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AFSC News
February 10, 2016

Feedback Encouraged on Regional Action Plan for Southeastern Bering Sea Climate Science

 

The effect of annual climate variation has been observed to impact fisheries in Alaska; however the impact of climate change on fisheries is unclear. For example, the ecological effects of reduced sea ice have impacted a major fishery in the southeastern Bering Sea for walleye pollock, but this fishery recovered in subsequent years when sea ice again was more widespread. These climate impacts, while temporary, allow us to understand some of the future impacts of climate change.

NOAA Fisheries released a draft Regional Action Plan for Southeastern Bering Sea Climate Science to help address key climate-related information needs in this Region as called for in the NOAA Fisheries Climate Science Strategy. We invite members of the public to provide feedback on this draft plan.

The draft Regional Action Plan identifies key information needs and actions that NOAA Fisheries and partners will take in this Region over the next 3-5 years to implement the NOAA Fisheries Climate Science Strategy, released in August of 2015. The draft Regional Action Plan also includes a plan to assess the vulnerability of 18 commercially important fish species to climate change and a science action plan detailing ongoing steps to monitor climate change impacts on these species and studies of ecological processes to understand these impacts.

 

Related Information

Draft Southeastern Bering Sea Climate Regional Action Plan

Dr. Anne Hollowed presentation on Action Plan to North Pacific Fishery Management Council on February 3, 2016

Modelling Effort to learn more about Climate Effects on Fish Stocks

NOAA Fisheries Science Climate Strategy

 

The climate vulnerability assessment we are conducting as part of this Regional Action Plan will enable us to provide data and information to help fishery managers make informed decisions to ensure the sustainability of commercially important U.S. fish stocks.

Another key aspect of this work is the a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary modelling approach to project abundance estimates for key fish stocks in the Bering Sea under various climate conditions.  Click here to read more about this 3-year project.

The modeling approach depends on understanding provided by past and current research on recruitment processes and fisheries oceanography by NOAA Fisheries. For example, our climate science approach has provided understanding of why southeastern Bering Sea pollock biomass dropped and then recovered. We found that due to bloom timing, large crustacean zooplankton benefit from icy winters, providing prey for age-0 pollock to enter their first winter fat, thus increasing overwinter survival and subsequent recruitment to the fishery. Click here to learn more about our climate science approach.

We expect to conduct the vulnerability assessment over the next several months and finalize the Regional Action Plan by October.

If you missed the February 17 Telephone Townhall not a problem we recorded it for you. 

VIEW WEBINAR POWERPOINT PRESENTATION BY DR. MIKE SIGLER from the February 17 Telephone Townhall

The deadline for commenting on this Draft Regional Action Plan is May 15, 2016 12:00 AM Alaska Time.

Please submit comments in writing via email to Mike Sigler. Mike.sigler@noaa.gov

 

 

 

For more information please contact Marjorie Mooney-Seus,
206-526-4348 (office), 774-392-4865 (cell)

 


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