Publications

Changes to the cost recovery programs for the Halibut and Sablefish Individual Fishing Quota Program and the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization program

Previous studies have shown rapid mixing of sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) among fishery regulatory areas, with the pattern of movement related to fish size. > 300,000 tag releases in Alaska and over 27,000 tag recoveries from 1979 to 2009 were analyzed.

NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-F/AKR-11

On August 28, 2014, the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) completed the thirty-sixth annual longline survey of Alaska sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) and other groundfish resources of the upper continental slope (Figure 1). This survey was designed to continue the time series (1979-94) of the Gulf of Alaska portion of the Japan-U.S. cooperative longline survey that was discontinued after 1994. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has surveyed the Gulf of Alaska annually since 1987, the eastern Aleutian Islands biennially since 1996, and the eastern Bering Sea biennially since 1997. The Gulf of Alaska and eastern Aleutian Islands were sampled in 2014.

Regulatory Impact Review prepared to evaluate the economic and socioeconomic effects of a proposed Federal regulatory amendment to the Gulf of Alaska Community Quota Entity Program.

Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis of a Regulatory Amendment to Prohibit Use of Hired Skippers for Future Transfers of Halibut or Sablefish Catcher Vessel Quota Shares after a February 12, 2010.

Annual reviews of the halibut and sablefish Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program in Alaska.

On August 28, 2013, the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) completed the 35th annual longline survey of Alaska sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) and other groundfish resources of the upper continental slope (Figure 1). This survey was designed to continue the time series (1979-94) of the Gulf of Alaska portion of the Japan-U.S. cooperative longline survey that was discontinued after 1994. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has surveyed the Gulf of Alaska annually since 1987, the eastern Aleutian Islands biennially since 1996, and the eastern Bering Sea biennially since 1997. The Gulf of Alaska and eastern Bering Sea were sampled in 2011.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Alaska Sablefish Tag Program has released over 360,000 tagged sablefish in Alaska waters since 1972 and over 33,500 of those fish have been recovered by members of the fishing industry. Data from the releases and recoveries are maintained in the Sablefish Tag Database. These data have been used to examine movement patterns, evaluate areal apportionment strategies of annual catch quota, validate ageing methods, and examine growth. The following article summarizes release and recovery data within the tag database and describes the results of studies utilizing these tag data by NMFS and others on sablefish age, growth, and migration.

NAO 216-6, Environmental Review Procedures, requires all proposed actions to be reviewed with respect to environmental consequences on the human environment.