"Alaska Fisheries Science Center"

Gulf of Alaska (GOA) thornyheads are assessed on a biennial stock assessment schedule to coincide with the availability of new survey data. For GOA thornyheads in on-cycle (odd) years, we present a full stock assessment document with updated assessment results to recommend harvest levels for the next two years. However, due to the 2013 government shutdown, we present an executive summary with updated survey biomass estimates and recommended harvest levels. Please refer to the last full stock assessment report presented in 2011 for further information regarding the assessment calculations (Murphy and Ianelli 2011, available online at http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/refm/docs/2011/GOAthorny.pdf). A full stock assessment document with updated assessment results will be presented in next year’s SAFE report. We use the exploitable biomass from the most recent trawl survey to determine the recommended ABC for thornyhead rockfish, which qualifies as a Tier 5 stock. For this update year, we use the same extrapolation method (Alternative 2) from the 2011 assessment applied to the 2013 survey biomass estimate to provide estimates for the next two years.

Squids in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) are managed as a single stock complex comprising approximately 15 species. Harvest recommendations are based on an historical catch approach setting OFL equal to maximum historical catch during 1997 - 2007 and ABC equal to 0.75 * OFL. Gulf of Alaska squids are normally on a biennial stock assessment schedule, with full assessments due in odd years. In 2013 however, the shutdown of the federal government limited the amount of time to prepare assessments and the author was requested to do only an executive summary similar to an “off-year” assessment. The full assessment from 2011 is available online (www.afsc.noaa.gov/REFM/docs/2011/GOAsquid.pdf).

Rockfish are assessed on a biennial stock assessment schedule to coincide with the availability of new survey data. For Gulf of Alaska rockfish in alternate (odd) years we present a full stock assessment to recommend harvest levels for the next two years. However, due to the 2013 government shutdown, we present an executive summary with updated survey biomass estimates and recommended ABC. Please refer to the last full stock assessment report presented in 2011 for further information regarding the assessment calculations (Clausen and Echave 2011, available online at http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/refm/docs/2011/GOAshortraker.pdf). A full stock assessment document with updated assessment results will be presented in next year’s SAFE report.

The shark complex (spiny dogfish, Pacific sleeper shark, salmon shark and other/unidentified sharks) in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) is assessed on a biennial stock assessment schedule. However, for the 2013 assessment cycle, which would normally be a full assessment, a summary assessment is presented due to government shutdown and the abbreviated working period. GOA sharks are a Tier 6 complex, however, the ABC and OFL for spiny dogfish is calculated using a Tier 5 approach with the survey biomass estimates considered a minimum estimate of biomass. The complex OFL is based on the sum of the Tier 5 and Tier 6 (average historical catch between the years 1997 - 2007) recommendations for the individual species (ABC is 75% of OFL). For this summary, we have updated the time series of catch through Oct 24, 2013 to reflect any changes that might have occurred in the Catch Accounting System (for the years 2003 – 2013). For further information regarding the assessment, please refer to last year’s full stock assessment, which is available online (Tribuzio et al. 2011, http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/REFM/docs/2011/GOAshark.pdf). A full stock assessment document will be presented in next year’s SAFE report.

The Gulf of Alaska skate complex is managed as three units. Big skates and longnose skateseach have separate harvest specifications, with acceptable biological catches (ABCs) specified for each GOA regulatory area (western, central, and eastern).

Assessment for the shallow water flatfish complex has been moved to a biennial schedule to coincide with the expected receipt of new survey data. Usually, on alternate (even) years we will present an executive summary with last year’s key assessment parameters and projections for this year. However, due to the Federal government shutdown and furlough of federal employees from October 1-17, only an updated executive summary is presented here. A discussion at the September 2006 Groundfish Plan Team meetings concluded the following two important points for updating information in off-year assessments: 1) Anytime the assessment model is re-run and presented in the SAFE Report, a full assessment document must be produced. 2) The single-species projection model may be re-run using new catch data without re-running the assessment model.

The Gulf of Alaska sculpin complex has been managed as an independent complex with its own harvest specifications since 2010, when the North Pacific Fishery Management Council passed Amendment 87 to the GOA Fishery Management Plan.

Rockfish are assessed on a biennial stock assessment schedule to coincide with the availability of new survey data. For Gulf of Alaska rockfish in on-cycle (odd) years, we present a full stock assessment document with updated assessment and projection model results to recommend harvest levels for the next two years. However, due to the 2013 government shutdown, we present an executive summary similar to an off-cycle year for Gulf of Alaska rougheye and blackspotted (RE/BS) rockfish. There was a large amount of new and updated data available for this stock complex (not just the most recent year) and there was not sufficient time for performing model evaluation and sensitivity analyses of this information. We present a short discussion of this new or updated data anticipated for the next full assessment in the Research Priorities section at the end of this document. Please refer to the last full stock assessment report presented in 2011 for further information regarding the assessment model (Shotwell et al., 2011, available online at http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/REFM/docs/2011/GOArougheye.pdf). A full stock assessment document with updated assessment and projection model results will be presented in next year’s SAFE report.

In 2006, the Gulf of Alaska rex sole (Glyptocephalus zachirus) stock was moved to a biennial stock assessment schedule to coincide with the expected receipt of new survey data. A discussion at the September 2006 Groundfish Plan Team meetings concluded the following two important points for updating information in off-year assessments: 1) Anytime the assessment model is re-run and presented in the SAFE Report, a full assessment document must be produced. 2) The single-species projection model may be re-run using new fishery catch data without rerunning the assessment model.

Rockfish are assessed on a biennial stock assessment schedule to coincide with the availability of new survey data. For Gulf of Alaska rockfish in on-cycle (odd) years, we present a full stock assessment document with updated assessment and projection model results. However, due to the 2013 government shutdown, we do not present alternative model configurations in this year’s assessment. Additionally, some sections may not have been fully updated from the 2011 assessment document. We use a statistical age-structured model as the primary assessment tool for Gulf of Alaska Pacific ocean perch which qualifies as a Tier 3 stock. This assessment consists of a population model, which uses survey and fishery data to generate a historical time series of population estimates, and a projection model, which uses results from the population model to predict future population estimates and recommended harvest levels. For this on-cycle year, we update the 2011 assessment model estimates with new data collected since the last full assessment.