Scientists from the Midwater Assessment and Conservation Engineering (MACE) Program of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) regularly conduct acoustic-trawl (AT) surveys in late February and early March to estimate the abundance of pre-spawning walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) in the southeastern Aleutian Basin near Bogoslof Island. MACE scientists conducted the acoustic-trawl survey between 7-11 March 2014 (Cruise DY2014-02) aboard the NOAA ship Oscar Dyson, a 64 m stern trawler equipped for fisheries and oceanographic research.

Scientists from the Midwater Assessment and Conservation Engineering (MACE) Program of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering (RACE) Division routinely conduct acoustic-trawl (AT) stock assessment surveys in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) during late winter and early spring to estimate the distribution and abundance of walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma). This survey was conducted 17-27 March (cruise DY2012-03) along the shelf break east of Chirikof Island and throughout the Shelikof Strait sea valley.

Three trawl-resistant bottom- mounted moorings (TRBM) instrumented with newly developed autonomous battery powered 70 kHz split-beam echosounders were deployed in Shelikof Strait, Alaska (Fig. 39) to observe pollock abundance over the spawning season. The moorings were deployed from the NOAA ship Oscar Dyson 12-19 February, and recovered from a chartered fishing vessel May 5-10, 2015. The mooring locations were visited by survey vessels on four occasions to conduct mooring-related AT survey work (February 25-36, March 17-21, March 27-30, and May 5-10).

CTD casts were conducted during cetacean shipboard surveys.

The Expendable Bathythermographs (XBTs) measure the temperature of the water column with depth.

Revealed preference models provide insights into recreational angler behavior and the economic value of recreational fishing trips. This data is for the Southeast and is collected as needed, at irregular intervals. Typically collected as an economic add-on to the MRIP intercept survey and follow up phone or mail survey.

In early 1996, Quester Tangent Corporation (QTC) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Alaska Fisheries Science Center (in Seattle) formed a strategic alliance to apply QTC seabed classification technology to the problem of groundfish habitat descriptions. The Bering Sea supports about 300 fish species, many of which are demersal species. This stock supports sizeable fisheries, as indicated by landings at the Bering Sea port of Dutch Harbor in excess of 579 million pounds in 1996 and 678 million pounds in 1999 (the highest in the U.S.).

The eastern Bering Sea has experienced rapid and intensive development of commercial trawl fisheries. Because of good record keeping and the relatively brief history of fishing it is possible to reconstruct the spatial and temporal patterns of exploitation. Previously unfished (UF) areas can be identified and directly compared with heavily fished (HF) areas to investigate long-term consequences for the benthos. Using this approach, macrofauna populations in a shallow (48 m average) soft-bottom area were studied during 1996.

The eastern Bering Sea has experienced rapid and intensive development of commercial trawl fisheries. Because of good record keeping and the relatively brief history of fishing it is possible to reconstruct the spatial and temporal patterns of exploitation. Previously unfished (UF) areas can be identified and directly compared with heavily fished (HF) areas to investigate long-term consequences for the benthos. Using this approach, macrofauna populations in a shallow (48 m average) soft-bottom area were studied during 1996.

The eastern Bering Sea has experienced rapid and intensive development of commercial trawl fisheries. Because of good record keeping and the relatively brief history of fishing it is possible to reconstruct the spatial and temporal patterns of exploitation. Previously unfished (UF) areas can be identified and directly compared with heavily fished (HF) areas to investigate long-term consequences for the benthos. Using this approach, macrofauna populations in a shallow (48 m average) soft-bottom area were studied during 1996.