"Rougheye Rockfish"

The Other Rockfish stock complex (termed OR in this document) is a mixed group of up to 25 rockfish species depending on Gulf of Alaska (GOA) management area (Table 16.1, Figure 16.1). This assessment presents catch and survey information for these species and provides recommended management reference points. This complex is further complicated by eight species that occur in other assessments in certain regions.

In 2005, BSAI rockfish were moved to a biennial assessment schedule to coincide with the frequency of trawl surveys in the Aleutian Islands (AI) and the eastern Bering Sea (EBS) slope. These surveys occur in even years, and for these years a full assessment of blackspotted and rougheye rockfish in the BSAI area will be conducted.

Rougheye rockfish (Sebastes aleutianus) have historically been managed within various stock complexes within the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) region. For example, from 1991 to 2000 rougheye rockfish in the eastern Bering Sea (EBS) area were managed under the “other red rockfish” species complex, which consisted of shortraker (Sebastes borealis), rougheye (S. aleutianus), sharpchin (S. zacentrus), and northern rockfish (S. polyspinis), whereas in the Aleutian Islands (AI) area during this time rougheye rockfish were managed within the rougheye/shortraker complex. In 2001, the other red rockfish complex in the EBS was split into two groups, rougheye/shortraker and sharpchin/northern, matching the complexes used in the Aleutian Islands. Additionally, separate TACs were established for the EBS and AI management areas, but the overfishing level (OFL) pertained to the entire BSAI area. By 2004, rougheye, shortraker, and northern rockfish were managed with species-specific OFLs applied to the BSAI management area.

Reducing maximum retainable bycatch percentages for shortraker/rougheye and thornyhead rockfish in the Gulf of Alaska