| SS8.03 Operational Fisheries Oceanography |
| Wilson, C, D, NOAA, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, USA, chris.wilson@noaa.gov |
| Hollowed, A, B, NOAA, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, USA, anne.hollowed@noaa.gov |
| Shima, M, , Imperial College Consultants, London, United Kingdom, m.shima@imperial.ac.uk |
| Walline, P, , NOAA, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, USA, paul.walline@noaa.gov |
| Stienessen, S, C, NOAA, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, USA, sarah.stienessen@noaa.gov |
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| INTERACTIONS BETWEEN COMMERCIAL FISHING AND WALLEYE POLLOCK |
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| Results from the first two years of a multi-year fishery interaction study near Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska are presented. Findings from acoustic surveys, conducted in August 2000 and 2001, provide important information that begins to address the question of whether the abundance and spatial patterns of various species, including walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) are impacted by commercial fishing activities over short spatio-temporal scales. The biomass and distribution of pollock were stable over periods of days to weeks although during the second year an unusual, extremely dense, small-scale pollock aggregation was detected during one of several survey passes. Several morphological descriptors of the pollock echosign layers were evaluated to better understand whether differences at the scale of the fish aggregations occurred in response to fishing. Results from the second year, when the commercial fishery took place within the study area, do not suggest a significant link between fishing activities and changes in estimates of juvenile and adult pollock geographical distribution, biomass, and vertical distribution. It will be important, however, to evaluate whether these trends persist during subsequent years. |
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