Atka Mackerel Research
Atka mackerel (Pleurogrammus monopterygius) is
a schooling, semi-demersal species distributed from the east coast of
the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, throughout the Komandorskiye and Aleutian
Islands, north to the Pribilof Islands, and eastward through the Gulf
of Alaska to Southeast Alaska. Their center of abundance has been in
the Aleutian Islands region, particularly from Buldir Island to Sequam Pass.
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Atka mackerel begin to recruit to the fishery at age 2 and many survive
to 14 years. Fifty percent of the female population is estimated to have
reached maturity at 31 cm (about 3.6 years old). Atka mackerel
migrate from the shelf edge to shallow coastal waters (5-30 m) to spawn.
Spawning occurs in July -September along the Aleutian Islands. Eggs are
adhesive and deposited in rock crevices. These nest are guarded by the
males until hatching, which occurs about 40-45 days later. Atka mackerel
eat copepods and euphausiids and, in turn, are prey
for other fish, seabirds,
Steller
sea lions, and other marine mammals.
The patterns of the Atka mackerel fishery generally reflect the behavior
the the species:
- the fishery is highly localized and usually occurs in the same few locations each year
- the schooling semi-demersal nature of the species makes if particularly
susceptible to trawl gear fished on the bottom
- trawling occurs almost exclusively at depths less than 200 m.
Atka mackerel are a very difficult fish to survey because:
- they do not have a swim bladder, making them poor targets for hydroacoustic surveys
- they prefer hard, rough and rock bottom which makes sampling with
standard survey bottom trawl gear difficult
- their schooling behavior and patchy distribution make the species susceptible to
large variances in catches, which greatly affect area-swept estimates of biomass
During 2011, pollock made up 62% of the total groundfish catch off Alaska. The pollock catch for 2011 was 1,282,780 metric tons (t), up approximately 44% from 2010.
The 2011 catch of flatfish, which includes yellowfin sole, rock sole and arrowtooth flounder, was 327,310 t or 15.8% of the total 2011 Alaska groundfish catch, up about 12% from 2010.
Pacific cod accounted for 304,950 t or 14.7% of the total 2011 Alaska groundfish catch. The Pacific cod catch was up about 22% from a year earlier.
Other important species (% of total 2011 catch and % change from 2010) are: Atka mackerel 53,430 t (2.6%, down 25%),
sablefish 12,870 t (0.6%, up 8%), and rockfish 51,120 t (2.5%, up 5%).
- McDERMOTT, S. F., D. W. COOPER, J. L. GUTHRIDGE, I. B. SPIES, M. F. CANINO, P. WOODS, and N. HILLGRUBER.
2011. Effects of maternal growth on fecundity and egg quality of wild and captive Atka mackerel. Mar. Coastal Fish. 3:324-335. (.pdf, 848 KB). Online.
- RAND, K. M., and S. A. LOWE.
2011. Defining essential fish habitat for Atka mackerel with respect to feeding within and adjacent to Aleutian Islands trawl exclusion zones. Mar. Coastal Fish. 3:21-31. (.pdf, 1.39 MB). Online.
- COOPER, D., and S. McDERMOTT.
2011. Seasonal, small-scale distribution of Atka mackerel in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, with respect to reproduction. Mar. Coastal Fish. 3:10-20. (.pdf, 2.35 MB). Online.
- RAND, K. M., D. A. BEAUCHAMP, and S. A. LOWE.
2010. Longitudinal growth differences and the influence of diet quality on Atka mackerel of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska: Using a bioenergetics model to explore underlying mechanisms. Mar. Coastal Fish. 2:362-374. (.pdf, 385 KB). Online.
- Local Abundance and Movement of Atka Mackerel and Other Steller Sea Lion Prey in the Aleutian Islands
By: SUZANNE F. McDERMOTT, ELIZABETH LOGERWELL, KIMBERLY RAND, LYNN LEE Conference: Western Groundfish Conference (17th), Seattle, WA., Feb 2012 (2012 poster, .pdf, 19 MB) Online. - Effects of Maternal Growth on Fecundity and Egg Quality of Wild and Captive Atka Mackerel (Pleurogrammus monopterygius): Big Fat Female Fish are More Fecund
By: S. F. McDERMOTT, D. W. COOPER, J. L. GUTHRIDGE, I. B. SPIES, M. F. CANINO, P. WOODS, N. HILLGRUBER Conference: North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) 19th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR, Sept/Oct 2010 (2010 poster, .pdf, 1.98 MB) Online. -
Atka Mackerel Tag Recovery Cruise in the Aleutian Islands and Examination of Tagged Steller Sea Lion Prey Field In Situ
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Fisheries Interaction Team (FIT) Staff Conduct Successful Atka Mackerel Tag Recovery Cruise in the Aleutian Islands
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FIT Staff Conduct Successful Atka Mackerel Tag Release Cruise in the Aleutian Islands
- Related AFSC research program reports and activities: Atka mackerel
- Additional publications, posters, and reports.
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(Source: 2005 North
Pacific Groundfish Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Reports for 2006.)
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