Status of Stocks & Multispecies Assessment Program

Report of the BEST/BSIERP Fish Component, Patch Dynamics, and Modeler's Workshop

On 11-13 August 2009, members of the Fish Modeling and Patch Dynamics Components of the BEST/BSIERP program met to discuss and exchange research findings among the three groups. Thirty-nine scientists attended the meeting in Seattle, Washington.

Participants presented key research findings on the following topics:

• forecasting future climate
• oceanography of the Bering Sea (spring – summer)
• oceanography of the Bering Sea (winter)
• responses of phytoplankton and zooplankton to oceanography
• oceanographic impacts on adult fish spatial distributions
• adult fish vertical distributions
• forage fish spatial distributions
• patch dynamics
• fish diets
• foraging responses
• climate impacts on the timing and distribution of spawning
• dynamic climate downscaling for the regional ocean modeling system
• nutrient phytoplankton zooplankton detritus and benthos model
• Forage and Euphausiid Abundance in Space and Time (FEAST)
• socioeconomic responses to climate.

Overall, it was clear that the BEST/BSIERP program already is providing new information on the present and future status of the Bering Sea under a changing environment. A report summarizing the results of the workshop has been prepared and released to NPRB principal investigators.

By Anne Hollowed