2015 Status of Forage Species in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Region
February 02, 2015
A report on the status of forage species in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) region is prepared on a biennial basis and presented to the Plan Team and Council in odd years. This report is not intended as a formal stock assessment, although forage populations are analyzed if data are available. The two main objectives of the report are to 1) investigate trends in the abundance and distribution of forage populations and 2) describe interactions between federal fisheries and species that make up the forage base (i.e. to monitor potential impacts of bycatch).
“Currently, the list of species included in the BSAI report is very similar to those in the GOA. While understanding the need to be broad in what is considered to be a “forage species”, the differences in species compositions between the two regions should be explored in more detail.”