"Deep-Water Flatfish"

The Gulf of Alaska deepwater flatfish complex is assessed every four years and was last assessed in 2019. In years without an assessment, we present an executive summary to recommend harvest levels for the next two years.

The Gulf of Alaska deepwater flatfish complex is assessed every four years and was last assessed in 2019. In years without an assessment, we present an executive summary to recommend harvest levels for the next two years.

Please refer to the 2019 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 2023.

Convened by NOAA Fisheries and first held in 1986, the Flatfish Biology Conference provides researchers with an opportunity to present their findings on all aspects of flatfish research.

The key results from the accepted 2019 assessment are shown in the table below with 2021 specifications rolled over to 2022. The results for Dover sole are based on the author’s base case model and Tier 3a management. A risk matrix approach was used to...

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council divided the flatfish assemblage into four categories for management in 1990–"shallow flatfish" and "deep flatfish", flathead sole and arrowtooth flounder. 

The Gulf of Alaska deepwater flatfish complex (consisting of Dover sole, Greenland turbot, and deepsea sole) is assessed every four years and was last assessed in 2015. In years without an assessment, we present an executive summary to recommend harvest levels for the next two years. Please refer to the 2015 full stock assessment report for further information regarding the assessment model (McGilliard and Palsson, 2015. A full stock assessment document with updated assessment and projection model results will be presented in 2019.

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.

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 Gulf of Alaska deepwater flatfish complex (consisting of Dover sole, Greenland turbot, and deepsea sole) is assessed on a biennial stock assessment schedule to coincide with the availability of new survey data. For Gulf of Alaska deepwater flatfish, in alternate (even) years we present an executive summary to recommend harvest levels for the next two years.