Science & Data

The Gulf of Alaska flathead sole stock is assessed every four years and was last assessed in 2017. In years without a full assessment, we present an executive summary to recommend harvest levels for the next two years.

"Flathead sole" as currently managed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) represents a two-species complex consisting of true flathead sole (Hippoglossoides elassodon) and its morphologically-similar congener Bering flounder (H. robustus).

The Gulf of Alaska flathead sole stock is assessed every four years and was last assessed in 2017. In years without a full assessment, we present an executive summary to recommend harvest levels for the next two years. Please refer to the 2017 full stock assessment report for further information regarding the assessment model. A full stock assessment document with updated assessment and projection model results will be presented in 2021.

"Flathead sole" as currently managed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) represents a two-species complex consisting of true flathead sole (Hippoglossoides elassodon) and its morphologically-similar congener Bering f lounder (H. robustus). "Flathead sole" was formerly a constituent of the "other flatfish" SAFE chapter. Based on changes in the directed fishing standards to allow increased retention of flatfish, in June 1994 the Council requested the BSAI Plan Team to assign a separate Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) and Overfishing Limit (OFL) to "flathead sole" in the BSAI, rather than combining them into the "other flatfish" recommendations as in previous assessments. Subsequent to this request, stock assessments for "flathead sole" have been generated annually to provide updated recommendations for ABC and OFL.

The goals of the Ecosystem Status Reports are to: (1) provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management and (2) spur new understanding of the connections between ecosystem components by bringing together the results of diverse research efforts into one document. Beginning in 2016, we split the report into four separate documents, one for the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, eastern Bering Sea, and the Arctic.

The goals of the Ecosystem Status Reports are to (1) provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management and to (2) spur new understanding of the connections between ecosystem components by bringing together the results of diverse research efforts into one document. Beginning in 2016, we split the report into four separate documents, one for the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, eastern Bering Sea, and the Arctic.

The goals of the Ecosystem Status Reports are to (1) provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management and (2) spur new understanding of the connections between ecosystem components by bringing together the results of diverse research efforts into one document. Beginning in 2016, we split the report into four separate documents, one each for the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, eastern Bering Sea, and the Arctic.

The goals of the Ecosystem Considerations report are to (1) provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management and to (2) spur new understanding of the connections between ecosystem components by bringing together the results of diverse research efforts into one document. Beginning in 2016, we split the report into four separate documents, one for the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, eastern Bering Sea, and the Arctic.

The goals of the Ecosystem Considerations report are to (1) provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management and to (2) spur new understanding of the connections between ecosystem components by bringing together the results of diverse research efforts into one document. Beginning in 2016, we split the report into four separate documents, one for the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, eastern Bering Sea, and the Arctic.

The National Standard Guidelines for Fishery Management Plans published by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) require that a stock assessment and fishery evaluation (SAFE) report be prepared and reviewed annually for each fishery management plan (FMP). The SAFE reports are intended to summarize the best available scientific information concerning the past, present, and possible future condition of the stocks and fisheries under federal management. The FMPs for the groundfish fisheries managed by the Council require that drafts of the SAFE reports be produced each year in time for the December North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) meetings.