Science & Data

Arrowtooth Flounder (Atheresthes stomias) range from central California to the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), Aleutian Islands, and northern Bering Sea.

This is a three species stock assessment for walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus), Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) and arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomias), from the Eastern Bering Sea (EBS), Alaska updated from Holsman et al.(2016).

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Kamchatka flounder is assessed biennially according to the stock assessment prioritization schedule.

The Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomias) stock is managed in Tier 3a and is assessed on a biennial basis.

Multi-species statistical catch-at-age models (MSCAA) are an example of a class of multi-species ‘Models with Intermediate Complexity for Ecosystem assessments’ (i.e., MICE; Plagányi et al., 2014), which have particular utility in addressing both strategic and tactical EBFM questions (Hollowed et al. 2013; Fogarty 2014; Link and Browman 2014; Plagányi et al., 2014). MSCAA models may increase forecast accuracy, may be used to evaluate propagating effects of observation and process error on biomass estimates (e.g., Curti 2013; Ianelli et al., 2016), and can quantify climate and trophic interactions on species productivity. As such MSCAA models can address long recognized limitations of prevailing single species management, notably non-stationarity in mortality and biological reference points, and may help reduce risk of overharvest (Link 2010; Plagányi et al., 2014; Fogarty 2014). Because multispecies biological reference points (MBRPs) from MSCAA model are conditioned on the abundance of other species in the model (Collie and Gislason 2001; Plagányi et al., 2014; Fogarty 2014), they may also have utility in setting harvest limits for multi-species fleets, evaluating population dynamics in marine reserves or non-fishing areas, and quantifying trade-offs that emerge among fisheries that impact multiple species in a food web (see reviews in Pikitch et al., 2004; Link 2010; Levin et al., 2013; Link and Browman 2014; Fogarty 2014).

The Gulf of Alaska (GOA) arrowtooth flounder (ATF, Atheresthes stomias) stock is managed in Tier 3a and is assessed on a biennial basis to coincide with the GOA groundfish trawl survey. These surveys occur in odd years...

In 2013 a Tier 3 approach was used to describe the stock status of Kamchatka flounder using survey and fishery age and length structured modeling. The assessment previously used Tier 5 methodology reliant upon trawl survey biomass from the Bering Sea shelf, slope and the Aleutian Islands and an estimate of natural mortality. ABC and OFL were determined from a 7-year averaging technique of survey biomass.

Arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomias) are relatively large flatfish that range from central California to the eastern Bering Sea (EBS), and as far west as the Kuril Islands (Orlov 2004). Arrowtooth flounder occur in waters from about 20m to 800m, although catch per unit effort (CPUE) from survey data is highest between 100m and 300m. Spawning occurs in deep water (>400 meters) in the Gulf of Alaska and along the shelf break in the eastern Bering Sea (Doyle et al. 2018). Migration patterns are not well known for arrowtooth flounder; however, there is some indication that arrowtooth flounder move into deeper water as they grow, similar to other flatfish, such as Alaska plaice and Greenland turbot (Barbeaux and Hollowed 2018). This is particularly relevant in the Bering Sea, where there is a separate research survey conducted on the EBS shelf and slope (

The goals of the Ecosystem Status Reports are to: (1) provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management and (2) spur new understanding of the connections between ecosystem components by bringing together the results of diverse research efforts into one document. Beginning in 2016, we split the report into four separate documents, one for the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, eastern Bering Sea, and the Arctic.

The goals of the Ecosystem Status Reports are to (1) provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management and to (2) spur new understanding of the connections between ecosystem components by bringing together the results of diverse research efforts into one document. Beginning in 2016, we split the report into four separate documents, one for the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, eastern Bering Sea, and the Arctic.