Science & Data

This survey collects important information on the status and trends of commercially important fish, crabs, and other species.

The Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) report summarizes the best available scientific information concerning the past, present, and possible future condition of the stocks, marine ecosystems, and fisheries that are managed under Federal regulation. It provides information to the Councils for determining annual harvest levels from each stock, documenting significant trends or changes in the resource, marine ecosystems, and fishery over time, and assessing the relative success of existing state and Federal fishery management programs. For the FMP for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Area, the SAFE report is published in three sections: a “Stock Assessment” section, which comprises the bulk of this document, and “Economic Status of Groundfish Fisheries off Alaska” (i.e., the “Economic SAFE report”) and “Ecosystem Considerations” sections, which are bound separately.

The goal of the Ecosystem Considerations report is to provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management.

The goal of the Ecosystem Considerations report is to provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management.

This database contains the Stock Assessment Result data from the 2014-2016 research season.

The goal of the Ecosystem Considerations report is to provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management and to spur new understanding of the connections between ecosystem components by bringing together the results of many diverse research efforts into one document. However, this year the report has been split into four separate documents, one for the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, eastern Bering Sea, and the Arctic1. This new presentation allows for a more cohesive focus on each large marine ecosystem (LME). While this simplifies navigation for the reader, it also better highlights data gaps and research needs within each LME.

The yellowfin sole (Limanda aspera) is one of the most abundant flatfish species in the eastern Bering Sea (EBS) and currently is the target of the largest flatfish fishery in the world. They inhabit the EBS shelf and are considered one stock. Abundance in the Aleutian Islands region is negligible.

Changes were made to the weight-at-age empirical data where values from ages 11 to 20 were smoothed. The assessment updates last year’s with results and management quantities that are moderately lower than the 2014 assessment. Yellowfin sole continue to be well-above BMSY and the annual harvest remains below the ABC level. The female spawning stock is in a slow downward trend.

The goal of the Ecosystem Considerations report is to provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management and to spur new understanding of the connections between ecosystem components by bringing together the results of many diverse research efforts into one document.

The goal of the Ecosystem Considerations report is to provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management and to spur new understanding of the connections between ecosystem components by bringing together many diverse research efforts into one document. The purpose of the first section, the Report Cards, is to summarize the status of the top indicators selected by teams of ecosystem experts to best represent each ecosystem. Time series of indicators are presented in figures formatted similarly to enable comparisons across indicators. Recent trends in climate and the physical environment, ecosystems, and fishing and fisheries are highlighted in bulleted lists.