fisheries management and the aleutian islands

Fisheries Management and the Aleutian Islands

Steven J. Barbeaux, Ph.D. Research Fisheries Biologist

Alaska Fisheries Science Center

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Alaska Aleutian Islands* Contiguous US

Area 1,718,000 km2 16,092 km2 8,081,867 km2

Coastline 54,563 km 8,876 km 95,219 km

Population 710,231 3,779 306,073,283

EEZ Area 3,770,021 km2 1,000,105 km2 2,449,144 km2

Shelf Area (< 200 m) 1,319,692 km2 64,412 km2 995,557 km2

* For the NMFS AI Region west of 170° W longitude

North Pacific Fishery Management Council

Research survey Abundance data

Commercial fishery Catch data

Biological data: Catch at age, size

Life history

Plan Team Review Initial ABC OFL

Advisory Panel Initial TAC

Scientific & Statistical Committee

Final ABC OFL

Final TAC specifications

Public input

Public input

Stock assessment

Ecosystem Report

Biological data: Food habits,

nontarget species

Physical data: Climate,

Habitat indices Fishery data: Effort, gear,

nontarget catch

Results

Hollowed, et al. 2011. Fisheries and Fisheries 12: 189-208.

Economic assessment

Economic and sociological data

2/27/2015 4

The Aleutian Islands

How do we define the Aleutian Islands?

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Aleutian Islands Climate • The islands experience a cool, wet, and windy maritime climate. • Summertime temperatures 5 – 10°C • Winter temperatures ~0°C • Precipitation varies widely (5 cm up to 21 cm) • Wind, light rain, and fog common in the summer • Wettest conditions October–December.

Aleutian Islands Oceanography

Aleutian North Slope Current

• Shelf narrows

• Porous boundary

• Deeper passes

• Strong tidal flows

Our window into the Aleutian Islands

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Aleutian Islands food web • Largely

pelagic/oceanic

• Very diverse

• Highly productive

Aleutian Islands exploitation Go to ARCGIS

http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/npfmc/PDFdocuments/meetings/Management_FMP.pdf

Prevent Overfishing – Annual Catch Limits Promote Sustainable Fisheries and Communities – science based guidelines Preserve Food Web – Weak stock management Manage Incidental Catch and Reduce Bycatch and Waste Avoid Impacts to Seabirds and Marine Mammals Reduce and Avoid Impacts to Habitat Promote Equitable and Efficient Use of Fishery Resources Increase Alaska Native Consultation Improve Data Quality, Monitoring and Enforcement

North Pacific tier system

Tier 1 – Reliable stock recruitment relationship Projections based on stock recruitment

relationship Tier 3 – Age or length based stock

assessment model Projection based on mean recruitment

Tier 5 – Reliable biomass estimates and

natural mortality FOFL= M and FABC = 0.75 × M

Tier 6 – Only catch history available

OFL =average catch 1978 – 1995 ABC = 0.75 × OFL

Buffering for uncertainty

biomass (B0)

catch

OFL

(BMSY )

Tier 1 ABC

*ABC = Allowable biological catch


biomass (B0)

catch

OFL

(BMSY )

Tier 3 ABC

*ABC = Allowable biological catch


biomass (B0)

OFL

(BMSY )

ABC

*TAC = Total allowable catch TAC < ABC

TAC

catch TAC =

Ecosystem consideration report

• A reference for the current state and trajectory of key indices of ecosystem health in which single species models can be framed

• Adaptive document

• Revised annually in response to review and new information available

• New indicators added each year

Aleutian Islands Fishery Ecosystem Plan • Provides enhanced scientific

information and measurable indicators to evaluate and promote ecosystem health, sustainable fisheries, and vibrant communities

• Expands on ecosystem report by including anthropogenic threats to the ecosystem outside of the fishery

• Although meant to be an adaptive resource not updated since 2011

• Not yet integrated into the NPFMC process

• . http://www.npfmc.org/aleutian-islands-fishery-ecosystem-plan/

• Fisheries interactions with endangered species • Reduction of fisheries impacts on sensitive habitats • Increase Alaska Native consultation • Climate change and ocean acidification • Increased vessel traffic

The top issues in the Aleutian Islands

• Spatial Management • Marine protected areas • Time/area closures • Fishing gear restrictions

Top down management approaches

Management Approaches • Community-based management (CDQ 1992)

• 6 Alaska Native Communities • 10-14% of all TACs

Managing bycatch • Halibut and Herring

• Catch limits • Area/time closures

• Crab • Catch limits • Bristol Bay Red King Crab

Conservation Area • Salmon

• Hard cap • Incentive Program Agreements • Self-monitoring and closures

Pacific herring. Photo: JJ Vollenweider, NOAA Fisheries

(a) Changes in global mean sea level (teal line; Jevrejeva et al. 2008),summer Arctic sea-ice area ( yellow line;Walsh & Chapman 2001),0–700-m ocean heat content (orange line; Levitus et al. 2009),sea-surface temperature (brown line; Rayner et al. 2006), mean ocean-surface pH (blue line; Natl. Res. Counc. 2010), andpCO2 (red line; Petit et al. 1999). Light purple shaded region denotes projected changes in pH and pCO2 consistent with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s twenty-first-century A2 emissions scenario with rapid population growth.

Doney et al. 2012. Annu. Rev. Mar. Sci. 2012. 4:4.1–4.27

Planning for physical changes: Observations and projections

Projected EBS July bottom temperatures in SE Bering Sea ( Al Hermann JISAO)

} “medium” } “cold”

} “warm”

CGCM3 MIROC ECHOG

Inter

natio

nal P

anel

on C

limate

Cha

nge

Prediction:from initial

conditions of environment and

spawning biomass: from larvalabundance

: from juvenile abundance

: from juvenilesand predatoroverlap

Recruitment level

Time

Abun

danc

e

Egg JuvenileLarval Recruit

Scheme of Continuous Refinement of Recruitment Forecast

Small scale….. increasing to…. large scale

Predominantly activating processes

: add habitat,densitydependence

Predominantly constraining processes

• Growth – bio-energetics • Recruitment • Catchability (non-trawlable grounds) • Selectivity/availability • Phenology • Natural mortality • Bio-economic (fishers choice) • Stock structure

Tracking Climate Impacts Through Life History Gauntlet

Recruitment Processes Alliance GOA IERP GOA food web network:

Prioritize process studies on nodal species Gaichas & Francis (2008) CJFAS 65:1965-1982

Technical Options- Scenario Testing System Management Strategy Evaluations

A’mar et al. 2009 GOA pollock Mueter et al 2011 BS pollock Ianelli et al. 2011 BS pollock Wilderbuer et al 2013 rock sole Holsman et al. submitted BS MSM

Change Fishing Strategy? “modifying management strategies to include environmental factors seldom improves the ability to

achieve management goals unless the system is well known.” Punt et al. 2013

• Alt. 1: (no action) Adjust quota to maintain historical Bmsy • Alt 2: Adopt steeper control rule to create a larger no fishing buffer. • Alt 3: Adopt larger buffer between OFL and ABC to account for increased uncertainty due to climate change • Alt 4: Account for climate impact on growth, maturation schedule, M, fishery selectivity . Then reset biological reference points

February 27, 2015

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Schematic of Harvest Control Rule

ABC/ACL TAC ≤ ≤Catch OFL <Total Allowable Catch Acceptable Biological Catch Overfishing Level

2/27/2015 29

Shipping and pollution

Summary

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Bottom Trawl Surveys

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10 m

Cooperative acoustic and pelagic trawl surveys

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0.5 m from bottom

15 m from surface

Show 3d survey data

Monitoring fishery catch

• Observer Program • Started in 1972 • ~40,000 at sea days per year • All fishing vessels > 38.1 m • 16% random selection of fishing boats > 12.2 and < 38.1m • Report every day or at each delivery

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Monitoring fishery catch

• Fishing Logbooks • All vessels fishing groundfish

• Landings and Production Reports

• Every landing • All products

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Monitoring fishery catch •Vessel Monitoring System (VMS)

• Position, bearing, and speed by satellite • All fishing boats > 12.2 m • One position every 30 minutes

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Aleutian Islands demersal ichthyofauna

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• Shelf narrows

• Porous boundary

• Deeper passes

• Strong tidal flows

Aleutian North Slope Current

Unimak Pass Akutan Pass

Umnak Pass

Amukta Pass Seguam Pass Amlia Pass

Atka Pass Tanaga Pass

Amchitka Pass

Buldir Pass

Adak Pass

Near Strait

Samalga Pass

Attu Is.

Aleutian Islands Oceanography

North Pacific Fishery Management Council

Research survey Abundance data

Commercial fishery Catch data

Biological data: Catch at age, size

Life history

Plan Team Review Initial ABC OFL

Advisory Panel Initial TAC

Scientific & Statistical Committee

Final ABC OFL

Final TAC specifications

Public input

Public input

Stock assessment

Ecosystem Report

Biological data: Food habits,

nontarget species

Physical data: Climate,

Habitat indices Fishery data: Effort, gear,

nontarget catch

Results

Hollowed, et al. 2011. Fisheries and Fisheries 12: 189-208.

Economic assessment

Economic and sociological data

fisheries management and the aleutian islands

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