Chapter II — Species of Special Concern 



Figure 7: Fishery management areas and the catcher vessel operation area in the Bering Sea, Aleutian 

 Islands, and Gulf of Alaska regions. 



ed halibut, king crab, salmon, Pacific cod, walleye 

 pollock, Pacific ocean perch, and rockfish. With the 

 exception of king crab, all are prey species of Steller 

 sea lions. Analyses of the 1992-1995 Atka mackerel 

 catch and effort data indicated significant localized 

 reductions in Atka mackerel abundance during the 

 course of eight fisheries that lasted between 3 and 17 

 days in the Bering Sea/ Aleutian Islands and Gulf of 

 Alaska management areas. 



The analyses suggested that the exploited popula- 

 tions would recover over time through immigration 

 from adjacent areas; however, the short-term rate of 

 removal by fisheries, and possibly by emigration, far 

 exceeded the rate of immigration. Harvest rates in 

 some areas may have approached 90 percent of the 



standing stock. Analyses of other Atka mackerel 

 fisheries demonstrated an inverse relationship between 

 fishing effort and catch. That is, as total catch 

 increased, the catch per unit of effort declined, 

 indicating localized stock depletion. These analyses 

 indicate a consistent pattern of Atka mackerel deple- 

 tion due principally to fishing. The Scientific and 

 Statistical Committee of the North Pacific Fishery 

 Management Council also reviewed the analyses of 

 fishing data for 37 time-area Atka mackerel fisheries 

 and concluded, among other things, that the fisheries 

 may have a significant effect on localized Atka 

 mackerel abundance. 



The North Pacific Fishery Management Council 

 reviewed the evidence for localized depletion of Atka 



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