REVIEW OF AGENCY GROUNDFISH RESEARCH, ASSESSMENTS, AND MANAGEMENT: AGENCY REPORTS

1. ALASKA

A. Agency Overview

1. Description of the State of Alaska groundfish program:

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has jurisdiction over all 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 gives the State of Alaska limited management authority for demersal shelf rockfish in the federal waters east of 140^o W. longitude. 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.

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 147^o 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 now based out of Sitka with the groundfish project leader position. assistant project leader and port biologist located here. Staffing was still in transition in 1996 and a new groundfish assistant, Meg Cartwright, was hired in April. All three of these positions are located in Sitka. Seasonal port samplers were employed in Petersburg, Ketchikan, 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 in-season management of the groundfish resources. In-season management decisions are based on data collected from the fisheries and from the resource assessment surveys. Primary tasks include fish ticket collection, editing, and data entry for both state and federal-managed fisheries; dockside sampling of lingcod, Pacific cod, and rockfish landings; skipper interview and logbook collection and data entry; and biological studies of important commercial species. Six resource assessment surveys were conducted during 1996. The Board of Fisheries requested new southeast groundfish regulatory proposals (3 year cycle) and regulation development and review and the associated public meetings required considerable staff time

b. Central Region

The restructuring of the Central Region groundfish staff continued in 1996. To facilitate more of a marine resources and ecosystem approach, responsibilities for shellfish and groundfish in Prince William Sound (PWS), Cook Inlet, and the North Gulf have been pooled among areas but within research and management sections. The existing shellfish staff based in Homer and Cordova also assumed management duties for the groundfish fisheries. The Research Project Leader in Homer is now responsible for 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 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.

c. Westward Region

The Westward Region Shellfish/Groundfish biologist is responsible for supervising fish ticket data entry and analysis of Groundfish data collected from crab stock assessment surveys. The Kodiak staff continues to monitor the developing black rockfish fisheries within the region. Additionally the Dutch Harbor staff has been monitoring the state water sablefish fishery in the Aleutian Islands.

d. Headquarters

ADF&G personnel continued to enter fish tickets from all shore-based groundfish landings from Alaskan waters during 1996 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).

e. Sport Fish Division

Recreational fisheries for groundfish primarily occur within the state waters. As a result, the Division of Sport Fish has primary responsibility for managing these fisheries. In recent years, the Division has taken a more active role in monitoring recreational groundfish fisheries and has several biologists assigned this effort. In the North Gulf of Alaska, Doug Vincent-Lang (stationed in Anchorage) is the management biologist for groundfish and Scott Meyer (Stationed in Homer) 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. Fishery and stock data 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. Rockfish and lingcod fisheries are growing in popularity and have become an increased focus of the research and management effort. Both fishery and stock information are collected on these species in the North Gulf of Alaska. Seasons and bag and possession limits for rockfish and lingcod are the most restrictive on the west coast.

B. By Species

1. Pacific Cod

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 voluntary logbook program was initiated for state waters of SE Alaska in 1992 to provide a relative index of CPUE. Commercial landings in SE are sampled for length, weight, sex, and stage of maturity.

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 adopted a Pacific cod management plan in state waters of the Central Region in October 1996. The plan’s intent is to provide a slower-paced, low-bycatch fishery at a time of year more adaptable to the nearshore, small-boat fleets. The fishery is restricted to jig and pot gear with a harvest allowance of 400 mt for PWS and 950 mt for the North Gulf and Cook Inlet combined.

c. Fisheries

Most of the Pacific cod harvested in Southeast Alaska, Prince William Sound, and the North Gulf District is taken by longline gear. Pots are the dominant gear in Cook Inlet. 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 290 mt in the SE state-managed fisheries during 1996. The Cook Inlet district state waters had 380 mt of cod harvest, 1725 mt were harvest in the North Gulf Coast, and 309 mt were harvest in Prince William Sound.

2. Rockfishes

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, black, blue, yellowtail, and widow. Slope rockfish contain all other Sebastes and Sebastolobus species.

a. Research

ADF&G port sampling, skipper interview, and logbook programs for shelf rockfish fisheries continued in Southeast Alaska in 1996. 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 1996, 1800 yelloweye, 700 quillback, 125 black, and 225 dusky rockfish were sampled for age/weight/length/sex/maturity. Additional fish were sampled for length/weight/sex/maturity. (Contact Tory O'Connell).

As part of the ongoing rockfish habitat investigations, ADF&G contracted Williamson’s and Associates to conduct a sidescan sonar survey over the offshore Mt. Edgecumbe Lava filed. An AMS-150 (150 kHz) seafloor mapping system was used for an 8 day survey. Swath widths were 800 m( 400 m per side) with 20 to 40 percent overlap between tracks for a final mosaic covering 700 km² of fishing grounds. Bathymetric data via interferometry was collected simultaneously. The Delta submersible was used to collect rock samples and groundtruth interpretation of the sidescan records. The sidescan data has been overlaid with geological interpretation and the final analysis of fish habitats is currently on-going (Contact Tory O’Connell).

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. 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 NSEO Sections of the Southeast Outside Subdistrict. A five year report on this survey will be available in August, 1997. No new line transect surveys were conducted in 1996. Preliminary results of the 1995 survey were analyzed and used to recommend harvest levels for demersal shelf rockfish (DSR) in the Southeast Outside Subdistrict for 1996. Several changes were made to the survey design in 1995, including the addition of a forward-mounted video camera to insure the critical 100% detectability assumption needed for line transects. We found that up to 12% of the fishes on the line were unseen by the observer. Consequently the density (and associated biomass estimates) estimates for yelloweye rockfish in 1995 (used in the 1996 TAC) were higher than previously reported. For example in the CSEO section density of adult yelloweye was estimated to be 2,929/km² resulting in biomass estimate of 13,167 mt (lower 90% CI) for this area compared to the 1994 estimate of 7,583 mt (Contact Tory O'Connell).

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 1996 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 were released 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 rockfish are targeted by jig and longline. The North Gulf management plan stated the fishery would shift to bycatch-only when the harvest reached 68 mt. Another plan component is a 5-day rockfish harvest limit of 1.8 mt. However, as a more conservative approach the 1996 directed fishery was closed when catches from North Gulf state waters totaled 45 mt, leaving 23 mt to be taken as bycatch during the remainder of the year. This latter strategy, including a 68 mt "harvest cap" was adopted by the Board of Fisheries in 1996. 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 is primarily an issue for black rockfish which are managed as a pelagic species in the federal waters. However, the pelagic ABC is primarily based on trawl survey catches of dusky rockfish. The NPFMC is pursuing Amendment Proposal 46 as a solution to this issue in federal waters adjacent to the Central Region and other state waters where pelagic rockfish are mainly targeted with jig gear. One proposal option would transfer federal inseason management of black and blue rockfish to the state. Rockfish harvests from PWS in 1996 totaled <45 mt, virtually all 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. For example bag limits in Southeast are 5 daily, 10 in possession for pelagic rockfish and 5 daily, 10 in possession for all other rockfish. In the Sitka area the bag limit for rockfish other than pelagic species is even lower with a daily possession limit of 3 of which only one can be yelloweye rockfish (Contact Doug Vincent-Lang).

d. Fisheries

Reported harvest of rockfishes from state-managed commercial fisheries totaled 813 mt in 1996. DSR accounted for 467 mt of this with the remainder primarily shortraker, rougheye, and shortspine thornyheads in the SE district and black rockfish in the Central district. A significant portion of the slope rockfish taken in the Southeast district were landings made in conjunction with the NSEI sablefish fishery. Virtually all rockfish harvested in state-managed fisheries is taken by hook-and-line gear either in directed fisheries or incidental to fisheries for other species.

3. Sablefish

a. Research

An intensive skipper interview program is conducted during the Southeast Alaska area's two internal water fisheries. The objective is to obtain detailed catch and effort information from the participants. This program also provides an opportunity to collect tags recovered during the fisheries.

In 1996 ADF&G conducted a pilot study to assess short term movement of sablefish in NSEI using sonic tags. Twenty fish were implanted with tags and their movements tracked over a two week period. The results of this study are currently in preparation for publication (Contact Dave Carlile).

b. Stock Assessment

Sablefish stock assessment surveys were conducted in each of the two Southeast Alaska inside management areas for the ninth consecutive year during 1996. The surveys use snap-on longline gear set at stations which were randomly selected during the first year of the project. The gear is allowed to soak for a standardized fishing period of one hour. The results are utilized to determine inter-annual changes in relative abundance. These surveys are also designed to provide biological samples from the sablefish populations within each area. Every tenth fish captured is sampled for AWL, sex, and maturity. Otoliths taken during these surveys are sent to the ADF&G age reading laboratory in Juneau for age determination.

In 1996 we extended the SSEI survey into the Dixon Entrance Subdistrict as the fishery has shifted effort towards this area in recent years. In 1997 we plan to change our survey design for both areas in several ways: we will charter commercial vessels, increase soak time to at least 3 hours, and change our gear configuration to stuck gear with 2 m spacing. These changes will allow us to survey each management area under a shorter time window, reducing catchability variation due to tide cycle changes, and allow us to more directly compare our results with the NMFS longline survey.

Preliminary results of the surveys show that there has not been a significant linear trend in abundance in either area over the duration of the surveys. In 1996 the survey CPUE (fish/hook) in NSEI showed a 12% increase over 1995 and was higher than the previous seven year average however the commercial CPUE in terms of pounds/hook continues to decline. The CPUE in the SSEI survey was the same as in 1995. The cost of these surveys is offset by the sale of the fish caught. The fish are dressed and iced according to industry standards and the state receives all revenues from the sale of the fish. (Contact Meg Cartwright, ADF&G 304 Lake St., Rm. 103, Sitka, AK 99835).

In September 1996 ADF&G also conducted the first longline survey for sablefish in PWS (contact Bill Bechtol). ADF&G is currently evaluating the use of an age structured model to estimate abundance in the NSEI area (contact Dave Carlile).

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 under 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 1985 both Southeast Inside Subdistrict sablefish fisheries have been managed under a license limitation program. Because of increased vessel efficiency the season for the NSEI Subdistrict has been reduced to a 24-hour per year "derby" style fishery since 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 which restrict the harvest to no more than 3,000,000 dressed weight for the 1994, 1995, and 1996 seasons. To assure that the newly adopted quota is not exceeded the annual harvest objective is equally divided among the eligible permit holders. The season was extended from 24 hours to 30 days provide for a more rational and manageable fishery. In 1996 the season length was extended to 60 days to evaluate the effects of tidal cycles on fishery distribution and CPUE. For the 1996 season each of 121 eligible permit holders was allocated 24,500 pounds dressed weight. The season started 9 AM September 8 and continued until 9 AM on November 8.

The 1996 SSEI fishery is still managed on a time/area basis with a 226 mt (dressed weight) upper harvest limit.

In 1997 the Board of Fisheries adopted the equal-share system permanently in NSEI and authorized a similar system for the SSEI system.

The offshore sablefish fisheries (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 Northern Southeast Inside Subdistrict 121 vessels harvested approximately 2,149 mt round weight during a 60-day season opening September 8. In the Southern Southeast Inside area 30 vessels harvested approximately 230 mt round weight in a 48-hour fishery beginning June 8. Fishery CPUE is down from the 1995 fishery in both NSEI and SSEI. The poor fishing in the SSEI may be somewhat attributed to the marginal weather during the 2 day opening.

Although both of the Southeast Alaska inside area fisheries are under limited entry, the number of vessels participating in each area greatly exceeds the target number established by the program. This factor is compounded because there are currently no regulations controlling vessel size or the amount of gear each vessel can use. As a result, the individual fishing power of the vessels has increased dramatically in recent years. Much of this problem will be alleviated by the equal share permit harvest limits recently implemented.

During the first limited entry season in the Prince William Sound area, a 24 hr fishery on May 1 yielded 114 mt for 65 vessels. The open access sablefish fishery in the North Gulf District was open from 15 March to 1 September yielded a 45 mt harvest, with nearly half taken in the last two weeks of the season. The 1997 fishery will be restricted to approximately 35 mt. (Contact Al Kimker).

4. Flatfish

a. Research

No research was conducted on flatfish species by the State of Alaska during 1996. A mandatory logbook program in effect for this fishery provides information on CPUE of target species and an estimate of at-sea discards.

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 implement a 20,000-pound maximum weekly trip limit in the trawl fishery. The new regulation went into effect in 1994.

d. Fishery

The Southeast Alaska inside area flatfish trawl fishery was restricted to three small areas during the 1995-96 season with a harvest objective set for each area. 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.

5. Pollock

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 1997 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 1996 was set by reducing the 1994 acoustic survey biomass estimate of 24,328 mt proportionate to the reduction in GOA biomass for 1996 and applying a 9% exploitation rate. This resulted in a 1996 quota of 1,400 mt (Contact Bill Bechtol).

d. Fisheries

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

6. Dogfish

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 are no seasons, gear restrictions, or harvest limits for dogfish in the territorial waters of the state at this time. There were no directed fisheries for dogfish during 1996.

7. Lingcod

a. Research

Lingcod research surveys were conducted during 1996 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 (Contact Tory O’Connell).

One hundred female lingcod were sampled for gonads to determine age specific fecundity. These samples have been examined and the results are currently in preparation for publication (contact Cleo Brylinsky). The ADF&G age reading laboratory uses cleared otoliths to age lingcod. (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. 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 ½ 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.

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.

A portion of the CSEO and NSEO sections were again closed to harvest of lingcod in an attempt to prevent localized depletion in an area of historic fishing pressure. Because of the increased effort in the EYKT subdistrict in 1996, local areas were closed in-season to distribute harvest.

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 will therefore be 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 southeast sport fish regulations list a season of may 1 through November 30 with a 2 daily bag limit (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 the EYKT subdistrict of the SE District. Twenty eight vessel landed 125 mt and the fishery was closed within a month of opening in that subdistrict. For the first time, significant effort was seen in the southern area of Southeast, in part due to management restrictions in the CSEO and NSEO areas. Eighteen vessels landed 47 mt in SSEO during 1996. A total of approximately 385 mt round weight of lingcod was harvested by all gear types in state-managed fisheries during 1996. Ninety five percent of this was taken from Southeast Alaska.

8. Other species

There were no state regulations in effect for other species of groundfish in state-managed fisheries during 1996. Most of the harvest in state waters is taken as bycatch in fisheries for other more valuable groundfish and halibut. Reported landings during 1996 were approximately 25 mt.

These 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.

An "emerging fisheries" policy is being developed for new fisheries which will reduce the possibility that a fishery can escalate beyond management control before regulations can be developed.

C. Other Related Studies

State groundfish fisheries are managed by the Department of Fish and Game 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.

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.

REPORTS COMPLETED DURING 1996

O'Connell, V.M., D.W. Carlile, and B.E. Bracken. 1996. Demersal shelf rockfish. IN 1997 Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Report For the Gulf of Alaska. North Pacific Fishery Management Council, Anchorage AK.

O’Connell, V.M, M. A. Cartwright, C.K. Brylinsky, B.Richardson, and D. Holum. 1996. 1995 Report to the Alaska Board of Fisheries, Region 1 Groundfish Fisheries. ADF&G Regional Inf. Report IJ96-29. 33 p. Juneau, AK.

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
 
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