Figure 3. Mean abundance of large zooplankton (excluding euphausiids) collected with oblique bongo tows (505 µm mesh) on the Bering Sea shelf (< 100 m) during BASIS surveys in the northern (top panel) and southern (bottom panel) Bering Sea.
The Ecosystem Considerations appendix section of the SAFE report is updated annually by REEM staff to provide information on relevant ecosystem components to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) for consideration in management decisions.
This appendix is composed of three parts: 1) an integrated ecosystem assessment, 2) a time series of ecosystem indicators that measure components of the ecosystem, and 3) management indices that reflect the impact of humans on the marine ecosystem. The last two parts are composed of individual contributions from a broad range of scientists.
A draft has been completed for inclusion in the 2011 SAFE report. As of September, 15 contributions have been updated, and 3 new contributions have been added. One presents zooplankton data for the eastern Bering Sea, contrasting the community composition in warm and cold years and between northern and southern portions of the shelf (Fig. 3 above). The second presents an index of young-of-the-year Bering Sea pollock energy density as a predictor of winter survival and subsequent recruitment to 1-year-olds. The third uses both a juvenile salmon survival and a temperature index to predict recruitment of several groundfish species in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. Highlights from the draft were presented to the joint NPFMC plan teams in mid-September. Four additional contributions have been updated since the September draft was distributed.
