The National Standard Guidelines for Fishery Management Plans published by NOAA Fisheries require that a stock assessment and fishery evaluation report be prepared and reviewed annually for each fishery management plan.
Walleye pollock is a semi-pelagic schooling fish widely distributed in the North Pacific Ocean. Pollock in the central and western Gulf of Alaska are managed as a single stock independently of pollock in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.
Pacific cod is a transoceanic species, occurring at depths from shoreline to 500 m. The southern limit of the species’ distribution is about 34° N latitude, with a northern limit of about 63° N latitude.
The Other Rockfish (OR) complex in the Gulf of Alaska is assessed on a biennial stock assessment schedule to coincide with the availability of new trawl survey biomass estimates.