Marine Ecology and Stock Assessment (MESA) Program
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Manned submersible Delta. |
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Adult sablefish. |
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Northern rockfish in Aleutian corals. |
The Auke Bay Laboratories Marine Ecology and Stock Assessment (MESA) Program is at the center of ABL's two key functions; stock assessment and habitat assessment. MESA supports the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) mission, and especially its Ecosystem Goal Team, by developing information and analyses to implement the ecosystem approach to management through research in the areas described below.
Stock assessment provides information needed by NOAA Fisheries and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) to manage the Alaska groundfish resource. Scientists use advanced population modeling techniques to integrate biological observations and theoretical considerations into stock assessments that recommend annual groundfish quotas. These are in turn used by the NPFMC to manage fisheries within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Alaska. Other research includes the use of satellite environmental data to improve groundfish recruitment predictions, genetic stock structure of rockfish, and early life history studies on sablefish, sharks, and rockfish.
Surveys and field studies includes the annual longline survey, which assesses groundfish status on the continental slope of Alaska. Stock status information is collected for a number of important groundfish species, particularly sablefish, rockfish, and grenadiers. Improved survey methodology for sablefish and rockfish is a continued focus. An extensive tagging program is implemented from the longline survey, with thousands of tag releases each year for sablefish, Greenland turbot, and thornyhead rockfish. Tag recoveries have provided a wealth of life history information, including migration rates, exploitation rate estimates, and diel movement patterns. Collaborations with marine mammal scientists are focusing on fishery interactions with marine mammals, such as sperm whale longline depredation of sablefish. Estimation of forage fish abundance with hydroacoustics continues.
Marine ecology focuses on benthic fish habitat, deep sea corals, forage fish, and estuaries research. Through the use of manned submersibles and towed cameras, scientists have identified habitat associations of fish species, discovered extensive coral gardens in the Aleutian Islands, and provided insights into the catchability of trawl gear for groundfish species. Additionally, high resolution bathymetry and backscatter data collected through multibeam sonar have been processed to generate benthic habitat maps of important fishing grounds in the Gulf of Alaska. Surveying and mapping of near-shore and estuarine Essential Fish Habitat continues.
MESA Program Manager:
Phillip Rigby
Auke Bay Laboratories
Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries
Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute
17109 Pt Lena Loop Rd
Juneau, AK 99801
(907) 789–6653
Phillip.Rigby@noaa.gov
Featured Research, Publications, Posters, Reports, and Activities
- MALONEY, N. E., and M. F. SIGLER.
2008. Age-specific movement patterns of sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) in Alaska. Fish. Bull., U.S. 106:305-316. (.pdf, 791KB) Online.
- SIGLER, M. F., C. R. LUNSFORD, J. M. STRALEY, and J. B. LIDDLE.
2008. Sperm whale depredation of sablefish longline gear in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Mar. Mammal Sci. 24(1):16-27.
- Fisheries Assessment of Stephens Passage, Southeastern Alaska
By: DAVID CSEPP, MICHAEL SIGLER
Conference: Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2008
(2008 poster, .pdf, 1.28MB) Online.
- New Coral Data for Bering Sea Canyons
By: ROBERT P. STONE, JOHN HOCEVAR
Conference: Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2008
(2008 poster, .pdf, 159KB) Online.
See the publications and poster databases for additional listings.
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