"Alaska Fisheries Science Center"

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.

There is some evidence that recompression may greatly increase the survival of barotrauma-injured rockfish.

This report presents information on economic activity in commercial crab fisheries currently managed under the Federal Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Bering Sea and Aleutian and Islands King and Tanner Crab (BSAI crab), with attention to the subset of fisheries included in the Crab Rationalization (CR) Program. Statistics on harvesting and processing activity; effort; revenue; labor employment and compensation; operational costs; and quota ownership, usage and disposition among participants in the fisheries are provided. Additionally, this report provides a summary of BSAI crab‐related research being undertaken by the Economic and Social Sciences Research Program (ESSRP) at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC).

The commercial groundfish fishery off Alaska catch totaled 2.2 million tons (t) in 2013 (this total includes catch in federal and state waters). This amount was up 2.3% from 2012, and was roughly four times larger than the combined catch of Alaska’s other commercial domestic species (Fig. 1 and Table 1). Despite the increased groundfish catch in 2013, the 4:1 ratio to other species was less than typical because of the substantial 65% increase in Pacific salmon catch (Table 1A). The groundfish fishery off Alaska is an important segment of the U.S. fishing industry. In 2012 it accounted for 48% of the weight of total U.S. domestic landings (Fisheries of the United States, 2012).

Juvenile Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), ecologically-related species, and associated biophysical data were collected from the marine waters of the northern region of southeastern Alaska (SEAK) in 2013. This annual survey, conducted by the Southeast Coastal Monitoring (SECM) project, marks 17 consecutive years of systematically monitoring how juvenile salmon utilize marine ecosystems during a period of climate change. The survey was implemented to identify the relationships between year-class strength of juvenile salmon and biophysical parameters that influence their habitat use, marine growth, prey fields, predation, and stock interactions. Thirteen stations were sampled monthly in epipelagic waters from May to August (total of 23 sampling days). Fish, zooplankton, surface water samples, and physical profile data were collected during daylight at each station using a surface rope trawl, Norpac and bongo nets, a water sampler, and a conductivity-temperature-depth profiler. Surface (3-m) temperatures and salinities ranged from approximately 7 to 16 ºC and 16 to 32 PSU across inshore, strait, and coastal habitats for the four months. A total of 25,730 fish and squid, representing 27 taxa, were captured in 98 rope trawl hauls fished from June to August. Juvenile salmon comprised approximately 94% of the total fish catch with the exception of one large haul of capelin (n = 10,452). Juvenile pink (O. gorbuscha), chum (O. keta), sockeye (O. nerka), and coho (O. kisutch) salmon occurred in 57-84% of the hauls by month and habitat, while juvenile Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) occurred in 34% of the hauls. Abundance of juvenile salmon was moderate in 2013; peak CPUE occurred in July in strait and coastal habitats. Coded-wire tags were recovered from 20 coho salmon and 14 Chinook salmon, mainly including hatchery and wild stocks originating in SEAK and captured in strait habitat; an additional 20 adipose-clipped individuals without tags (presumably originating from the Pacific Northwest) were recovered mainly in coastal habitat. Alaska enhanced stocks comprised 59%, 19%, and < 1% of chum, sockeye, and coho salmon, respectively. Predation on juvenile salmon was observed in 3 of 11 fish species examined. The long term seasonal time series of SECM juvenile salmon stock assessment and biophysical data is used in conjunction with basin-scale ecosystem metrics to annually forecast pink salmon harvest in SEAK. Long term seasonal monitoring of key stocks of juvenile salmon and associated ecologically-related species, including fish predators and prey, permits researchers to understand how growth, abundance, and interactions affect year-class strength of salmon during climate change in marine ecosystems.

Alaska Fisheries Science Center Quarterly Report.

This report presents information on economic activity in commercial crab fisheries currently managed under the Federal Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Bering Sea and Aleutian and Islands King and Tanner Crab (BSAI crab), with attention to the subset of fisheries included in the Crab Rationalization (CR) Program. Statistics on harvesting and processing activity; effort; revenue; labor employment and compensation; operational costs; and quota ownership, usage and disposition among participants in the fisheries are provided. Additionally, this report provides a summary of BSAI crab‐related research being undertaken by the Economic and Social Sciences Research Program (ESSRP) at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC).

The annual stock assessment and fishery evaluation (SAFE) report is a requirement of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council's Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (FMP), and a federal requirement [50 CFR Section 602.12(e)]. The SAFE report summarizes the current biological and economic status of fisheries, total allowable catch (TAC) or Guideline Harvest Level (GHL), and analytical information used for management decisions. Additional information on Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) king and Tanner crab is available on the NMFS web page at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) Westward Region Shellfish web page at: http://www.cf.adfg.state.ak.us/region4/shellfsh/shelhom4.php.

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. There are three main sections: • Executive Summary • Ecosystem Assessment • Ecosystem Status and Management Indicators The purpose of the first section, the Executive Summary, is to provide a consise summary of the status of marine ecosystems in Alaska for stock assessment scientists, fishery managers, and the public. Time series of indicators are presented in figures formatted similarly to enable comparisons across indicators. Recent trends in climate and the physical environment, ecosystems, and fishing and fisheries are highlighted in bulleted lists. The purpose of the second section, the Ecosystem Assessment, is to synthesize historical climate and fishing effects on the eastern Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska ecosystems using information from the Ecosystem Status and Management Indicators section and stock assessment reports. Notable trends, “hot topics”, that capture unique occurrences, changes in trend direction, or patterns across indicators are highlighted at the beginning. An ongoing goal is to produce ecosystem assessments utilizing a blend of data analysis and modeling to clearly communicate the current status and possible future directions of ecosystems. 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.