Groundfish Assessment Program

The Groundfish Assessment Program is responsible for planning, executing, analyzing, and reporting results from surveys to establish time series estimates of the distribution and abundance of Alaska groundfish resources in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Aleutian Islands. The program also investigates biological processes and interactions with the environment to estimate growth, mortality, and recruitment to improve the precision and accuracy of forecasting stock dynamics. Impacts of bottom trawls on the seafloor and the description of bottom type are also being studied in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.

The Groundfish Assessment Program in cooperation with the RACE Shellfish Assessment Program annually conducts a bottom trawl assessment survey for groundfish and king and Tanner crabs in the eastern Bering sea. This survey was initiated in 1971 and has been conducted annually since 1979. Annual surveys of sablefish abundance in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands region and Gulf of Alaska have been conducted since 1979 in cooperation with the AFSCs Auke Bay Laboratory. Major triennial surveys have been conducted for groundfish resources in the Aleutian Islands region, and in portions of the eastern Bering Sea not included in the annual groundfish/crab survey since 1977. Standard trawls and longlines have been used throughout these time series surveys. Special purpose surveys and studies have been conducted to improve understanding of biological processes, interaction with the environment, and factors affecting the precision and accuracy of estimates of abundance and population forecasts.

Data derived from Groundfish surveys are documented in scientific reports and are incorporated into stock assessment advice to the Pacific Fishery Management Council, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, international fishery management organizations, the fishing industry, and the general public.

*Featured Items*

Habitat Research Team's cruise report for 2009 FISHPAC project. More>>

Preliminary results of the 2009 bottom trawl survey of groundfish resources in the Gulf of Alaska. More>>

Recent Poster Presentations, Publications, Reports & Activities

LAUREL, B. J., C. H. RYER, B. KNOTH, and A. W. STONER. 2009. Temporal and ontogenetic shifts in habitat use of juvenile Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus). J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 377:28-35.
HOFF, G. R., and L. L. BRITT. 2009. Results of the 2008 eastern Bering Sea upper continental slope survey of groundfish and invertebrate resources. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-197, 294 p. (.pdf, 10.4 MB). Online.
KOTWICKI, S., A. De ROBERTIS, P. von SZALAY, and R. TOWLER. 2009. The effect of light intensity on the availability of walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) to the bottom trawl and acoustic surveys. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 66:983-994.
LAUTH, R. R., and E. ACUNA. 2009. Results of the 2008 eastern Bering Sea continental shelf bottom trawl survey of groundfish and invertebrate resources. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo., NMFS-AFSC-195, 229 p. (.pdf, 8 MB) Online.
Early Larvae of Zesticelus profundorum (Family Cottidae) Identified Using DNA Barcoding
By: ANN C. MATARESE, INGRID B. SPIES, MORGAN S. BUSBY, JAMES W. ORR
Conference: Larval Fish 33rd Annual Conference, Portland, OR, July 2009
(2009 poster, .pdf, 1.57MB) Online.
Diagnosing Egg Cases of Alaskan Skates
By: GERALD R. HOFF, JAMES W. ORR, DUANE E. STEVENSON
Conference: Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Portland, OR, July 2009
(2009 poster, .pdf, 1.97MB) Online.
First Comprehensive High-resolution Mapping of Pribilof Canyon
Trawl Impact Research Presentation by Visiting Scientist
Planning Ahead for the Northern Bering Sea Research Area (NBSRA)

See the poster and publications databases for additional listings.

To view and print these documents, you must install Adobe Reader freeware. Adobe also offers free tools for the visually disabled.