"Groundfish Assessment Program"

The bathymetry of the Aleutian Islands is poorly described and relatively unknown, considering that it and the rest of Alaska have been part of the United States since 1867. Part of the reason for this lack of information is that Russian and European navigators were late to explore and map the Aleutians, along with other parts of Alaska. Another reason is the vastness and complicated distribution of the Alaska mainland and island areas, with more shoreline than the continental U.S. (Jones 1918). Alaska, and especially the Aleutians, has remained relatively unpopulated and is remote from major population centers since this early period of exploration. Despite these negative factors, the Aleutian waters support important fisheries (Aleutian Islands Ecosystem Team 2007) and the Aleutian chain is crossed twice by about 3,100 commercial vessels each year (Nuka Research and Planning Group, LLC. 2006) while plying the great circle route between the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Asia (Jones 1918; Fig. 1).

Alaska Fisheries Science Center Quarterly Report

The goal of the Ecosystem Considerations report is to provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management and to spur new understanding of the connections between ecosystem components by bringing together many diverse research efforts into one document.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA) mandates NOAA to identify habitats essential for managed species and conserve habitats from adverse effects on those habitats. To meet these mandates, NOAA’s research must identify habitats that contribute most to the survival, growth and productivity of managed fish species and determine science-based measures to best manage and conserve these habitats from adverse effects of human activities. The NOAA Essential Fish Habitat Research Implementation Plan (AFSC 2006) for Alaska guided research to meet EFH mandates in Alaska during the last several years. This document revises and supersedes the initial Implementation Plan (AFSC 2006), and similar to the first plan is expected to guide the next several years of EFH research. The revision process began with a coordination meeting between Alaska Region habitat managers and Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) habitat scientists to determine the scope of the revised EFH research plan with a smaller group of 11 AFSC and Alaska Region staff subsequently completing the revision.

Alaska Fisheries Science Center Quarterly Report

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...

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...

The Southeast Coastal Monitoring project (SECM) is a component of the NOAA Auke Bay Laboratories salmon research program which has sampled juvenile salmon and associated biophysical parameters in northern Southeast Alaska (SEAK) since 1997 utilizing the NOAA Ship John N. Cobb and chartered trawl vessels. Sampling juveniles as they migrate to the Gulf of Alaska, after high-mortality periods of freshwater incubation and early marine residency, provides information on year-class strength that can be used with associated environmental data to forecast abundance of the fish when they return as adults. Data from these annual surveys have been used to develop models that predicted SEAK pink salmon harvests within 16% of actual harvests for 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009. However, this forecast accuracy was not achieved in 2006, when pink salmon harvest was well below both the SECM forecast based on juvenile salmon abundance and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) forecast based on previous pink salmon harvest time series. Despite this overestimate, the 2006 SECM forecast accurately identified a decline in average pink salmon harvest. The ADF&G is now incorporating the SECM juvenile data into their annual harvest time series forecast.

This document is a Regulatory Impact Review and Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis of an action to revise regulations at 50 CFR parts 679 and 680 amending the Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Pilot Program, the Amendment 80 Program, the Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) Program, and Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program.

The purpose of the first section, Ecosystem Assessment, is to summarize historical climate and fishing effects on the eastern Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska ecosystems using information from the other two sections and stock assessment reports. In future drafts, the Ecosystem Assessment section will also provide an assessment of the possible future effects of climate and fishing on ecosystem structure and function. We are currently working on a more concise ecosystem assessment utilizing a blend of data analysis and modeling to clearly communicate the current status and possible future directions of ecosystems.