"Flathead Sole"

"Flathead sole" as currently managed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) represents a two-species complex consisting of true flathead sole (Hippoglossoides elassodon) and its morphologically-similar congener Bering flounder (H. robustus).

The Gulf of Alaska flathead sole stock is assessed every four years and was last assessed in 2017. In years without a full assessment, we present an executive summary to recommend harvest levels for the next two years. Please refer to the 2017 full stock assessment report for further information regarding the assessment model. A full stock assessment document with updated assessment and projection model results will be presented in 2021.

"Flathead sole" as currently managed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) represents a two-species complex consisting of true flathead sole (Hippoglossoides elassodon) and its morphologically-similar congener Bering f lounder (H. robustus). "Flathead sole" was formerly a constituent of the "other flatfish" SAFE chapter. Based on changes in the directed fishing standards to allow increased retention of flatfish, in June 1994 the Council requested the BSAI Plan Team to assign a separate Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) and Overfishing Limit (OFL) to "flathead sole" in the BSAI, rather than combining them into the "other flatfish" recommendations as in previous assessments. Subsequent to this request, stock assessments for "flathead sole" have been generated annually to provide updated recommendations for ABC and OFL.

The Alaska Fisheries Science Center Age and Growth Program published a practical guide to the age determination of key groundfish species from Alaskan waters.

The National Standard Guidelines for Fishery Management Plans published by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) require that a stock assessment and fishery evaluation (SAFE) report be prepared and reviewed annually for each fishery management plan (FMP). The SAFE reports are intended to summarize the best available scientific information concerning the past, present, and possible future condition of the stocks and fisheries under federal management. The FMPs for the groundfish fisheries managed by the Council require that drafts of the SAFE reports be produced each year in time for the December North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) meetings.

The Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) report summarizes the best available scientific information concerning the past, present, and possible future condition of the stocks, marine ecosystems, and fisheries that are managed under Federal regulation. It provides information to the Councils for determining annual harvest levels from each stock, documenting significant trends or changes in the resource, marine ecosystems, and fishery over time, and assessing the relative success of existing state and Federal fishery management programs. For the FMP for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Area, the SAFE report is published in three sections: a “Stock Assessment” section, which comprises the bulk of this document, and “Economic Status of Groundfish Fisheries off Alaska” (i.e., the “Economic SAFE report”) and “Ecosystem Considerations” sections, which are bound separately.

Flathead sole (Hippoglossoides elassodon) are assessed on a biennial stock assessment schedule to coincide with the availability of new survey data. For Gulf of Alaska flathead sole in alternate (even) years we present an executive summary to recommend harvest levels for the next two years.

"Flathead sole" as currently managed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) represents a two-species complex consisting of true flathead sole (Hippoglossoides elassodon) and its morphologically-similar congener Bering flounder (H. robustus). "Flathead sole" was formerly a constituent of the "other flatfish" SAFE chapter. Based on changes in the directed fishing standards to allow increased retention of flatfish, in June 1994 the Council requested the BSAI Plan Team to assign a separate Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) and Overfishing Limit (OFL) to "flathead sole" in the BSAI, rather than combining them into the "other flatfish" recommendations as in previous assessments. Subsequent to this request, stock assessments for "flathead sole" have been generated annually to provide updated recommendations for ABC and OFL.

Rex sole (Glyptocephalus zachirus) are assessed on a biennial stock assessment schedule to coincide with the availability of new survey data.

Flathead sole are distributed from northern California, off Point Reyes, northward along the west coast of North America and throughout the Gulf of Alaska and the Eastern Bering Sea, the Kuril Islands, and possibly the Okhotsk Sea.