ecosystem considerations for the arctic, eastern bering sea, aleutian islands and gulf of alaska as...
TRANSCRIPT
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)
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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