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2010 Economic Status of the Groundfish Fisheries Off Alaska

The domestic groundfish fishery off Alaska is the largest fishery by volume in the U.S. This report contains detailed information about economic aspects of the fishery, including figures and tables, market profiles for the most commercially valuable species, a summary of the relevant research being undertaken by the Economic and Social Sciences Research Program (ESSRP) at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) and a list of recent publications by ESSRP analysts.
September 26, 2010 - Assessments ,

2010 Annual Survey of Juvenile Salmon, Ecologically-Related Species, and Environmental Factors in the Marine Waters of Southeastern Alaska

Juvenile Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), ecologically-related species, and associated environmental (biophysical) data were collected from the marine waters of the northern region of southeastern Alaska in 2010. This annual survey, conducted by the Southeast Coastal Monitoring (SECM) project, marks 14 consecutive years of systematically monitoring how juvenile salmon utilize in marine ecosystems, and was implemented to identify the relationships among biophysical parameters that influence habitat use, marine growth, predation, stock interactions, and year-class strength of juvenile salmon. This report also contrasts the 2010 findings with selected biophysical parameters from the prior 13 sampling years. Up to 13 stations were sampled in epipelagic waters monthly, totaling 21 sampling days, from May to August. Fish, zooplankton, surface water samples, and physical profile data were typically collected during daylight at each station using a surface rope trawl, conical and bongo nets, a water sampler, and a conductivity-temperature-depth profiler. Surface (3-m) temperatures and salinities ranged from approximately 9 to 14 ºC and 17 to 32 PSU from May to August. More than 39,000 fish, representing 26 taxa, were captured in 67 rope trawl hauls fished from June to August. Juvenile salmon comprised about 97% of the total fish catch. Juvenile pink (O. gorbuscha), chum (O. keta), sockeye (O. nerka), and coho (O. kisutch) salmon occurred in 71-87% of the trawls, while juvenile Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) occurred in 9% of the hauls. Unusually high numbers of juvenile salmon were captured in strait habitat in both June and July, although CPUE was greatest in June for all species except sockeye salmon. Coded-wire tags were recovered from 15 juvenile coho salmon and one juvenile Chinook salmon from hatchery and wild stocks originating in southeastern Alaska and Washington. Alaska enhanced stocks were also identified by thermal otolith marks from 67% of the chum and 16% of the sockeye salmon examined. Onboard stomach analysis revealed predation on highly abundant juvenile salmon by adult coho salmon, a common predator, and adult pink salmon, a rare predator. Biophysical measures from 2010 differed from prior years, in many respects. May integrated (20-m) temperature anomalies were generally positive and salinity anomalies were generally negative; in particular, the positive May temperature anomaly was the highest on record. Zooplankton monthly total densities were near longterm averages, reversing the trend for strongly positive anomalies over the past four years. For juvenile pink, chum, and sockeye salmon, low condition residuals in June were followed by small size and low energy density in July. Regional biophysical data from SECM are used in conjunction with basin-scale biophysical parameters to forecast pink salmon harvest in southeastern Alaska. Longterm monitoring of key stocks of juvenile salmon, on seasonal and interannual time scales, will enable researchers to understand how growth, abundance, and ecological interactions affect year-class strength of salmon and to better understand their roles in North Pacific marine ecosystems.
September 25, 2010 - Survey ,

Shark Predation on Hawaiian Monk Seals: Workshop II & Post-Workshop Developments, November 5-6, 2008

Hawaiian monk seals are facing a crisis, particularly in the NWHI where they are at their lowest level in recorded history.
July 15, 2010 - Peer-Reviewed Research ,

The World's Smallest Whale Population?

The North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) was heavily exploited by both nineteenth century whaling and recent (1960s) illegal Soviet catches. Today, the species remains extremely rare especially in the eastern North Pacific.
June 30, 2010 - Peer-Reviewed Research ,

Range Contraction in a Beluga Whale Population

Cook Inlet beluga whale distribution research.
June 24, 2010 - Peer-Reviewed Research ,

2010 Alaska Ecosystem Considerations

The goal of the Ecosystem Considerations appendix is to provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management and to spur new understanding of the connections between ecosystem components...
June 10, 2010 - Assessments ,

2010 Alaska Crab Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Report

The annual stock assessment and fishery evaluation (SAFE) report is a requirement of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council's Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (FMP), and a federal requirement [50 CFR Section 602.12(e)]. The SAFE report summarizes the current biological and economic status of fisheries, total allowable catch (TAC) or Guideline Harvest Level (GHL), and analytical information used for management decisions. Additional information on Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) king and Tanner crab is available on the NMFS web page at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) Westward Region Shellfish web page at: http://www.cf.adfg.state.ak.us/region4/shellfsh/shelhom4.php.
May 21, 2010 - Assessments ,

Shark Predation on Hawaiian Monk Seals Workshop Honolulu, Hawaii January 8-9, 2008

This report summarizes the proceedings of the workshop, Shark Predation on Hawaiian Monk Seals, sponsored by the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) and the Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO) of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The workshop was held January 8–9, 2008 in Honolulu, Hawaii. 
May 15, 2010 - Peer-Reviewed Research ,

A Multiple Instrument Approach to Quantifying the Movement Patterns and Habitat Use of Tiger (Galeocerdo Cuvier) and Galapagos Sharks (Carcharhinus Galapagensis) at French Frigate Shoals, Hawaii

We equipped individual tiger (Galeocerdo cuvier Péron and Lesueur, 1822) and Galapagos (Carcharhinus galapagensis Snodgrass and Heller, 1905) sharks with both acoustic and satellite transmitters to quantify their long-term movements in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (Northwestern Hawaiian Islands).
May 10, 2010 - Peer-Reviewed Research ,

2010 Surveys of Steller Sea Lions in Alaska

Photographic surveys of adult, juvenile, and pup steller sea lions in Alaska conducted in Summer 2010.
April 26, 2010 - Survey ,