202 



R. R. STRATY AND R. E. HAIGHT 



Commercial Fish Resources 

 of the Eastern Bering Sea 



Most of the fishing in the eastern Bering 

 Sea is done by Japan and the Soviet Union. 

 Japan resumed fishing in the Bering Sea in 

 1953 (7 years after World War II), the Soviet 

 Union started fishing in the region in 1959, 

 and since the early 1960's both nations have 

 accelerated their exploitation of Bering Sea 

 fish stocks (Chitwood 1969). 



Species of major concern to Japan and the 

 Soviet Union include fish walleye pollock 

 (Theragra chalcogramma), yellowfin sole 

 (Limanda aspera), Pacific cod (Gadus macro- 

 cephalus), Pacific ocean perch (Sebastes 

 alutus), Pacific herring (Clupea harengus pal- 

 lasi), and sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) 

 and snow crabs (Chionoecetes spp.). The dis- 

 tribution of the principal species being har- 

 vested in Bristol Bay and the eastern Bering 

 Sea are shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The weight 

 of each of the major species in the total 

 catches made by foreign and domestic fisher- 

 men in 1973 is shown in Table 1. In 1972, the 

 catch of commercial finfish in the eastern 

 Bering Sea alone amounted to 5% of the total 

 world catch of marine fishes (H. Larkins, per- 

 sonal communication). 



Most species of commercial fish in the 

 Bering Sea are in a state of decline or in a de- 

 pressed condition from overexploitation 

 (Table 1). This is indicated by a reduction in 

 the catch per unit of effort and in the mean 



Table 1. Foreign and domestic catch of fish 

 and shellfish in the eastern Bering Sea, in- 

 cluding Bristol Bay, 1973. 



size of fish in the commercial catch (H. 

 Larkins, personal communication). The not- 

 able exception is the king crab (Paralithodes 

 sp.), which has increased in abundance in re- 

 cent years as a result of reduced foreign fish- 

 ing. 



Fig. 1. Areas of major concentrations of ground fish 

 (Pacific pollock, halibut, yellowfin sole, rock sole, 

 flathead sole, Pacific ocean perch, and Pacific 

 cod) in Bristol Bay and the Bering Sea. 



Fig. 2. Areas of major winter and spring concentra- 

 tions of Pacific herring in Bristol Bay and the 

 Bering Sea. 



Fig. 3. Areas of major concentrations of king and 

 snow crab in Bristol Bay and the Bering Sea. 



