Ecosystem Considerations for the Arctic, Eastern Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska as developed for the North Pacific Fishery Management.

Ecosystem Considerations for the Arctic, Eastern Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands

and Gulf of Alaska

as developed for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council

Stephani Zador

Alaska Fisheries Science Center

NOAA

Ed MelvinBill Flerx Jay Orrberingclimate.noaa.gov

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The Ecosystem Considerations Report:

• its format • who it targets • how it is received• how it is applied

Outline

Alaska marine ecosystems

Alaska fishery management units

Report History

• Produced annually since 1995

• Evolved since then• 1995: a compendium of general information on

EBS, AI and GOA ecosystems and a general discussion of ecosystem-based management.

• 2014: Report Cards, Hot Topics, assessments, indicators, etc.

• Adaptive document• Revised annually in response to review and new

information available

• New indicators every year

Major Sections (2014 report, 263 p)

• Report Cards (7 p)• EBS, AI• GOA in development

• Ecosystem Assessment (38 p)• EBS, AI• Preliminary Arctic, GOA

• Ecosystem Status and Management Indicators (168 p)• 50 (6 new)

Report Outline

Increasing level of

detail

The annual Council process

Stockassessments

Ecosystemconsiderations

100+EcosystemIndicators

100+EcosystemIndicators

Regional Plan Teams

Science and Statistical Committee

Advisory Panel Fishery quotas set

Aug-Sept

Sept, Nov

Dec

Publicinput

Publicinput

Ecosystem information added at

each level

Indicator Categories

Ecosystem Status• Physical• Zooplankton• Forage fish • Herring • Salmon • Groundfish • Benthic Communities and Non-Targets• Seabirds• Marine Mammals • Ecosystem or Community Indicators

Ecosystem-Based Management• Discards and Non-Target• Fish Habitats• Sustainability• Humans

Report Card Example

2014 EBS Report Card

1. North Pacific Index

2. Eastern Bering Sea ice retreat *

3. Euphausiid density *

4. Motile epifauna aggregate biomass

5. Benthic foragers aggregate biomass

6. Pelagic foragers aggregate biomass

7. Fish apex predators aggregate biomass

8. Multivariate seabird breeding index *

9. St. Paul Island fur seal pup production

10. Maximum potential trawl area disturbed

All time series updated

* New or recalculation

Indicator Selection: Developing Report Cards

Goal: to create short Ecosystem summaries

“Team-based Synthesis Approach”• Created Ecosystem Assessment Synthesis teams:

regional scientific experts, fisheries managers, others

• Met 1-2 times

• Chose structuring themes to guide indicator selection

• Developed list of 8-10 indicators:

• “vital signs”

• updatable

Aleutian Islands

Eastern Bering Sea

Ecosystem comparison

Eastern Bering Sea Aleutian Islands

Habitat Broad, flat, muddy shelf. Valuable fisheries -> Lots of fish-related research.

Extensive rocky island chain, deep trenches, oceanic basins.Smaller-scale fisheries (and research)

Team members:NOAA

AcademiaManagement

CommercialOther FedNon Profit

Research sponsor

172

1 (3)

10411211

Structuring theme Production Variability

Indicator focus Broad, community-level, indicators of ecosystem-wide productivity, and those most informative for managers

Characterize global attributes with local behavior

IndicatorsClimate

ZooplanktonForage fish

Fish biomass Marine

MammalsSeabirdsHumans

• North Pacific Index

• Ice Retreat Index

• Euphausiids/Copepods

• Motile epifauna biomass

• Benthic foragers biomass

• Pelagic foragers biomass

• Fish apex predator biomass

• St Paul fur seal pups

• St George thick-billed murre

reproductive success

• Area trawled

• North Pacific Index

• Auklet reproductive success

• Tufted puffin chick diets

• Pelagic foragers biomass

• Fish apex predator biomass

• Sea otters

• Steller sea lion non-pups

• Area trawled

• K-12 enrollment

EASTERN BERING SEA ALEUTIAN ISLANDS

“Top” Indicators for Ecosystem Assessments

1. Indicator selection influenced by:

• Physical and biological nature of ecosystem

• Extent of regional scientific knowledge

• Expertise and interests of Team members

2. Assessment development should be iterative process with frequent review by managers

• Revisit list every ~5 yrs

Indicator Selection: Conclusions

Ecosystem Assessments

• Descriptive• Based on top

indicators + others• Example from the

EBS

Past

Present

Future

Example Hot Topics

Hot Topics are new, noteworthy, or of interest to fishery managers

Indicator “Contributions”

Contribution format • 1-2 p text, 1-2 figures/tables

1. Description of indicator

2. Status and Trends

3. Factors Influencing Trends

4. Implications for Fisheries Management

Indicator “Contributors”

There are many

Mostly voluntary

From Council minutes, December 2006:

• “The [eastern Bering Sea walleye pollock] stock remains above the MSY level, having declined … at a rate of about 19% per year….

• Other issues raised … suggest a need for further caution.– a northward shift … with some portion of the population into

Russian waters.

– a large decline in zooplankton, which is important in providing forage for juvenile pollock.

– increasing predation by arrowtooth flounder on juvenile pollock.

Consequently, … a reduction in … catch … is justified.”

Result from stock assessment

Assessment + ecosystem indicators

Ecosystem indicators

A multispecies model

How ecosystem knowledge is used in setting fishery quota – an example

Other Sections

• Executive summary• Physical, Ecosystem, Fishing sections

• Most recent data, page-linked

• Response to SSC Comments (~5p)

Future Directions

• Increasingly ecosystem-specific

• Focus on predictive capacity

• Move indicators directly into stock assessments

• Develop thresholds

There will always be a role for qualitative synthesis for those events/observations that are outside the bounds of current modeling systems.

Seabirds

Forage fish

Zooplankton

Climate

Halibut

Future Directions: Synthesis and the unexpected

GOA SST anomalies