"Arrowtooth Flounder"

Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) is a transoceanic species, occurring at depths from shoreline to 500m. The southern limit of the species’ distribution is about 34 N latitude, with a northern limit of about 63 N latitude. Pacific cod is distributed widely over the eastern Bering Sea (EBS) as well as in the Aleutian Islands (AI) area. Tagging studies (e.g., Shimada and Kimura 1994) have demonstrated significant migration both within and between the EBS, AI, and Gulf of Alaska (GOA). However, recent research indicates the existence of discrete stocks in the EBS and AI (Canino et al. 2005, Cunningham et al. 2009, Canino et al. 2010, Spies 2012). Although the resource in the combined EBS and AI (BSAI) region has traditionally been managed as a single unit, the SSC has indicated that it intends to set separate 2014-2015 harvest specifications for the two areas. Pacific cod is not known to exhibit any special life history characteristics that would require it to be assessed or managed differently from other groundfish stocks in the EBS or AI areas.

Alaska plaice are assessed on an annual basis in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands region to coincide with the annual Bering Sea multispecies groundfish trawl survey conducted each summer. Due to a temporary lapse in appropriations, the Department of Commerce implemented a U.S. government shutdown from October 1 – October 16 2013. Although the trawl survey was completed again in 2013, the shutdown did not allow time to produce a full stock assessment for Alaska plaice and many other species. Therefore an executive summary is presented to provide management recommendations for the 2014 fishing season.

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 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” and “Ecosystem Considerations” sections, which are bound separately.

2013 North Pacific Groundfish Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Reports for 2014 Fisheries.

Analysis to evaluate the impacts, costs and benefits of a proposed amendment to increase the maximum retainable amounts of selected groundfish in the arrowtooth flounder and Kamchatka flounder fishery in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands management area.

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.

Stock assessment and fishery evaluation reports archive from 1998–2012.

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 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.