Science & Data

The goal of the Ecosystem Considerations report is to provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management and to spur new understanding of the connections between ecosystem components by bringing together many diverse research efforts into one document.

Stock assessment and fishery evaluation reports archive from 1998–2012.

The goal of the Ecosystem Considerations appendix is to provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management and to spur new understanding of the connections between ecosystem components...

The goal of the Ecosystem Considerations appendix is to provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management and to spur new understanding of the connections between ecosystem components...

The purpose of the first section, Ecosystem Assessment, is to summarize historical climate and fishing effects on the eastern Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska ecosystems using information from the other two sections and stock assessment reports. In future drafts, the Ecosystem Assessment section will also provide an assessment of the possible future effects of climate and fishing on ecosystem structure and function. We are currently working on a more concise ecosystem assessment utilizing a blend of data analysis and modeling to clearly communicate the current status and possible future directions of ecosystems.

The purpose of the first section, Ecosystem Assessment, is to summarize historical climate and fishing effects on the eastern Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska ecosystems using information from the other two sections and stock assessment reports. In future drafts, the Ecosystem Assessment section will also provide an assessment of the possible future effects of climate and fishing on ecosystem structure and function. We are currently working on a more concise ecosystem assessment utilizing a blend of data analysis and modeling to clearly communicate the current status and possible future directions of ecosystems.

The purpose of the first section, Ecosystem Assessment, is to summarize historical climate and fishing effects on the eastern Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska ecosystems using information from the other two sections and stock assessment reports. In future drafts, the Ecosystem Assessment section will also provide an assessment of the possible future effects of climate and fishing on ecosystem structure and function. We are currently working on a more concise ecosystem assessment utilizing a blend of data analysis and modeling to clearly communicate the current status and possible future directions of ecosystems.

The purpose of the first section, Ecosystem Assessment, is to summarize historical climate and fishing effects on the eastern Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska ecosystems using information from the other two sections and stock assessment reports. In future drafts, the Ecosystem Assessment section will also provide an assessment of the possible future effects of climate and fishing on ecosystem structure and function.

The purpose of the first section, Ecosystem Assessment, is to summarize historical climate and fishing effects on the eastern Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska ecosystems using information from the other two sections and stock assessment reports. In future drafts, the Ecosystem Assessment section will also provide an assessment of the possible future effects of climate and fishing on ecosystem structure and function.

Since 1995, the North Pacific Fishery Management Councils (NPFMC) Groundfish Plan Teams have prepared a separate Ecosystem Considerations section to the annual SAFE report. The intent of the Ecosystems Considerations section is to provide the Council with information about the effects of fishing from an ecosystem perspective, and the effects of environmental change on fish stocks. The effects of fishing on ecosystems have not been incorporated into most stock assessments, in part due to data limitations. Most single species models cannot directly incorporate the breadth and complexity of much of this information. ABC recommendations may or may not reflect discussion regarding ecosystem considerations. This information is useful for effective fishery management and maintaining sustainability of marine ecosystems. The Ecosystems Considerations chapter attempts to bridge this gap by identifying specific ecosystem concerns that should be considered by fishery managers, particularly during the annual process of setting catch limits on groundfish.