Prepared for the Thirty-ninth annual Meeting of the Technical Sub-committee of the Canada-United States Groundfish Committee

May 6 & 7, 1998

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With contributions from:
Victoria O'Connell, Dan Urban, Charlie Trowbridge, Doug Vincent-Lang, Meg Cartwright, Cleo Brylinsky, and Bruce Simonson

April 1998

ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME
DIVISION of COMMERCIAL FISHERIES
304 Lake St., Room 103
Sitka, AK 99835

STATE OF ALASKA GROUNDFISH FISHERIES AND ASSOCIATED INVESTIGATIONS IN 1997

AGENDA ITEM VII. REVIEW OF AGENCY GROUNDFISH RESEARCH, STOCK ASSESSMENT, AND MANAGEMENT

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has jurisdiction over all commercial groundfish fisheries within the internal waters of the state and to three miles offshore along the outer coast. A provision in federal Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) gives the State of Alaska limited management authority for demersal shelf rockfish in the federal waters east of 140o W. longitude. Council action in 1997 removed black and blue rockfish from the Gulf of Alaska FMP so the state now manages these species in both state and federal waters of the gulf. The state also manages the lingcod resource in both state and federal waters of Alaska. Other groundfish fisheries in Alaskan waters are managed by the federal government or in conjunction with the federal management of the adjacent Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The information related in this report is from the state-managed groundfish fisheries only.

ADF&G also has jurisdiction over all recreational groundfish fisheries within the internal waters of the state and to three miles offshore along the outer coast. In 1998, the Alaska Board of Fisheries extended existing state regulations governing the sport fishery for all marine species into the waters of the EEZ off Alaska. This was done under provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which stipulate that states may regulate fisheries that not regulated for under a federal fishery management plan or other applicable federal regulations.

The State of Alaska is divided into three maritime regions for marine fisheries management. The Southeast Region extends from the Exclusive Economic Zone (Equi-distant line) boundary in Dixon Entrance north and westward to 1400 W. Longitude. The Central Region includes the internal waters of Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet, and Bristol Bay and the Outer District off Kenai Peninsula. The Westward Region includes all territorial waters of the Gulf of Alaska west of Cape Douglas, Kodiak Island, the Aleutian Islands, and the Bering Sea.

a. Southeast Region

The Southeast Region Commercial Fisheries Groundfish Project is based in Sitka with the groundfish project leader, assistant project leader and port biologist located there. Seasonal port samplers were employed in Petersburg, Ketchikan, Sitka, and Craig. The project also received biometrics assistance from the regional office in Douglas.

The Southeast Region's groundfish project has responsibility for research and management of all commercial groundfish resources in the territorial waters of the Eastern Gulf of Alaska. The project also cooperates with the federal government for management of the waters of the adjacent EEZ and the project leader participates as a member of the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council's Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Plan Team.

Project activities center around fisheries monitoring, resource assessment, and inÄseason management of the groundfish resources. In-season management decisions are based on data collected from the fisheries and resource assessment surveys. Primary tasks include fish ticket collection, editing, and data entry for both state and federal-managed fisheries; dockside sampling of sablefish, lingcod, Pacific cod, and rockfish landings; skipper interview and logbook collection and data entry; and biological studies of important commercial species. Five resource assessment surveys were conducted during 1997. The Board of Fisheries met in January of 1997 to discuss southeast groundfish regulatory proposals (3-year cycle).

b. Central Region

The restructuring of the Central Region groundfish staff was completed in 1997 to facilitate more of a marine resources and ecosystem approach. Responsibilities for shellfish and groundfish in Prince William Sound (PWS), and Cook Inlet Areas were pooled among areas but within research and management sections. The existing shellfish staff based in Homer and Cordova assumed management duties for the groundfish fisheries. The Research Project Leader in Homer is now responsible for all Central Region groundfish and shellfish research. Groundfish of primary interest include sablefish, rockfish, pollock, Pacific cod, and lingcod. Stock assessment data is collected through port sampling, acoustic surveys, and through ADF&G trawl and longline surveys. Commercial harvest data (fish tickets) are processed in Homer for state and federal fisheries landings to Central Region ports.

In 1996, the Board of Fisheries adopted regulations that revised the definitions of the Cook Inlet and PWS management areas. The North Gulf District was moved into the Cook Inlet Management Area with an eastern boundary at the longitude of Cape Fairfield. Additional changes incorporated territorial waters between Cape Suckling and Yakutat Bay (140°00 W. longitude) into the PWS Area.

c. Westward Region

The Westward Region Shellfish staff has taken on increasing responsibility for groundfish in recent years. Management staff is located in Kodiak and Dutch Harbor, with seasonal dockside sampling in Chignik, Sand Point, and King Cove. The R/V Resolution is home ported in Kodiak and conducts an annual multi-species trawl survey in waters around Kodiak, the south side of the Alaska Peninsula, and in the eastern Aleutian Islands.

Major groundfish activities include fish ticket editing and entry for both state and federal fisheries, analysis of data collected on the trawl survey, and the monitoring and management of the black rockfish, state water cod, and Aleutian Island sablefish fisheries. In addition the Westward Region has a member on the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council's Bering Sea/Aleutian Island Groundfish Plan Team (Ivan Vining) and the Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Plan Team (David Jackson).

d. Headquarters

ADF&G personnel continued to enter fish tickets from all shore-based groundfish landings from Alaskan waters during 1997 under a renewed cooperative agreement with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Fish tickets from all shore-based groundfish fisheries were collected, edited, and entered on microcomputers in five coastal communities. A programmer analyst working in Juneau was responsible for setting up and maintaining the master state-wide groundfish fish ticket database and for providing summary groundfish catch information to NMFS, ADF&G, and PacFIN. The Groundfish Age Determination Lab is supported through a NMFS contract administered through headquarters (Contact Phil Rigby). The Genetics Lab continued working on genetic stock separation of a variety of groundfish species in 1997. Pollock from inside and outside of Prince William Sound were analyzed, and work was begun black rockfish, yelloweye rockfish, and light and dark dusky rockfish.

e. Sport Fish Division

Recreational fisheries for groundfish occur primarily within state waters and nearby adjacent federal waters. The Division of Sport Fish has primary responsibility for managing these fisheries. Several biologists are specifically assigned to this effort. Doug Vincent-Lang (stationed in Anchorage) provides groundfish oversight and takes the lead in federal-state jurisdictional management issues. In the North Gulf of Alaska, Scott Meyer (stationed in Homer) is the management biologist for groundfish and Mike Bethe (stationed in Anchorage) provides research support. In southeast Alaska, no biologists are specifically assigned to groundfish, rather groundfish activities are incorporated into various area management biologist's duties.

Although many groundfish species are targeted by recreational anglers, most of the management and research effort is directed at halibut, rockfish, and lingcod, given these are the primary species targeted by recreational anglers. Halibut are the focus of a statewide research and management effort. Data on the recreational fishery and harvest are collected as part of a port sampling effort and are provided annually to the International Pacific Halibut Commission and North Pacific Fishery Management Council. This program also provides fishery and stock information for recreational rockfish and lingcod fisheries in the North Gulf of Alaska. A recently initiated rockfish/lingcod stock assessment program begun in 1997 is focusing at assessing the structures and status of rockfish and lingcod stocks in the North Gulf of Alaska. Currently, the program is focusing on assessing study methodologies and species stock structures. In an attempt to prevent over-fishing while data are being collected, restrictive regulations have been placed on the state managed groundfish fisheries. Seasons, bag and possession limits for rockfish and lingcod are the most restrictive on the west coast.

In recent years a recreational fishery targeting sharks has developed in the North Gulf of Alaska. Little information is available to assess the status or structures of targeted stocks. In an attempt to collect information, the Division of Sport Fish is initiating a tagging program in 1988 and will be collecting fishery and stock information from the fishery. The Division is also cooperating with other agencies in joint research efforts aimed at stock assessment.

a. Research

Catch rate and biological information is gathered from fish ticket records, port sampling programs, and during stock assessment surveys for other species. A mandatory logbook program was initiated for state waters of SE Alaska in 1997 to provide a relative index of CPUE. Commercial landings in SE and the Westward Region are sampled for length, weight, age, sex, and stage of maturity.

The Westward Region has initiated several projects in 1997, which related to Pacific cod. A cod-tagging program in the Central and Western Gulf of Alaska was begun. Nearly 1,000 tags were released during the summer and fall of 1997 with a dozen recaptures to date. This project is continuing in 1998. A comparative gear study was conducted with the National Marine Fishery Service in October 1997 which was designed to assess the differences between the nets and catch sampling procedures used by each of the agencies when they survey in the Gulf of Alaska. The ADF&G trawl surveys are designed primarily to assess crab stocks while the NMFS surveys focus on groundfish. It is hoped this study will allow the integration of results from the past and in the future allowing more overall accuracy in groundfish assessment of Pacific cod and other species. Westward staff also initiated a study of cod pot design aimed at reducing the bycatch of Tanner crab. Pot modifications were solicited from industry which will would best exclude Tanner crabs without decreasing the cod catch. Testing on the grounds began in November 1997. Further testing is scheduled for March 1998. (Contact Dan Urban)

b. Management

Regulations adopted by the Alaska Board of Fisheries during November 1993 established guideline harvest range (GHR) of 340 to 570 mt for Pacific cod in the internal waters of SE Alaska. The GHR was based on average historic harvest levels rather than on a biomass-based ABC estimate.

Cod along the outer coast are managed in conjunction with the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) levels set by the federal government for the adjacent EEZ. However, there are gear restriction in state waters in lower Cook Inlet and around Kodiak Island to reduce crab bycatch.

The Alaska Board of Fisheries in 1996 adopted state water Pacific Cod Management Plans for fisheries in 5 groundfish areas, Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet, Kodiak, Chignik and South Alaska Peninsula. The Board's goal was to provide a slower-paced, low-bycatch fishery at a time of year more adaptable to the nearshore, small-boat fleets. Fishing would not be restricted to vessels qualified under the federal moratorium program. Included within the plans were season, gear and harvest specifications. The fishing seasons were subsequent to the federal season, which generally closes in the spring. Exclusive registration areas were established and the fishery was limited to pots or jig gear. No more than 60 pots or 5 jig machines could be used. The harvest level was based on the estimate of allowable biological catch (ABC) of Pacific cod as established by the NPFMC. The initial harvest levels were set at 15% of the Western Gulf ABC to be reserved for the South Alaska Peninsula Area, 15% of the Central Gulf ABC to be apportioned between the Kodiak, Chignik and Cook Inlet Areas and 25% of the Eastern Gulf ABC for the Prince William Sound Area. Harvest levels from the Central and Western Gulf are scheduled to step up to 20% and 25% of the area ABC's if production levels can be achieved.

Additional regulations included a 58' vessel size limit in the Chignik and South Alaska Peninsula Areas and allocations between gear types in Kodiak, Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound. The fishery management plans also provided for removal of restrictions on exclusive area registrations, vessel size and gear limits after October 31 to increase late season production.

The first year of fishing under the state water Pacific Cod Management Plan was 1997. Two hundred ten vessels caught over 18 million pounds (8,200 mt) worth approximately $3.6 million. Highest catches came from Sanak Island, the area just south of Sand Point, Chignik Bay, and from the west side of Kodiak Island.

c. Fisheries

Most of the Pacific cod harvested in Southeast Alaska and the North Gulf District of the Cook Inlet Area is taken by longline gear. Pots are the dominant gear in the Cook Inlet District and Prince William Sound. In the Westward Region, trawl gear takes over 60% of the harvest, with the remainder split between longline, jig, and pot gear. Prior to 1993 much of the cod taken in Southeast was utilized as bait in fisheries for other species. Cod harvested since that time is roughly evenly divided between bait use and human consumption. In other areas of the state, Pacific cod are harvested in both state and federal waters and utilized primarily as food fish. Harvests of Pacific cod totaled 319 mt in the SE state-managed fisheries during 1997. The Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound state-managed cod harvest totaled 380 mt and 91 mt in 1997. Kodiak state water cod harvest totaled 3,448 mt, Chignik had 519 mt of cod harvest and the South Alaska Peninsula harvest totaled 4,252 mt. None of the state water cod areas established in 1996 will increase their share of the Federal TAC in 1998.

Rockfishes are managed under three assemblages: demersal shelf (DSR), pelagic shelf (PSR), and slope rockfish. Demersal Shelf Rockfish include the following species: yelloweye, quillback, china, copper, rosethorn, canary, and tiger. Pelagic shelf rockfish include dusky, yellowtail, and widow. Slope rockfish contain all other Sebastes and Sebastalobus species. Black and blue rockfish have recently been removed from the PSR assemblage in the Gulf of Alaska and placed totally under state management.

a. Research

ADF&G port sampling, skipper interview, and logbook programs for shelf rockfish fisheries continued in Southeast Alaska in 1997. The logbook and interview programs are designed to furnish detailed catch and effort information, to estimate at-sea discards, and to obtain more detailed information regarding specific harvest location. The port sampling program provides species composition from the landed catch and an opportunity to collect biological samples. Otoliths were obtained from principal demersal shelf rockfish species and black and dusky rockfishes and sent to the age-reading laboratory in Juneau for age determination. Data from these programs is entered on a microcomputer in Sitka. In 1997, 1740 yelloweye, 1184 quillback, and 415 black rockfish were sampled for age, weight, length, sex, and maturity. Additional fish were sampled for length/weight/sex/maturity. (Contact Tory O'Connell). Tissue samples for genetic analysis were taken from 60 dusky rockfish in East Yakutat during the annual DSR longline survey in this area (contact Lisa Seeb).

As part of the ongoing rockfish/habitat investigations, ADF&G contracted Delta Oceanographics to conduct submersible-based line transect surveys of DSR in East Yakutat and CSEO. New estimates of density were obtained, as was a revised estimate of available habitat in the East Yakutat area. These data resulted in a biomass estimate for 1998 that is significantly lower than the 1997 estimate (O'Connell et al 1997). The sidescan data collected in 1996 has been overlaid with geological interpretation and the final analysis of fish habitats is currently on-going (Contact Tory O'Connell).

Port sampling of rockfish in Central Region during 1997 occurred in Seward, Whittier, and Cordova. These efforts primarily sampled slope species. Additional sampling occurred during the Prince William Sound trawl and sablefish longline surveys. Data collected included length, sex, and gonad condition. Otoliths were collected from most sampled fish.

The Westward Region also continued its port sampling of the rockfish harvest in 1997. Most dockside sampling looked at black rockfish, although some dark dusky rockfish were also sampled. Skippers were interviewed for information on effort, location, and bycatch. Length, weight and otolith samples were collected. Ports included in sampling were Kodiak, Chignik, Sand Point, and Dutch Harbor.

The Division of Sport Fish collects harvest and fishery information on rockfish as part of an ongoing port sampling program in the North Gulf of Alaska. The objectives of this program are 1) to estimate the species, age, sex, and size compositions of rockfish harvests at select North Gulf of Alaska ports and 2) to characterize the recreational groundfish fisheries that occur at these select ports. Ports currently sampled in the North Gulf of Alaska include Seward, Valdez, Kodiak, Homer, and Deep Creek/Ninilchik. In combination, these ports represent the primary areas of recreational groundfish harvest in the North Gulf of Alaska. Although some slope rockfish are recreationally harvested, the primary species caught in the recreational fishery belong to the demersal shelf and pelagic shelf rockfish assemblages. Primary species harvested include black, dusky, and yelloweye rockfish. The Division of Sport Fish has also initiated a research program focused on assessing the structures and status' of rockfish and lingcod stocks in the North Gulf of Alaska. Currently, the program is focusing on assessing study methodologies and species stock structures. There is no similar program focused on recreational groundfish fisheries ongoing in southeast Alaska. (Contact: Doug Vincent-Lang)

b. Stock Assessment

The F/V Ida June was contracted to index annual CPUE and collect biological data in the EYKT and CSEO Sections of the Southeast Outside Subdistrict. New line transect surveys were conducted in 1997 in the EYKT and CSEO areas. Results of the 1997 survey were analyzed and used to recommend harvest levels for demersal shelf rockfish (DSR) in the Southeast Outside Subdistrict for 1998. Density was lower in both areas in the 1997 survey compared to the 1995 survey. We also revised downward our estimate of total rock habitat in the Fairweather Ground of the EYKT area and applied separate density estimates to Fairweather and non-Fairweather EYKT areas. Combined, this results in a significant decrease in estimated biomass and consequently the 1998 TAC is much lower than the 1997 TAC.

c. Management

The DSR assemblage is the only component of the rockfish complex actively managed by the state in Southeast Alaska at this time. Rockfish management for this group is based upon a combination of guideline harvest ranges, gear restrictions, and trip limits. The state has management authority for demersal shelf rockfish in both state and federal waters of Southeast Alaska. Directed harvest of demersal shelf rockfish is restricted to hook-and-line gear. Separate harvest ranges have been established for each of six Southeast Alaska management areas based upon the best available information on the condition of rockfish stocks in each area. Regulations adopted in 1994 include reduced GHRs in internal waters, reduced weekly trip limits from 7,500 pounds per vessel to 6,000 pounds per vessel (12,000 pounds in EYKT), and added a requirement that logbook pages must be submitted weekly with fish tickets from each fishing trip. The 1997 TAC for DSR was 940 mt in Southeast Outside. A significant portion of the harvest is taken as bycatch mortality during the halibut fishery and a significant portion of the TAC was reserved for landed and unreported bycatch mortality. Additionally 50 mt of DSR are available for harvest in the SE inside waters. In Southeast Alaska slope rockfish are managed as part of the "other rockfish" complex under an area-wide annual harvest limit of 500 mt.

The implementation of the federal IFQ fishery for halibut impacted the directed DSR fishery. Previous to 1995 DSR were managed based on three seasonal allocations: January, July, and October. Because of the bycatch provisions inherent in the IFQ fishery ADF&G does not allow directed fishing for DSR during the IFQ season, March 15 - November 15. The directed DSR fishery quota is now allocated with 2/3 of the quota apportioned to the January 1- March 15 season and 1/3 of the quota apportioned to the November 16- December 31 season. (Contact Tory O'Connell)

Rockfish have continued to be a major concern in the Central Region fisheries, particularly in the North Gulf District where pelagic rockfish are targeted by jig and longline. The Cook Inlet rockfish management plan was amended in 1996 by the Board of Fisheries, which adopted a 68 mt harvest, cap for the fishery. Another plan component is a 5-day rockfish harvest limit of 1.8 mt. The 1997 directed fishery closed when catches from the Cook Inlet Area state waters totaled 45 mt, leaving 23 mt to be taken as bycatch during the remainder of the year. Central Region staff have had concerns over the circumvention of state trip limits by vessels misreporting some or all of their catch as coming from the adjacent federal waters. This was primarily an issue for black rockfish, which are managed as a pelagic species in the federal waters. Recent action by the NPFMC transferred inseason management of black and blue rockfish to the state. Total rockfish harvests from the Cook Inlet Area totaled 82 mt comprised of 52 mt black rockfish and 30 mt mixed slope and demersal species. Rockfish harvest from PWS in 1997 totaled 72 mt, primarily taken as bycatch in non-rockfish fisheries. Management restrictions include a 5-day rockfish harvest limit of 1.4 mt. (Contact Charlie Trowbridge).

Given the lack of quantitative stock assessment information for much of Alaska, managers have established conservative harvest strategies for recreational rockfish fisheries. Recreational seasons and bag and possession limits for rockfish in Alaska are the most restrictive on the west coast. Bag limits are generally set at 5 daily and in some areas the harvest of non-pelagic rockfish is further restricted (Contact Doug Vincent-Lang).

d. Fisheries

Reported harvest of rockfishes from state-managed commercial fisheries in Southeast totaled 812 mt in 1997, of which 308 mt was directed DSR and 87 mt was black rockfish. A significant portion of the remaining rockfish taken in the Southeast district were shortraker and rougheye landings made in conjunction with the NSEI sablefish fishery. All rockfish harvested in state-managed fisheries in SE is taken by hook-and-line gear either in directed fisheries or incidental to fisheries for other species.

a. Research

A mandatory logbook program was instituted in 1997 for the two sablefish fisheries in Southeast. This is in addition to an intensive skipper interview program. The objective is to obtain detailed catch and effort information from the participants and provides an opportunity to collect tags recovered during the fisheries.

In 1997, ADF&G implemented a mark/recapture study to evaluate the potential for obtaining an absolute abundance estimate of sablefish in Chatham Strait. A total of 5,600 tagged fish were double marked and released in Chatham Strait during the research survey 2-3 weeks prior the opening of the fishery. Recapture data were collected from the NSEI sablefish fishery by observers in four major sablefish ports in Southeast Alaska. Preliminary results from this study are in progress (contact Dave Carlile).

b. Stock Assessment

Sablefish stock assessment longline surveys were conducted in each of the two Southeast Alaska inside management areas (SSEI and NSEI) for the tenth consecutive year during 1997. These surveys are designed to measure inter-annual changes in relative abundance. In addition, the surveys provide AWL, sex and maturity biological data from the sablefish populations within each area. Otoliths taken during these surveys are sent to the ADF&G age reading laboratory in Juneau for age determination.

In 1997, we made several changes in the survey design. We chartered commercial vessels using conventional gear with 2-m hook spacing, increased soak time from one to three hours and switched form herring to squid bait. These changes allowed us to fish 2-3 boats concurrently within the same tide cycle and to compare our results more directly with NMFS longline survey in the Gulf of Alaska. In addition, we extended the NSEI survey area to include the area south Patterson Point in Chatham Strait to point south and east of Cape Ommaney.

The changes in survey design this year did not allow us to directly compare the 1997 survey CPUE (fish/hook) with previous years. The biological data, however, was within the ranges reported in past surveys. The mean sablefish length was 57.7 cm and mean weight was 1.0 kg in SSEI. In NSEI, the mean sablefish length was 69.6 cm and the mean weight was 3.92 kg. The average age was 9 in SSEI and 17 in NSEI (contact Meg Cartwright). The cost of these surveys was offset by the sale of the fish caught. The fish were dressed and iced according to industry standards and the state receives all revenues from the sale of the fish (contact Meg Cartwright).

c. Management

There are three separate internal water areas in Alaska, which are managed exclusively by the state. The Northern Southeast Inside Subdistrict, the Southern Southeast Inside Subdistrict, and the Prince William Sound District each have separate seasons and guideline harvest ranges. Although the North Gulf District and the Aleutian Island District are not classified as internal waters in the strictest sense, the state manages the sablefish fishery within the 3 mile limit in these areas is an open-access fishery.

The sablefish fishery in PWS occurred under limited entry for the first time in 1996. Permit holders are restricted to gear and vessel size classes. Central Region staff conducted dockside interviews and sampled landings in the ports of Cordova, Whittier, and Seward.

An annual harvest objective is selected within the guideline harvest range for each area based upon the best available information on current stock condition. In the SSEI fishery the season length is set prior to the opening according to the estimated time required by the existing fleet to reach the harvest objective.

Since 1984 both SSEI and NSEI sablefish fisheries have been managed under a license limitation program. Because of increased vessel efficiency the season for the NSEI Subdistrict was been reduced to a 24-hour per year "derby" style fishery by 1987. Even in that short season, the pre-season harvest objectives set by ADF&G have been consistently exceeded. Beginning in 1994 a new harvest strategy was adopted for the NSEI Subdistrict sablefish fishery. In response to a concern for potential over-exploitation, the Board of Fisheries adopted regulations that restrict the harvest to no more than 3,000,000 dressed weight for the 1994, 1995, and 1996 seasons. In 1997 the BOF adopted this equal share system as a permanent management measure for both the NSEI and SSEI sablefish fisheries. The 1997 quota in NSEI was 2177 mt (rd) and the SSEI quota was 358 mt (rd), with permit shares of 17.8 mt and 10.5 mt respectively.

Sablefish fisheries in outer coastal state waters (0-3 miles) are managed in conjunction with the federal-managed fishery in the EEZ. In some areas of the Gulf the state opens the fishery concurrent with the EEZ opening. These fisheries are open access in state waters, as the state cannot legally implement IFQ management at this time. The quotas are based on historic catch averages and closed once these have been reached. There is no open-access sablefish fishery in the Southeast Outside district as there is extremely limited areas that fall inside state waters and are deep enough to support sablefish populations.

d. Fisheries

In the SSEI sablefish fishery, 29 longline permits harvested 286 mt round weight between June 15 and July 30, 1997. The five pot permit holders landed 53 mt round weight between September 1 and November 15 in 1997. The two gears types allowed in SSEI have separate seasons to avoid gear conflicts. In the NSEI sablefish fishery, 122 longline permit holders landed 2,164 mt round weight between September 1 and November 15, 1997.

During the second limited entry season in the Prince William Sound area, a 24-hr fishery on May 1 and a 12-hour fishery on May 8 yielded 94 mt from 53 vessels. The open access sablefish fishery in the North Gulf District was open from 15 March to 27 June with a guideline harvest level of 33 mt. Increased catch rates during the last two weeks of the season coupled with late catch reporting resulted in 56 mt harvest. (Contact Charlie Trowbridge).

a. Research

Westward Region has contracted with the University of Minnesota Electrical Engineering Department to develop a computer imaging system that would be able to identify and measure various flatfish species from a video image. The contract specifies the system needs to be rugged enough for use on board a survey vessel or in a fish processing plant. A specific goal of the project is the digital identification of the Northern and Southern rock sole. These species are not readily discriminated with the unaided human eye by external features, but it is hoped computer imaging can readily accomplish this task. (Contact Dan Urban)

c. Management

Trawl fisheries for flatfish are allowed in the internal waters of Southeast Alaska only under a special permit issued by the department. The permits are generally issued for no more than a month at a time and specify the area fished and may restrict the type of gear used. Mandatory logbooks are required and some areas cannot be fished unless there is an ADF&G observer on board. This restrictive management is necessary because of reduced flatfish stocks and because of a history of very high prohibited species bycatch rates, particularly crab and halibut, in flatfish trawl fisheries conducted in the internal waters of the state. New regulations adopted in November 1993 implemented a 20,000-pound maximum weekly trip limit in the trawl fishery. This was an industry proposal, the intent of which was to keep large catcher-processor vessels out of this fishery. In 1997 a different industry proposal to the BOF requesting and increase in weekly trip limit was rejected.

d. Fishery

The Southeast Alaska inside area flatfish trawl fishery was restricted to three small areas during the 1996-97 season with a harvest objective set for each area. As has been the case for the past five years, there was almost no effort in the Southeast fishery, with less than 2 mt of harvest reported. Most of the Southeast harvest is starry flounder while the Prince William Sound harvest is a mixture of shallow-water species.

a. Research

Pollock continue to be a dominant species in the Central Region ecosystems. Due to uncertainty about the appropriate harvest level for the PWS pollock fishery, assessment in 1998 will include commercial fishery catch sampling, collection of samples for genetic and isotope analysis, acoustic surveys of the spawning population, and bottom trawl surveys of the summer (post-spawning) population. In 1996, interactions between pollock, herring, and juvenile salmon were also examined as part of Sound Ecosystem Assessment (SEA) funded by the EXXON Valdez Oil Spill Restoration.

A hydroacoustic cruise and mid-water trawl survey were run in January and February 1995 in PWS. In addition the 1994 spring NMFS assessment data was reviewed. The 1995 biomass was projected to be 24,328 mt (Contact Bill Bechtol).

c. Management

The guideline harvest level for 1997 was set by adjusting the 1996 guideline harvest level by the same relative change applied by NMFS to the Central Gulf area. This resulted in a 1997 quota of 1,800 mt (Contact Bill Bechtol).

d. Fisheries

A 6-d fishery in January 1996 harvested 1,480 mt.

a. Research

The relative catch rate of dogfish is monitored in the Southern Southeast Inside area in conjunction with the annual sablefish survey in that area. Commercially landed dogfish are sampled for length, weight, sex and spines taken for aging.

c. Management

There were no directed fisheries for dogfish during 1997. The Alaska Board of Fisheries closed this fishery in 1988.

a. Research

Lingcod research surveys were conducted during 1997 to collect CPUE information and to tag fish for a movement and migration study. Several commercial vessels were contracted for the tagging project with both dinglebar and longline gear used to capture fish with 1,100 lingcod tagged in Southeast during 1996 and 935 tagged in 1997. To date there have been 30 tag recoveries (Contact Tory O'Connell).

The ADF&G age reading laboratory uses cleared otoliths to age lingcod. Two hundred fish were sampled for otoliths in 1997 (Contact Kris Munk).

The Division of Sport Fish collects harvest and fishery information on lingcod as part of an ongoing port-sampling program in the North Gulf of Alaska. The objectives of this program are 1) to estimate the age, sex, and size length compositions of lingcod harvests at select North Gulf of Alaska ports and 2) to characterize the recreational groundfish fisheries that occur at these select ports. Ports currently sampled in the North Gulf of Alaska include Seward, Valdez, Kodiak, Homer, and Deep Creek/Ninilchik. In combination, these ports represent the primary areas of recreational groundfish harvest in the North Gulf of Alaska. The Division of Sport Fish also collects fishery-independent stock assessment data on lingcod in North Gulf of Alaska to assess recruitment. Time-series information suggests that recruitment is highly variable and has not occurred at a rate necessary for replacement. The Division of Sport Fish has also initiated a research program focused on assessing the structures and status' of rockfish and lingcod stocks in the North Gulf of Alaska. Currently, the program is focusing on assessing study methodologies and species stock structures. Work during 1998 will focus on evaluating recruitment. There are no similar programs focused on recreational groundfish fisheries ongoing in southeast Alaska. (Contact: Doug Vincent-Lang)

c. Management

A lingcod management plan was adopted for the Southeast Alaska Region during 1993 went into effect until April 1994. The main elements of the plan include: 1.) Extension of the winter closure outward from the surf line to three miles from shore, 2.) Modification of the winter spawning closure period by one month to December 1 through April 30, 3.) Establishment of guideline harvest ranges for all six of the Southeast Region management areas based on 1/4 to 1/2 mt per nautical mile of rocky habitat inside 100 fm within each area, 4.) Apportionment of the fishery seasonally and among user groups in the two management areas where the fishery is fully utilized. The 27-inch (69 cm) minimum size limit remains in effect in the Southeast District.

A portion of the CSEO section was closed to harvest of lingcod in an attempt to prevent localized depletion in an area that seasonally has large aggregations of lingcod (see below). Because of high effort in portions of the EYKT and SSEO areas local areas were closed in-season to distribute harvest. This is the first time in-season management action was necessary in the SSEO area.

New regulations adopted for the Central Region in 1993 included: 1.) A complete area closure from January 1 through June 30, 2.) A minimum size limit of 35 inches (89 cm) overall or 28 inches (71 cm) from the front of the dorsal fin to the tip of the tail. These regulatory changes continue to educe the harvest and effort from previous levels the Central Region.

Central Region lingcod harvests have primarily occurred in the North Gulf District but have remained low with no apparent recruitment. The North Gulf commercial harvest was restricted to 16-mt beginning in 1997.

Given the lack of quantitative stock assessment information for much of Alaska, managers have established conservative harvest strategies for recreational lingcod fisheries. Recreational seasons and bag and possession limits for lingcod in Alaska are the most restrictive on the west coast. The fishery is managed under a spawning/nest guarding season closure, minimum size limits to protect spawners, and bag and possession limits (2 or less daily) (Contact: Doug Vincent-Lang)

d. Fishery

Lingcod are the target of a "dinglebar" troll fishery in Southeast Alaska. Dinglebar troll gear is salmon power troll gear modified to fish for groundfish. Additionally lingcod are landed as significant bycatch in the DSR longline fishery and as a limited bycatch in the halibut fishery. In 1997 the Board of Fisheries adopted a regulation that would allow longliners fishing for demersal shelf rockfish to retain 35% lingcod, by weight of their target catch.

For the second year, there was a significant directed fishery for lingcod in both the SSEO and the EYKT subdistrict of SE. A total of 60 permits were used in the directed lingcod fishery, accounting for 192 mt of lingcod. An additional 100 mt was taken as bycatch.

In 1997 the BOF based a new policy that would strictly limit the development of fisheries for other groundfish species in SE. Fishermen are required to apply for a "permit for miscellaneous groundfish" for all fisheries that do not already have a specific regulations and permits do not have to issued if there are management and conservation concerns. At this time that includes all species except sablefish, rockfish, lingcod, flatfish, and pacific cod. At this time most other groundfish species taken in state waters is taken as bycatch in fisheries for other more valuable groundfish and halibut. Reported landings in SE during 1997 were approximately 25 mt. The State also has a regulation that requires that the bycatch rate of groundfish be set by fishery annually by emergency order unless otherwise specified in regulation.

There is a very low-level fishery for salmon shark in Prince William Sound and there has been increasing interest in marketing of skate and dogfish bycatch taken in other longline fisheries. The Alaska Board of Fisheries closed this, and other commercial shark fisheries, in 1988. The Board also adopted a management plan governing the recreational fisheries for salmon and other sharks. This plan includes a statewide annual bag limit of 1 and a statewide annual limit of 2 sharks.

A "Developing Fisheries" policy is being drafted for new fisheries which will reduce the possibility that a fishery can escalate beyond management control and will also outline which species may be restricted from being harvested in a directed fishery.

The Department of Fish and Game manage state groundfish fisheries under regulations set triennially by the Board of Fisheries. The department announces the open and closed fishing periods consistent with the established regulations, and has authority to close fisheries at any time for justifiable conservation reasons. The department also cooperates with NMFS in regulating fisheries in the offshore waters.

By regulation, fish tickets are required for all shore-based landings in Alaskan ports and for all landings from state-managed fisheries. The catch data from the fish tickets is used as the primary means of tracking the in-season harvest levels. Groundfish fish tickets are collected from as many as thirty or more processors within the state. The fish tickets are edited for accuracy and the data is entered on microcomputers in Petersburg, Sitka, Ketchikan, Homer, Kodiak, and Dutch Harbor. Because of the intensity of many of the groundfish fisheries, a "soft data" accounting system using processor contacts is also utilized, when necessary, to track landings during a fishery.

In 1997 at the Southeast Groundfish meeting, the Board of Fisheries adopted a regulation that will require all groundfish fishermen to complete mandatory logbook pages while fishing. These logbook pages must be submitted as part of their landing record and attached to their fish ticket at delivery. The Board also now requires that fishermen obtain a conditional use permit when fishing for any species for which specific regulatory language is not in effect. This will allow ADF&G to deny permits for some species and allowed exploratory or controlled fishing for others.

Marine Reserves

In September of 1997 the ADF&G submitted proposals to both the BOF and the NPFMC requested that they implement a small no-take marine reserve in Southeast. The purpose of these proposals is to permanently close a 4 sq. mile area off Cape Edgecumbe to all bottomfish and halibut fishing (including commercial, sport, charter, bycatch and subsistence) and anchoring to prevent over- fishing and to create a groundfish refuge. This area is dominated by two large volcanic pinnacles that have a diversity and density of fishes not seen in surrounding areas. The pinnacles rise abruptly from the seafloor and sit at the mouth of Sitka Sound were ocean currents and tidal rips create massive water flows over the habitat from the rich fauna These two pinnacles provide a very unique habitat of rock boulders, encrusted with Metridium, bryazoans and other fragile invertebrate communities, which attracts and shelters an extremely high density of juvenile rockfishes. The area is used seasonally by lingcod for spawning, nest-guarding, and post-nesting feeding. Yelloweye rockfish and pelagic rockfish species as well as large numbers of prowfish and Puget Sound Rockfishes also densely inhabit the pinnacles. This closure would protect the fragile nature of this rare habitat, and prevent the harvest or bycatch of these species during critical portions of their life history. In February 1998 the BOF approved of the reserve and the NPFMC took up initial review of this proposal in April 1998.

In the North Gulf of Alaska, the ADF&G has submitted proposals to the Alaska Board of Fisheries to create marine sanctuaries near Outer Island, the Barren Island and Marmot Island. The areas proposed as sanctuaries are currently designated as protection zones for stellar sea lions. Thus fishing in these zones is currently not allowed. Creation of the areas as fish reserves will assure for their long-term protection as the sea lions recover.

User Pay/ Test Fish Programs

The state of Alaska Department of Fish and Game receives receipt authority from the state legislature that allows us to conduct stock assessment surveys by recovering costs through sale of fish taken during the surveys. Receipt authority varies by region. In Southeast Alaska we have several projects that are funded through test fish funds (total allocation approximately 300k), notably the sablefish longline assessments, the king crab survey, and the herring fishery and dive surveys. Also in 1995 the Southeast Region was given a separate receipt authority for $250,000 to conduct sea urchin research using test fish funds. In the case of sea urchins the industry placed bids on the right to harvest and market sea urchins. The low bidder was responsible for paying for the department's expenses in research and management of this fishery and was limited to a 12% profit after state expenses were paid.

GIS

ADFG began its first real GIS efforts in 1991 with a PacFIN project that measures groundfish bycatch in the Bering Sea. The primary data for this project comes from the NORPAC observer database. This project's initial analysis tool was ArcInfo 6.0, though much of the work is now done in ArcView. ARC/INFO is currently used in ADF&G CFMD headquarters and by Habitat Division in Region II (Anchorage). Region IV (Kodiak) has an ARC/INFO license and is planning on using it in the future.

ADFG CFMD currently supports both MapInfo 4.1 and ArcView 3.0 as its primary GIS tools for the desktop. The department's first real desktop GIS projects began in 1990 with MapInfo 2.0, primarily due to the need to map and display results from studies related to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. A pilot salmon project initiated in 1993 introduced ArcView 2.0 to the department. Vertical Mapper, a MapInfo add-on package, is currently used for desktop spatial analysis. A similar tool for ArcView (Spatial Analyst) is beginning to be used by Sport Fish Division in Region I.

Basemaps, as a rule, are obtained from other agencies of the state and from the federal government. ADFG currently has no GIS technical or cartographic staff dedicated to the maintenance and distribution of its basemaps. Current coverages in use at ADFG CFMD are maintained in MapInfo and ArcView formats. Datum NAD27 continues to be the primary display standard for the division's maps, although the department is moving to NAD83 as a standard in the next couple of years.

Basemaps unique to ADFG CFMD include its groundfish and salmon statistical areas. The first release of these coverages is anticipated in the second quarter of 1998, although there are no plans making these data available to the general public. It must be understood that these basemaps are for display purposes only, and not for legal use, since they rely on undocumented and unproofed versions of crucial maritime boundaries (e.g., the 3 nautical mile line and the 200 nautical mile line delineating the EEZ). The Habitat and Restoration Division also has developed and maintained a line coverage and catalog of anadramous waters in the state.

CFMD has no formal protocols for the maintenance and distribution of its GIS data. It is currently considering establishing a GIS technical committee, which might be charged with formalizing these and other GIS policies within the division.

Logbooks

Beginning in 1997 logbooks are mandatory for all state-managed fisheries in SE. Logbooks

For rockfish and lingcod have been mandatory for a number of years. All usable longline and jig logbook data through 1997 has been entered. The trawl logbooks from the flatfish fishery have not been entered into a computer data base however we expect this database to be constructed and the data records entered by fall 1998.

SE

Longline

Jig/dinglebar

Year

DSR

Pcod

Slope Rock

PSR

Sablefish

Ling

Black rock

DSR

PSR

1986

21

1

1987

25

1988

20

1989

19

1990

50

1

2

1991

232

8

1

1992

259

7

1993

190

8

1994

197

9

3

108

1995

140

13

6

215

1996

261

8

5

252

31

6

1997

196

97

5

1

177

5

7

2

Total

1610

152

6

16

464

752

64

13

2

Beginning in 1988, all charter vessels operating off Alaska will be required to obtain and maintain a logbook. The purpose of these logbooks is to provide information about how many sport charter vessels are active, when and where charter fishing is occurring, and how much total effort and harvest is originating from these charter activities.

Web Pages

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has a statewide web page. There is also a web page for the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, the state permitting office. The Tag and Otolith lab has their own web page. By this winter all projects within the Southeast Region Commerical Fisheries Management and Development Division.

http://www.state.ak.us/local/akpages/FISH.GAME/home.html

http://tagoweb.adfg.state.ak.us/

http://www.cfec.state.ak.us

Jackson, D. and D. Urban. 1998 Westward Region Report on 1997 State Managed Pacific Cod Fishery. ADF&G Regional Inf. Report 4K98-2. 21 p. Kodiak, AK.

O'Connell, V.M., D.W. Carlile, and C. Brylinsky 1997. Demersal shelf rockfish. IN 1998 Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Report For the Gulf of Alaska. North Pacific Fishery Management Council, Anchorage AK.

Urban, D. 1997 Bottom Trawl Survey of Crab and Groundfish: Kodiak Island, Chignik, and South Peninsula Areas, 1996. ADF&G Regional Inf. Report 4K97-58. 140 p. Kodiak, AK.

Vincent-Lang, D. 1997. Area Management Report for the North Gulf of Alaska Recreational Groundfish Fisheries. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fishery Management Report. Anchorage.

ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME
PERMANENT FULL-TIME GROUNDFISH STAFF DURING 1997

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

HEADQUARTERS

Fish Ticket Programmer/Analyst
Bruce Simonson
Box 25526
Juneau, AK 99802-5526
(907) 465-6110

Phil Rigby
Box 25526
Juneau, AK 99802-5526
(907) 465-4610

SOUTHEASTERN REGION

Project Leader
Tory O'Connell
304 Lake St. Rm. 103
Sitka, AK 99835
(907) 747-6688
email: toryo@fishgame.state.ak.us

Assistant Project Leader
Margaret Cartwright
304 Lake St. Rm. 103
Sitka, AK 99835
(907) 747-6688

Port Biologist
Cleo Brylinsky
304 Lake St. Rm. 103
Sitka, AK 99835
(907) 747-6688

Project Biometrician
David Carlile
Box 240020
Douglas, AK 99824-0020
(907) 465-4216

Otolith Lab
Kris Munk
Box 25526
Juneau, AK 99802
(907) 465-3054

CENTRAL REGION

Groundfish Research Biologist
William R. Bechtol
3298 Douglas Street
Homer, AK 99603-7942
(907) 235-8191

Management Biologist
Charlie Trowbridge
3298 Douglas Street
Homer, AK 99603-7942
(907) 235-8191

WESTWARD REGION

Shellfish/groundfish Biologist
Al Spalinger
211 Mission Rd.
Kodiak, AK 99615-6399
(907) 486-1840

Dan Urban
211 Mission Rd.
Kodiak, AK 99615-6399
(907) 486-1840

SPORT FISH DIVISION
CENTRAL REGION

Regional Management Biologist
Douglas Vincent-Lang
333 Raspberry Road
Anchorage, AK 99518
(907) 267-2339

Scott Meyer
Fishery Biologist
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Division of Sport Fish
3298 Douglas Street
Homer, Alaska 99603