1999 

 OUR LIVING OCEANS 



Juvenile sole. 



fish, particularly Pacific ocean pcrcli, were inten- 

 sively exploited by foreign fleets in the 1960's. In 

 recent years, Pacific ocean perch have started to 

 rebound Ironi the heavy exploitation of three de- 

 cades ago due to good recruitment Irom a series 

 of year classes. Thornyhead rocktish are highly 

 valued and believed to be at average levels of abun- 

 dance. Dusky rockfish is the dominant species in 

 the pelagic shelf rockfish group, but its abundance 

 estimate is variable due to problems assessing this 

 species with current trawl survey methodology. De- 

 mersal shell rockfish assessment and management 

 are focused on the target species, yelloweye rock- 

 fish. Traditional population assessment methods 

 (e.g. trawl survevs) are not considered useful tor 

 surveying demersal shell rockfish because of" their 

 affinity for rough terrain. Fhey arc currently be- 

 ing assessed using a manned submersible. While 

 estimates of abundance have been calculated, there 

 is insufficient historical information to determine 

 trends. Rockfish in general are conservatively man- 

 aged due their long life spans and consequent sen- 

 sitivit\ to (i\ ciexploitation. 



Atka Mackerel: The Atka mackerel stock oc- 

 curs mainK' in the Aletitian Isl.uuls region. Its 

 abundance in the Gulf of Alaska is much lower 

 and highly variable. The resource supported a large 

 foreign fishery in the Gulf through the mid 1 980's 

 but disappeared thereafter. Targeting on the spe- 

 cies resumed in the Gulf in 1990, as the popula- 

 tion increased. The absolute abundance of the 

 stock has been difficult to estimate b\' trawl gear 

 since it is a shallow, schooling species that tends 

 to reside on rough and rocky bottoms. Due to 

 extreme variance in survey catches, it has been con- 



cluded that stock abundance cannot be determined 

 from trawl survey data. Because there is no reli- 

 able estimate of Atka mackerel biomass and this 

 species has exhibited vulnerability to fishing pres- 

 sure in the past, Atka mackerel are managed as a 

 bycatch-only species. Quota levels are set at low 

 levels which preclude a directed fishery but accom- 

 modate bvcatch needs in other fisheries. 



ISSUES AND PROGRESS 



Transboundary Stocks and Jurisdiction 



Some of the U.S. -origin eastern Bering Sea 

 pollock migrate into the Russian zone of the north- 

 ern Bering Sea, intermingle with Russian stocks, 

 and are subject to Russian exploitation. Such ex- 

 ploitation is of concern to the United States as it 

 could impact U.S. stocks and management. While 

 this transboundary issue is a subject ot continu- 

 ing L'.S. -Russia scientific studies and discussions, 

 a coordinated exploitation and management 

 scheme has not yet been reached. At this time, the 

 United States can only indirectly consider the pos- 

 sible impact of Russian fishing on the U.S. stocks 

 in setting exploitation strategies. 



A former unregulated pollock fishery that oc- 

 curred in the "Donut Hole" area of the central 

 Bering Sea has not been a problem since the imple- 

 mentation of the C'onvention on the C^onserva- 

 tion and Management of Pollock Resources in the 

 Central leering Sea. Under this (Convention, signed 

 by the Russian Federation, Japan, Poland, China, 

 the Republic of Korea, and the United States, a 

 central Bering Sea pollock fishery has not been 

 authorized because of low biomass of the Aleu- 

 tian Basin pollock stock. In fact, the moratorium 

 on pollock fishing in the central Bering Sea was 

 voluntariK- imposed Iroin l')')3 as negotiations on 

 the C'onvention were proceeding. 



Bycatch and Multispecies Interactions 



Pacific halibut, king. Tanner, and snow crabs, 

 salmon, herring, and shrimp are considered pro- 

 hibited species for grouiuifisli fisheries. I heir in- 

 cidental take by the groundfish fisheries must be 

 recorded and returned immediately to the sea up 

 to specified amounts set by regulation. While the 



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