The impact of regime shifts on the performance of management strategies for the Gulf of Alaska walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) fishery

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (12) ◽  
pp. 2222-2242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Teresa A’mar ◽  
André E. Punt ◽  
Martin W. Dorn
Keyword(s):  
Management Strategy ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Sliding Window ◽  
Gulf Of Alaska ◽  
Walleye Pollock ◽  
Regime Shifts ◽  
Theragra Chalcogramma ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Walleye Pollock Theragra Chalcogramma ◽  
The Impact

Climate variability affects marine ecosystems. The mechanisms relating low-frequency environmental fluctuations (regime shifts) and their impacts on marine populations are not well established for most species, but there is an expectation that the accuracy of scientific advice provided to fisheries management would be improved if management strategies incorporated the effects of regime shifts on stocks. Management strategy evaluation is used to examine the impact of regime shifts in average recruitment on the performance of management strategies for the fishery for walleye pollock, Theragra chalcogramma , in the Gulf of Alaska. The current and four alternative management strategies are evaluated. The alternatives include management strategies with different definitions of the average recruitment used when calculating management reference points, e.g., a 25-year sliding-window method and a “dynamic B0” method. The current management strategy, which ignores the possibility of future regime shifts, kept the spawning biomass higher relative to the target level than the other management strategies and had the lowest risk of fishing mortality exceeding the overfishing limit. The sliding-window management strategy achieved the highest catches and the lowest interannual variation in catch, although at the cost of a higher risk of the fishing mortality exceeding the overfishing limit.

Phenological and geographical patterns of walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) spawning in the western Gulf of Alaska

2007 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 713-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Ciannelli ◽  
Kevin M Bailey ◽  
Kung-Sik Chan ◽  
Nils Chr. Stenseth
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Additive Model ◽  
Gulf Of Alaska ◽  
Walleye Pollock ◽  
Theragra Chalcogramma ◽  
Geographical Patterns ◽  
Spawning Aggregations ◽  
Egg Distribution ◽  
Walleye Pollock Theragra Chalcogramma ◽  
Egg Density

Over 20 years of egg sampling data were used to reconstruct the geographical and phenological patterns of walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) spawning aggregations in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). The analyzed time series (1972, 1978–1979, 1981–2000) included a documented event of climate change (i.e., 1988–1989) and the rise and fall of the GOA pollock population abundance and harvests. We compared results from two generalized additive model (GAM) formulations: one assuming no change of egg distribution and phenology over the examined time series (stationary) and the other admitting such changes (nonstationary) across an epoch determined from the data. Results from both model formulations corroborate the existence of a high egg concentration in Shelikof Strait, historically the primary spawning area of pollock in the GOA. However, model results also highlight the presence of other secondary, and possibly transitory, centers of egg distribution at various locations along the shelf and slope regions of the GOA. In addition, results from the nonstationary (and statistically superior) formulation indicate that the abundance of the non-Shelikof aggregations has increased over time, along with a tendency for earlier occurrence and displacement toward shallower areas of the high egg density regions.

Transport, Distribution, and Abundance of Larval and Juvenile Walleye Pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) in the Western Gulf of Alaska

1991 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Hinckley ◽  
Kevin M. Bailey ◽  
Susan J. Picquelle ◽  
James D. Schumacher ◽  
Phyllis J. Stabeno
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Gulf Of Alaska ◽  
Walleye Pollock ◽  
Theragra Chalcogramma ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Early Life Stages ◽  
Early Juvenile ◽  
Walleye Pollock Theragra Chalcogramma ◽  
Eggs And Larvae ◽  
Egg Abundance

The spawning distribution of walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) and subsequent southwesterly drift of eggs, larvae, and juveniles were investigated in Shelikof Strait, March–September 1987. In mid-March, a hydroacoustics survey found that spawning adults were concentrated in the deeper parts of Shelikof Strait, as were eggs collected in this area during an ichthyoplankton survey about 1 mo later. In May, a concentration of young larvae was found 100–150 km to the southwest of the spawning area. In late June and early July, the center of distribution of late larval and early juvenile walleye pollock was further to the southwest, between the Shumagin and Semidi Islands. By August and September, juveniles were mostly distributed downstream of the Shumagin Islands. The rate of drift of eggs and larvae through June was estimated at 4–6 cm/s. The trajectories of satellite-tracked buoys deployed in the region of greatest egg abundance revealed similar patterns to those of the early life stages of walleye pollock. These observations demonstrate that transport is an important factor determining the distribution of pollock larvae in downstream coastal nursery areas.

scholarly journals The evaluation of two management strategies for the Gulf of Alaska walleye pollock fishery under climate change

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (7) ◽  
pp. 1614-1632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Teresa A’mar ◽  
André E. Punt ◽  
Martin W. Dorn
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Management Strategy ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Gulf Of Alaska ◽  
Walleye Pollock ◽  
Reference Level ◽  
Climate Indices ◽  
Management Performance ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Alternative Management

Abstract A’mar, Z. T., Punt, A. E., and Dorn, M. W. 2009. The evaluation of two management strategies for the Gulf of Alaska walleye pollock fishery under climate change. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1614–1632. Management strategy evaluation (MSE) is the process of using simulation testing with feedback to examine the robustness of candidate management strategies to error and uncertainty. The structure of the management strategy can be selected to attempt to satisfy desired (but conflicting) management objectives. MSE was used to assess the performance of the current management strategy and an alternative management strategy (the “dynamic B0” strategy) for the fishery for walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), when age-1 recruitment was driven by climate. The relationships between age-1 abundance and climate indices (and the uncertainties associated with these relationships) were characterized within an age-structured operating model that was fitted to the data for GOA walleye pollock. Projections into the future were based on the fitted relationships and predictions of those indices from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) models, using the current or the alternative management strategy to determine catch limits. Management performance (the ability to leave the stock close to the management reference level and achieve high and stable catches) deteriorated when age-1 recruitment was forced by climate, although stocks were kept near the reference level on average. In addition, the ability to estimate management-related quantities, such as spawning biomass, deteriorated markedly when recruitment was forced by climate. Performance was sensitive to the choice of IPCC dataset and, in particular, estimation and management performance was poorest (outcomes most variable) for the IPCC datasets that led to the greatest variation in recruitment to the fishery. Although basing management on a “dynamic B0” management strategy led to improved management and estimation performance, the magnitude of the improvement was slight.

scholarly journals Evaluating management strategies for eastern Bering Sea walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) in a changing environment

2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (6) ◽  
pp. 1297-1304 ◽  
Author(s):  
James N. Ianelli ◽  
Anne B. Hollowed ◽  
Alan C. Haynie ◽  
Franz J. Mueter ◽  
Nicholas A. Bond
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Bering Sea ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Walleye Pollock ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Theragra Chalcogramma ◽  
Recruitment Pattern ◽  
Control Rules ◽  
Eastern Bering Sea ◽  
Walleye Pollock Theragra Chalcogramma

Abstract Ianelli, J. N., Hollowed, A. B., Haynie, A. C., Mueter, F. J., and Bond, N. A. 2011. Evaluating management strategies for eastern Bering Sea walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) in a changing environment. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 1297–1304. The impacts of climate change on fish and fisheries is expected to increase the demand for more accurate stock projections and harvest strategies that are robust to shifting production regimes. To address these concerns, we evaluate the performance of fishery management control rules for eastern Bering Sea walleye pollock stock under climate change. We compared the status quo policy with six alternative management strategies under two types of recruitment pattern simulations: one that follows temperature-induced trends and the other that follows a stationary recruitment pattern similar to historical observations. A subset of 82 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change climate models provided temperature inputs from which an additional 100 stochastic simulated recruitments were generated to obtain the same overall recruitment variability as observed for the stationary recruitment simulations. Results indicate that status quo management with static reference points and current ecosystem considerations will result in much lower average catches and an increased likelihood of fishery closures, should reduced recruitment because of warming conditions hold. Alternative reference point calculations and control rules have similar performance under stationary recruitment relative to status quo, but may offer significant gains under the changing environmental conditions.

Biochemical Genetic Variation in Walleye Pollock, Theragra chalcogramma: Population Structure in the Southeastern Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska

1980 ◽  
Vol 37 (7) ◽  
pp. 1093-1100 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. S. Grant ◽  
F. M. Utter
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Bering Sea ◽  
Genetic Relationships ◽  
Gulf Of Alaska ◽  
Walleye Pollock ◽  
Theragra Chalcogramma ◽  
Starch Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Walleye Pollock Theragra Chalcogramma ◽  
Biochemical Genetic

The distributions of biochemical genetic variants were used to examine the genetic relationships among populations of walleye pollock, Theragra chalcogramma, located in the southeastern Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. Enzymatic proteins in tissue samples of fish collected from 14 locations were assayed for electrophoretically detectable variants. Twenty-eight loci were tentatively identified, 8 (28%) of which were polymorphic. Only two loci, ME-2 and 6PG, had variants in great enough frequencies to be of use in distinguishing populations. Significant differences between regions were detected using a log-likelihood test for heterogeneity. Variation in allelic frequencies within each region was minimal. Cluster analysis of genetic similarities between sample pairs revealed two major clusters roughly corresponding to the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. Our biochemical genetic data suggest that there are no distinct stocks within the southeastern Bering Sea nor within the Gulf of Alaska, but that there are minor genetic differences between fish in these two regions.Key words: Walleye pollock, Theragra chalcogramma; biochemical genetic variation, population structure, eastern Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, starch gel electrophoresis

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