Alaska Cooperative Research
A requirement for sustainable fisheries management and protected resource conservation.
About
The Alaska Fisheries Science Center is committed to ensuring a vigorous cooperative research enterprise. The goal is to leverage the knowledge, tools, techniques, skills, and experiences that would otherwise be unavailable to NOAA Fisheries scientists as well as foster a better understanding and increased acceptance of agency science.
Cooperative Research projects provide both targeted data and opportunities for hands-on, face-to-face interactions between stakeholders and agency scientists, including partnering among State and Tribal managers and scientists (including interstate fishery commissions), fishing industry participants (including use of commercial charter or recreational vessels for gathering data), and academia.
There are several key research and development areas that well designed and targeted cooperative research projects support. Supported project themes include:
- Innovative monitoring tools and gear technology advancement
- Stock assessment
- Effects of climate change on marine ecosystems
- Bycatch reduction
At the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, basic cooperative project requirements are that a NOAA Fisheries researcher serves as the principal investigator and that the research project partners with industry, academia, or another government agency. The majority of National Cooperative Research Program funded projects support research priorities in the AFSC Strategic Science Plan and the most current AFSC Annual Guidance Memo.
For more information on the ASFC’s Cooperative Research Program, please contact the AFSC regional coordinator Paul McCluskey (206-526-4182).
Stock Assessment
| Project | Cooperative |
|---|---|
| Tagging of Pacific Cod in the Northern Bering Sea (2019 and 2020) | Norton Sound Community Development Corporation, Kingfisher Marine Enterprises, Pacific States Fishery commission |
| Use of fishing industry catch and effort data for informing Gulf of Alaska rockfish stock assessments | Brad Harris, Alaska Pacific University; John Gauvin, Alaska Seafood Cooperative; Julie Bonney, Alaska Groundfish Data Bank; Bob Hezel, F/V US Intrepid; Erin Moore, F/V American #1; Paul Ison, F/V Unimak; Terry Fisher, F/V Ocean Peace. |
| Seabed mapping to develop a habitat-based catchability function for the Bristol Bay red king crab stock assessment (ongoing) | Scott Goodman (Bering Sea Fisheries Research Foundation) |
| Seabed mapping to quantify untrawlable habitats and reduce bias in Gulf of Alaska stock assessments (ongoing) | Linda Behnken and Stephen Rhoads - Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) |
| Alaska Department of Fish and Game Large Mesh Survey | Alaska Department of Fish & Game |
| Maturity, body condition, and stock structure of Sablefish in relation to management areas in Alaska (2020) | F/V Aleutian Beauty- Bill Widing |
| Sablefish Logbook Program (ongoing) | IFQ permit holders, IPHC |
| Biological sampling of incidentally-caught red king crab in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands yellowfin and rock sole fisheries (2019) | Alaska Pacific University, Alaska Seafood Cooperative |
| Tracking Seasonal Movement of Adult Male Red King Crab in Bristol Bay (2019/2020) | Bering Sea Fisheries Research Foundation |
| Industry-Supported Cooperative Crab Research: Addressing Data Gaps and Uncertainties to Inform Management Decisions for the Eastern Bering Sea Snow Crab Fishery (2020) | Bering Sea Fisheries Research Foundation |
| Estimating maturity at length and age to improve stock assessments for Greenland turbot, through the determination of functionally mature specimens (2020) | North Star Fishing |
| AFSC Groundfish Tag Recovery Reporting Application for Mobile Devices (2020) | Garrett Elwood, F/V Western Freedom |
| Evaluating the role of bycatch reduces device design and fish behavior on Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) escapement rates from a pelagic trawl (2020) | Mike Stone—Fury Group, Inc., Karsten Breddermann—University of Rostock, Barry Berejikian—NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center, John Gauvin— North Pacific Fisheries Research Foundation, David J. Irvine C/P Starbound |
| Exempted fishing permit (EFP) to continue work with the Bering Sea pollock fishery to increase Chinook salmon escapement rates with improved salmon excluders (2018-20) | Mr. John Gruver, United Catcher Boats Association, Ed Richardson, At-Sea Processors Association |
| Testing Methods to minimize bycatch of Pacific Ocean Perch in the Aleutian Islands Pollock fishery (2020) | The Aleut Corporation and Adak Community Development Corporation |
| Using Towed Array Hydrophones for Sperm Whale Detection (2019) | ALFA, Southeast Alaska Sperm Whale Avoidance Project (SEASWAP) University of St. Andrews |
| Halibut Deck Sorting Exempted Fishing Permit (2019) | John Gauvin, Alaska Seafood Cooperative and participating AM80 vessels |
| Field test of electronic measuring board (2019) | John Gauvin, Alaska Seafood Cooperative |
| Demersal longline vessel-specific seabird bycatch reduction (2020) | Elements of the Alaskan demersal longline fisheries, with specific focus on sablefish fishery |
| Pollock Catcher vessel EM-EFP (2020) | United Catcher Boats, AGDB, Aleutians East Borough, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) |
| Stereo camera rail collections (ongoing) | IPHC, ALFA longline vessels, PSMFC |
| Halibut measuring camera chute (ongoing) | Amendment 80 vessels, Kodiak Trawlers, PSMFC |
| Species of interest (Salmon) detector on conveyor belts (ongoing) | AGDB, Kodiak shore side catchers and plants, West Coast trawl EFP, IPHC, PSMFC |
| Man on deck (ongoing) | ALFA longline vessels, West Coast trawl EFP, PSMFC, NWFSC, IPHC |
Marine Mammal
| Project | Cooperative Partners |
|---|---|
| Harbor Seal Unmanned Aerial Surveys (UAS) Pribilof Islands (2018/2019) | Aleut Community of St. Paul Island Tribal Government |
| Aerial Surveys of Eastern Bering Sea Beluga Whales (2022) | Alaska Beluga Whale Committee |
| Aerial Survey of Bowhead Whales in Chukchi Sea (2020) | North Slope Borough, University of Washington’s Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies |
Gear Modification
| Project | Cooperative Partners |
|---|---|
| The potential to use light to reduce bait requirements in the snow crab fishery (2020) | Edward Poulsen Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers |
Mariculture
| Project | Cooperative Partners |
|---|---|
| Alaska King Crab Research, Rehabilitation, and Biology Program (ongoing) | Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery, ADF&G, UAF, UW, St. Paul Tribal Government. Alaska Sea Grant |
Bycatch
| Project | Cooperative Partners |
|---|---|
| Genetic Stock Composition of chinook bycatch in the GOA trawl rockfish fishery (ongoing) | Julie Bonney, Katy McGauley of Alaska Groundfish Data Bank |
