Groundfish Assessment Program
The Groundfish Assessment Program is responsible for planning, executing, analyzing, and
reporting results from surveys to establish time series estimates of the distribution and
abundance of Alaska groundfish resources in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Aleutian Islands.
The program also investigates biological processes and interactions with the environment to
estimate growth, mortality, and recruitment to improve the precision and accuracy of forecasting
stock dynamics. Impacts of bottom trawls on the seafloor and the description of bottom type are also
being studied in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.
The Groundfish Assessment Program in cooperation with the RACE
Shellfish Assessment Program annually conducts a bottom trawl
assessment survey for groundfish and king and Tanner crabs in the eastern Bering sea. This survey was initiated
in 1971 and has been conducted annually since 1979. Annual surveys of sablefish abundance in the Bering
Sea/Aleutian Islands region and Gulf of Alaska have been conducted since 1979 in cooperation with the
AFSCs Auke Bay Laboratory. Major
triennial surveys have been conducted for groundfish resources in the Aleutian Islands region, and in portions
of the eastern Bering Sea not included in the annual groundfish/crab survey
since 1977. Standard trawls and longlines have been used throughout these time series surveys. Special purpose
surveys and studies have been conducted to improve understanding of biological processes, interaction with the
environment, and factors affecting the precision and accuracy of estimates of abundance and population forecasts.
Data derived from Groundfish surveys are documented
in scientific reports and are incorporated into stock assessment advice to
the Pacific Fishery Management Council, the
North Pacific Fishery Management Council,
international fishery management organizations, the fishing industry, and the general public.
*Featured Items*
Groundfish Program's 2009 ADP and species code books now available. More>>
Recent Poster Presentations, Publications, Reports & Activities
- BOLDT, J. L., and C. N. ROOPER.
2009. Abundance, condition, and diet of juvenile Pacific ocean perch (Sebastes alutus) in the Aleutian Islands. Fish. Bull, U.S. 107:278-285. (.pdf, 634KB). Online.
- STEVENSON, D. E., and G. R. HOFF.
2009. Species identification confidence in the eastern Bering Sea shelf survey (1982-2008). AFSC Processed Rep. 2009-04, 46 p. Alaska Fish. Sci. Cent., NOAA, Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv., 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle WA 98115. (.pdf, 1.97 MB). Online.
- ZIMMERMANN, M., C. B. DEW, and B. A. MALLEY.
2009. History of Alaska red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, bottom trawl surveys, 1940-61. Mar. Fish. Rev. 71(1):1-22. (.pdf, 4.58MB). Online.
- McCONNAUGHEY, R. A., and S. E. SYRJALA.
2009. Statistical relationships between the distributions of groundfish and crabs in the eastern Bering Sea and processed returns from a single-beam echosounder. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 66:1425-1432. (.pdf, 361KB). Online.
- Early Larvae of Zesticelus profundorum (Family Cottidae) Identified Using DNA Barcoding
By: ANN C. MATARESE, INGRID B. SPIES, MORGAN S. BUSBY, JAMES W. ORR Conference: Larval Fish 33rd Annual Conference, Portland, OR, July 2009 (2009 poster, .pdf, 1.57MB) Online. - Diagnosing Egg Cases of Alaskan Skates
By: GERALD R. HOFF, JAMES W. ORR, DUANE E. STEVENSON Conference: Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Portland, OR, July 2009 (2009 poster, .pdf, 1.97MB) Online. -
Integrated Ocean and Coastal Mapping Workshop
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Habitat Research Team Ventures Into the Northern Bering Sea
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Species Identification Confidence in the Eastern Bering Sea Shelf Survey
See the poster and publications databases for additional listings.
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