OND99 Quarterly Rpt. sidebar
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(Quarterly Report for Jan-Feb-March 1998)
Status of Stocks and
Multispecies Assessments
Status of Stocks and Multispecies
Assessments staff in collaboration with geneticists from the Northwest Fisheries Science
Center, Seattle, Washington, conducted an analysis of length-at-age and
weight-length growth patterns from over 500 Atka mackerel (Pleurogrammus monopterygius)
and 37 protein-coding gene loci. The purposes of the study were to analyze
geographic variation in genetic and growth patterns of Atka mackerel collected during the
1993 and 1994 NMFS summer trawl surveys in the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands
region, respectively, and to determine the relationship among Atka mackerel stocks in the
Aleutian Islands region. Atka mackerel growth data differed significantly by area
for length and weight characteristics, suggesting the formation of local aggregations
which develop differential growth patterns. However, potential stock delineations
based on growth patterns were not supported by the genetic data. Atka mackerel
showed a high degree of genetic variability. Variation was detected at 30 of 37
loci; 14 of the 30 loci were variable at the P0.95 level. Average
heterozygosity for 329 specimens was 0.137, an unusually high value for a marine fish.
Between-sample variation among samples was extremely low (FST = 0.004),
suggesting considerable gene flow throughout the range represented by the samples.
Based on the genetic data, the null hypothesis that the samples came from a single
genetically homogenous population of Atka mackerel was not rejected. It is presumed
that gene flow occurs throughout the population through the dispersal of pelagic larvae
and juveniles. We concluded that despite the genetic homogenization, phenotypic variation
in Atka mackerel post-larvae life history stages warrants consideration in fisheries
management. The results of this analysis were presented at the 1998 Western
Groundfish Conference in Asilomar, California, and a
paper on the subject is in press for Fishery Bulletin.
By Sandra Lowe.
U.S.
Groundfish Observer Program
During the first quarter of 1998,
162 observers were trained, briefed, and equipped for deployment to fishing and processing
vessels and shoreside plants in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Aleutian Islands.
They sampled aboard 231 fishing and processing vessels and at 18 shoreside
processing plants. These observers were trained or briefed in various locations.
The AFSC Observer Program in Seattle briefed 68 observers who had prior experience.
The University of Alaska Anchorage Observer Training Center trained 25 first-time
observers and briefed 67 prior observers. At the Observer Programs field
office in Dutch Harbor, two more observers were briefed. The first quarter 1998
observer workforce thus comprised 15% new observers and 85% experienced observers.
The Observer Program conducted a
total of 80 debriefings during the first quarter of 1998. Two debriefings were held
in Kodiak, 12 in Dutch Harbor, and 66 in Seattle.
At its February 1998 meeting, the
North Pacific Fishery Management Council approved the third-party, joint partnership
agreement with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) to provide observer
procurement services starting in 1999. Under this modified pay-as-you-go Observer
Program, the PSMFC would act as an interface between observer companies and vessels or
shoreside plants required to carry observers, thus resolving some conflict of interest
issues. The current Interim Observer Program, where fishing vessel owners obtain
observers directly from observer contracting companies, will continue through 1998.
The Council also requested that NMFS
resume work on a fee-based observer procurement system. Under this system, which is
authorized in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, vessels and
processors participating in halibut, crab, and groundfish fisheries in the Exclusive
Economic Zone off Alaska would pay up to 2% of the landed value of their catch. This money
would be used to procure and deploy observers consistent with coverage requirements.
Implementation of the fee collection portion of the program is targeted for the year
2000.
Substantial improvements in our
information systems were implemented in 1997 and early 1998. Electronic reporting of
observer sampling data from sea is now occurring on about 70 vessels and will be further
implemented to cover all fisheries by the end of 1998. This will provide the
Observer Program with an improved ability to solve sampling problems which observers
encounter at sea and will streamline the debriefing process.
By Bob Maier.
Age and
Growth Task
Estimated releases of production
ages for January to March 1998 were flathead sole466, rock sole336, Dover
sole247,yellowfin sole466,walleye pollock187, sablefish715,
Pacific whiting1,760, for a total of 4,177. Also, 1,057 were tested, 541 were
updated, and 63 were examined and determined to be unreadable.
By Dan Kimura.
ECOSYSTEMS
MODELING: Russian Trawl Data From 1952 to 1977 Available on Orca
Members of the Resource Ecology and
Ecosystems Modeling Task have developed an Oracle database that contains trawl data
collected during Russian research surveys of the eastern Bering Sea shelf in the years
1952 and 1957-77. Over 14,000 hauls were conducted from Norton Sound south to the
Alaska Peninsula. Haul, catch, and length data were collected on more than 150 species. At
present, only data on the following species are available in Oracle tables: Pacific cod,
walleye pollock, arrowtooth flounder, flathead sole, Pacific halibut, rock sole, yellowfin
sole, longhead dab, starry flounder, Alaska plaice, Greenland turbot, and 26 species
of Cottidae grouped under the general category of sculpins. The data are in the tables
FOODLAB.VIDAR_HAUL, FOODLAB.VIDAR_CATCH, and FOODLAB.VIDAR_LENGTH. Plans for the
database include adding data from the remaining species and adding further data acquired
from the Russians in their surveys of the Gulf of Alaska and Washington-Oregon-California
coast regions. For assistance using these data, contact Doug Smith, (Doug.Smith@noaa.gov, (206)526-4225).
By Doug Smith.
Food Habits of
Pacific Hake off Northern California and Southern Oregon
Because of its large biomass,
Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) is an important predator in the California Current
ecosystem. The impact of Pacific hake on other commercially valuable species has been the
object of several studies. During the 1995 NMFS Slope Surveys the stomach contents
of 377 Pacific hake were collected from waters over the outer continental shelf and upper
continental slope in the Eureka INPFC (International North Pacific Fisheries Commission)
area from approximately Cape Mendocino, California to Cape Blanco, Oregon. By
weight, the stomach contents consisted mostly of euphausiids (31%), flatfish (25%),
sergestid shrimp (13%), lanternfish (13%), cannibalized Pacific hake (8%), and pink shrimp
(3%).
Figure 1. Diet composition by weight of Pacific hake
size categories sampled during the 1995 slope survey of the Eureka INPFC area.
The importance of euphausiids in the
diet decreased with increasing size of Pacific hake (Figure 1 above). The diet
composition of Pacific hake examined in this study contained more lanternfish and
sergestid shrimp and less pink shrimp than other studies conducted in the Eureka INPFC
area. Differences between the results of this study and other studies conducted in
the same area were attributed mainly to the water depths where the samples were collected
(Table 1 below).
Table 1. - Summary of studies on
feeding habits of Pacific hake in the Eureka INPFC area.
Study |
Season |
Size
(cm) |
Number
w/food |
Depth
(m) |
Diet:
weight (W) or volume (V) |
Gotshall
19691 |
All |
10-81 |
449 |
109-185 |
(V) 44%
pink shrimp, 29% fish, 18% euphausiids |
Livingston
19832 |
Autumn |
10-20 |
40 |
130-160 |
(W) 98
% euphausiids |
Buckley
&
Livingston 19973 |
Summer |
40-50 |
23 |
55-182 |
(W) 60%
euphausiids, 35% pink shrimp |
This
study |
Autumn |
12-55 |
224 |
227-1,206 |
(W) 46%
fish, 31% euphausiids, 13% sergestid shrimp |
1Gotshall, D.W.
1969. Stomach contents of Pacific hake and arrowtooth flounder from northern
California. Calif. Fish Game 55:75-8.
2Livingston, P.A. 1983. Food habits of Pacific
whiting, Merluccius productus, off the west coast of North America, 1967 and 1980.
Fish. Bull., U.S. 81:629-636.
3Buckley, T.W. and P.A. Livingston. 1997.
Geographic variation in the diet of Pacific hake with a note on cannibalism. Calif.
Coop. Oceanic Fish. Invest. 38:53-62. |
By Pat Livingston.
Socioeconomic
Assessment Task
The Task participated in the
following activities in support of the Pacific and North Pacific Fishery Management
Councils, the implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other cooperative efforts
within the Agency and beyond.
Inshore Offshore
Allocation III. Task members assisted in preparing a status report and the
draft analysis environmental assessment-regulatory impact review-initial regulatory
flexibility analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA) for the February and April council meetings,
respectively.
Cost Recovery Program for
the IFQ and CDQ Programs. The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires the Secretary
of Commerce to implement a program to recover the management and enforcement costs of the
Alaska Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) and Community Development Quota (CDQ) programs.
Task members assisted in preparing a draft proposal for the cost recovery program.
Increased Retention and
Utilization (IRU). Task members assisted the Regional Office in
preparation for the IRU Industry Working Group meeting to review post-implementation
issues with the IRU program.
Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement (SEIS). Task members assisted in preparing a draft
SEIS for the Bering Sea-Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries.
Aleutian Islands Atka
Mackerel Management. Task members assisted in preparing the draft
EA/RIR/IRFA for an amendment package containing alternatives that incorporate various
combinations of apportionments by season and areainside and outside of critical
habitat areasfor purposes of reducing the effects of this fishery on Steller sea
lion populations.
PFMC Groundfish
Management. A task member prepared and presented projections for the 1998
fixed-gear sablefish three-tiered fishery and presented preliminary results from an
analysis of the viability of an industry-funded buyback of limited-entry permits.
Task members contributed to
implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Act by:
participating in a successful
effort to use a broad definition of bycatch in the NMFS Bycatch Plan
preparing the Alaska bycatch
summary for the short version of the NMFS Bycatch Plan
reviewing a paper and preparing
information for the National Research Council (NRC) review of IFQ programs.
Task members participated in the
following cooperative activities:
review of the NOAA State of the
Coast information system
development of programs to collect
and model economic data for the Pacific Coast and Alaska commercial fisheries
development of the Alaska
Fisheries Information Network (AKFIN)
development of a socioeconomic
communication group within NMFS
review of a Sea Grant research
paper
review of the draft EA/RIR/IRFA
for monitoring the expanded CDQ program
participation on the Pacific
Fishery Management Council Groundfish Management Team
preparation of information for
Senate Bill 1221, the American Fisheries Act
preparation of papers for the
International Institute for Fisheries Economics and Trade.
By Joe Terry.
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