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Scientists in the Midwater Assessment and Conservation Engineering (MACE) Program have historically assessed
the status of walleye pollock and Pacific hake stocks from the coasts of California to the Bering Sea since 1977.
The MACE Program continues to assess walleye pollock in the north Pacific and Bering Sea,
while the Northwest Fisheries Science Center has continued Pacific hake assessments
biennially since 2003. Pollock assessment is conducted with midwater trawl surveys combined with acoustic
(echo integration) technology to develop distribution and abundance time series. Research is also conducted on fishing
gear performance and on fish behavior during the capture process in order to develop methods that reduce bycatch in commercial
fishing operations.
Walleye pollock resources in the north Pacific and Bering Sea support the largest single commercial fishery in the
United States and one of the largest commercial fisheries in the world. Surveys to determine the pollock abundance
and distribution are conducted to support NMFS fishery management responsibilities for the territorial sea and to meet
U.S. international fishery management commitments for the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Pollock
in the Central Bering Sea.
Winter surveys of spawning pollock abundance have been conducted annually in the Bogoslof Island area of the Bering
Sea since 1988 and in the Shelikof Strait area of the Gulf of Alaska since 1981. Assessment of summer pollock
abundance in the Bering Sea has occurred routinely since 1979, while Pacific hake abundance off the West
Coast was surveyed from 1977 to 2001. Pollock surveys continue to be conducted in conjunction with bottom trawl
surveys for other groundfish species, and often carried out in cooperation with foreign scientists and foreign research
vessels. The acoustic/midwater trawl survey estimates of distribution and abundance are documented
in various scientific reports and are incorporated into stock assessment advice to fishery management councils,
international fishery management organizations, and industry.
NEW! (Updated 31 January 2013) NOAA Protocols for Fisheries Acoustics Surveys and Related Sampling
Note! Trawl Gear Modification—Preserving Fish Habitat in the Bering Sea
Seafloor Videos from Bering Sea Research Project
Recent Publications, Poster Presentations, Reports & Activities |
- A distorted wave Born approximation target strength model for Bering Sea euphausiids.
SMITH, J. N., P. H. RESSLER, and J. D. WARREN.
2013. A distorted wave Born approximation target strength model for Bering Sea euphausiids. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 70:204-214. - Seabed classification for trawlability determined with a multibeam echosounder on Snakehead Bank in the Gulf of Alaska.
WEBER, T. C., C. ROOPER, J. BUTLER, D. JONES, and C. WILSON.
2013. Seabed classification for trawlability determined with a multibeam echosounder on Snakehead Bank in the Gulf of Alaska. Fish. Bull., U.S. 111:68-77. (.pdf, 1.43 MB) Online. - Quantification and reduction of unobserved mortality rates for snow, southern Tanner, and red king crabs (Chionoecetes opilio, C. bairdi, and Paralithodes camtschaticus) after encounters with trawls on the seafloor.
ROSE, C. S., C. F. HAMMOND, A. W. STONER, J. E. MUNK, and J. R. GAUVIN.
2013. Quantification and reduction of unobserved mortality rates for snow, southern Tanner, and red king crabs (Chionoecetes opilio, C. bairdi, and Paralithodes camtschaticus) after encounters with trawls on the seafloor. Fish. Bull., U.S. 111:42-53. (.pdf, 962 KB) Online. - Fish avoidance of research vessels and the efficacy of noise-reduced vessels: a review.
De ROBERTIS, A., and HANDEGARD, N. O.
2013. Fish avoidance of research vessels and the efficacy of noise-reduced vessels: a review.
ICES J. Mar. Sci. 70:34–45. - Development and Implementation of Trawl Sweep Modifications to Reduce Effects on Benthos and Commercially Valuable Crabs
By: CRAIG ROSE, CARWYN HAMMOND, JOHN GAUVIN Conference: American Fisheries Society, 141st Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, Sept 2011 (2011 poster, .pdf, 1.69 MB) Online. - Predators and Persistent Prey in the Southeastern Bering Sea
By: MIKE SIGLER, KATHY KULETZ, PATRICK RESSLER, NANCY FRIDAY, CHRIS WILSON, ALEX ZERBINI Conference: Ecosystem Studies of Sub-Arctic Seas (ESSAS) Open Science Meeting (2nd), Seattle, WA, May 2011 (2011 poster, .pdf, 1.56 MB) Online.
See the publications and poster databases for additional listings.
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