. . . Pacific Coast and Alaska Pelagic Fisheries 



66 



. . . Pacific Herring 



Herrings have declined in the southeast- 

 ern Bering Sea, but are stable-to-increasing 

 in the northeastern Bering Sea. The 1977- 

 78 year-classes were very strong and have 

 sustained the fisheries through the 1980's. 

 Historically, a strong year-class has oc- 

 curred at 5- to 6-year intervals, but none 



occurred in the 1980's. Unless recruitment 

 improves soon, declines are expected to 

 continue in spawning areas south of Nor- 

 ton Sound. These declines would hurt Na- 

 tive subsistence fisheries, inshore roe 

 fisheries, and the Bering Sea groundfish 

 fishery if the herring bycatch is high. 



ISSUES 



Special trawl, ichthyoplankton, or hydro- 

 acoustic surveys for mackerel are too large 

 in geographical scope and too expensive 

 to conduct regularly. Much of the neces- 

 sary management information will have to 



be derived from the fishery, such as distri- 

 bution, catch rates, and samples of fish to 

 analyze their ages, reproductive status, 

 growth rates, etc. 



