. . . Alaska Groundfish Fisheries 



86 



. . Bering Sea-Aleutian 

 island Groundfish 



1950's, the sole was the major trawling 

 target, but it now ranks second to pollock. 

 Yellowfin sole is fully utilized. Greenland 

 turbot, the only depressed flatfish stock, is 

 expected to decline further during the mid- 

 1990's owing to poor spawning success in 

 the 1980's. It is considered fully utilized. 



All other flatfish species are in good-to- 

 excellent condition. Populations continue 

 to be high and increasing for arrowtooth 

 flounder and high and stable for rock sole, 

 flathead sole, Alaska plaice, and other 

 flatfishes. The rock sole is now the second- 

 most abundant of the flatfishes, increasing 

 substantially from 1980. It is underutilized, 

 as are other flatfishes. Trawl catches are 

 restricted to prevent excessive incidental 

 catches of Pacific halibut and king and 

 tanner crabs. 



Sablefish: Sablefish or blackcod is a valu- 

 able species caught mostly with longline 

 and pot gear below the depths fished by 

 trawlers. Sablefish is considered to be a 

 single stock from the Bering Sea-Aleutian 

 Islands (BSAI) region to the Gulf of Alaska. 

 The BSAI population declined substan- 

 tially in 1990, partly due to migration into 

 the Gulf of Alaska. Current abundance is 

 relatively high, though recruitment has not 

 been strong. The sablefish is fully utilized. 

 Rockf ishes: Rockfishes are assessed and 

 managed as two major groups: Pacific 

 ocean perch (POP) and "other rockfish." 

 The POP group consists of the true Pacific 

 ocean perch and four other red rockfish 



species. POP abundance dropped sharply 

 owing to intensive foreign fisheries in the 

 1960's and remained low into the early 

 1980's. In recent years, catch levels have 

 been set well below CPY to help rebuild the 

 stocks. The POP group is now recovering 

 and is considered fully utilized. 



The "other rockfish" group includes two 

 thornyhead species and about 30 other 

 rockfish species not included in the POP 

 group. Little is known about them, but they 

 are considered fully utilized. 

 Atka Mackerel: Atka mackerel stocks, 

 mainly in the Aleutian region, are hard to 

 assess because: 1 ) Survey estimates are 

 highly variable, 2) surveys in the species' 

 Aleutian range were last conducted in 

 1986, and 3) two of the last three surveys 

 failed to sample shallow waters success- 

 fully. Thus, population trends cannot be 

 inferred from survey and catch data. Since 

 Atka mackerel stocks cannot be fully as- 

 sessed, the CPY is estimated as the aver- 

 age catch levels and the resource is 

 considered fully utilized. 

 Other Species: In recent years, "other 

 species" catches have represented 1% or 

 less of the total groundfish catch. Sculpins 

 and skates probably constitute most of this 

 resource, but the abundance of pelagic 

 squids, smelts, and sharks is largely un- 

 known. Owing to insufficient data, the 

 LTPY for "other species" is unknown. The 

 CPY has been set at the average catch 

 levels. 



Gulf Groundfish 



Gulf of Alaska groundfish catches have 

 ranged from a low of 135,400 t in 1978 to 

 a high of 352,800 1 in 1 984 (Fig. 19-4), with 

 pollock dominant, followed by Pacific cod 

 and sablefish. The 1990 groundfish 

 catches were valued at $94.4 million 

 (dockside value). Sablefish comprised 

 about 45% of the total Gulf value. Other 

 major revenue-producing species in the 

 Gulf of Alaska during 1990 were Pacific 

 cod at $26 million, followed by pollock and 

 rockfish. 



Groundfish abundance has been rela- 

 tively stable, rising slowly from 1984 to 

 1990. Arrowtooth flounder is most abun- 

 dant, followed by pollock and Pacific cod. 

 In 1990, arrowtooth flounder composed 2 



million t of the Gulf groundfish biomass 

 (5.3 million t); pollock, 1.4 million t; and 

 Pacific cod, 0.5 million t. The estimated 

 LTPY for Gulf of Alaska groundfish is 

 493,600 1 (Table 1 9-3). The CPY is 773,600 

 t, which contrasts with the RAY of 1 77,400 

 t. The wide disparity between the CPY and 

 the RAY is because groundfish fishing is 

 restricted owing to incidental catches of 

 Pacific halibut. 



Pollock and Pacific Cod: Pollock appear 

 to be at an average population level, but it 

 is difficult to determine current biomass 

 and an appropriate fishing mortality rate. 

 The pollock is slightly underutilized. Pacific 

 cod are abundant and fully utilized, but are 

 expected to decline. Reproduction has not 



