Research Biologist, Resource Ecology and Fisheries Management, Alaska Science Center, NOAA Fisheries
Issues facing fisheries management in Alaska are growing in complexity and pose new challenges. These include implementing practical regulations that satisfy a diverse set of biological, economic, and ecosystem objectives. The largest fishery, walleye pollock in the Eastern Bering Sea, enjoys a number of unique characteristics. Under the current regime, for example, two scientific observers are deployed on each vessel and extensive real-time reporting is required. The fact that this fishery is regulated to use only pelagic trawls (though bottom contact does occur) results in reduced bottom-habitat disturbance and bycatch of non-target species. Also, the fishery operates within strict catch limits by seasons and areas. The highest value from this fishery is derived from the production of pre-spawning roe. The rationalization of the fishery (whereby entry is limited and participating fishers are granted rights to a proportion of the annual quota) has further enhanced the value of the fishery since waste has declined. From a biological perspective, the high level of observer coverage, combined with regular extensive surveys provides a unique situation to directly apply fisheries population dynamics theory into management. This provides the first tier of resource protectionthat which avoids overfishing on a single-species basis. The next tier of conservation considers the multispecies aspect of the fishery whereby any bycatch is recorded and counted against separate quota levels. Also, there is an overall multispecies limit of 2 million t of all groundfish catch for this region. This constraint, approved in 1985, has effectively limited the expansion of the fishery and is one of the fundamental reasons management in this region has been effective. During periods of high pollock abundance levels, depending on the multi-species aspect of fisheries performance, the full 2 million t is nearly taken. During other years, fisheries with higher levels of non-target bycatch (e.g., flatfish fisheries), it is more difficult for the fleets to catch the 2 million t OY. Specific aspects of the assessment model, as shown through retrospective patterns are presented to highlight deficiencies and illustrate processes that relate to environmental and other sources of variability. A case is made to show how the disparate management parts are used in a holistic approach towards risk-averse management.
James Ianelli has been active in fisheries research for over 27 years. Early in his career, he worked as a field biologist holding a number of unique positions including investigations on tuna biology and fisheries, Dungeness crabs, flying fish, trochus (very large sea snails), and statistical data collection problems for small-scale reef fisheries. James served as a research scientist with the South Pacific Commission, New Caledonia, and was Lab Director for the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission’s (IATTC) facility in Panama. For the last 16 years, James has been an active member of Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s stock assessment team and authored numerous analytical documents applied to the management of important groundfish species in the North Pacific. James' research includes developing statistical approaches for ecosystem/fisheries conservation management as well as international projects, for example tagging experiments on juvenile bluefin tuna in small fishing villages of Japan.
James has a BS from Humboldt State University, and a PhD (1993) from University of Washington on the population dynamics of skipjack tuna. He is an affiliate faculty member at the University of Washington and serves as an editor for the journal 'Natural Resource Modeling'. James is Chair of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s 'Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Plan Team', and is a member of the Advisory Panel for the 'Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna'.
Ianelli, J.N. 2007. Salmon Bycatch Patterns in the Eastern Bering Sea Pollock Trawl Fisheries. AFSC Quarterly Report. http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/Quarterly/jfm2007/divrptsREFM9.htm.
Ianelli, J.N., S. Barbeaux, T. Honkalehto, S. Kotwicki, K. Aydin, and N. Williamson. 2007. Assessment of Alaska Pollock Stock in the Eastern Bering Sea. In: Stock assessment and fishery evaluation report for the groundfish resources of the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands regions. North Pac. Fish. Mgmt. Council, Anchorage, AK, section 1:41-138. http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/refm/docs/2007/EBSpollock.pdf
North Pacific Fishery Management Council. 2007 (first edition). Navigating the North Pacific Council Process. North Pacific Fishery Management Council, 605 West 4th Avenue, Suite 306, Anchorage, AK 99501. http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/misc_pub/Navigating_NPFMC.pdf
Groundfish Management Policy: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/Tasking.htm
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