near real-time delivery of accurate data for Inseason Management decisions. To meet this objective, data from industry is reported through the Interagency Electronic Reporting System (also referred to as eLandings) and is fed into NOAA Fisheries database every half-hour. Data from observers are integrated into the Alaska Fisheries Science Center database as soon as they become available, and are incorporated into the CAS every night.
A detailed description of the current catch estimation methods was published by Cahalan et al. 2014 in NOAA Technical memorandum NMFS-AFSC-286. This publication provides an update to the description of the CAS procedures that was published by Cahalan et al. 2010 in NOAA technical memorandum NMFS-AFSC-205. Other references and studies to evaluate and improve the estimation methods used in the CAS, include:
- Gasper et al. 2015. Catch Sampling and Estimation in the Federal Groundfish Fisheries Off Alaska. Poster presented to Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2015.
- Cahalan at al. 2015. Evaluation of Design-Based Estimators in the Federal Groundfish Fisheries off Alaska. In: G.H. Kruse, H.C. An, J. DiCosimo, C.A. Eischens, G.S. Gislason, D.N. McBride, C.S. Rose, and C.E. Siddon (eds.), Fisheries Bycatch: Global Issues and Creative Solutions. Alaska Sea Grant, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
- Cahalan at al. 2014. Catch estimation in the Federal trawl fisheries off Alaska: A simulation approach to compare the statistical properties of the simple mean estimator, a deterministic imputation method, and the ratio estimator. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 72:1024-1036.
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Alaska salmon troller Bay of Pillars in Chatham Strait. Credit: NOAA Fisheries
A Southeast Alaska trolling vessel. Credit ASMI
Oceanic whitetip shark. Hawaiʻi longline fishermen use leaders to connect weighed branch lines and baited hooks. A new rule prohibits steel wire leaders in the Hawaiʻi deep-set longline fishery, starting May 31, 2022. The rule aims to increase the survival of hooked oceanic whitetip sharks caught as bycatch in the Pacific Islands region. Credit: Andy Mann