Executive Summary PACIFIC OCEAN PERCH.pdf

1 PACIFIC OCEAN PERCH by Paul D. Spencer and James N. Ianelli Executive Summary A review of the available data for eastern Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Pacific ocean perch (POP), and a series of potential population models, was presented to the Plan Team and discussed at the September, 2001, meeting. The Plan Team concluded that a single BSAI model was appropriate, in contrast to the separate AI and EBS models presented in previous assessments. Motivations for this change includes the paucity of data in the EBS upon which to base an age-structured assessment, and uncertainty that the EBS POP represent a discrete stock. In the combined model the fishery harvest levels, and the fishery age and length compositions, are computed for the entire BSAI area, and the Aleutian Islands survey is used as an index of abundance. The historical EBS slope surveys are not used. The following changes in input data and assessment methodology were also made: Changes in the Input Data (1) Fishery age composition data from 1977-1982 was included in the model. (2) EBS fishery length composition data from 1977,1981,1984,1995, and 1998 were included in the model. (3) The 2000 harvest level have been revised and harvests through October 13, 2001 have been included in the assessment. (4) The 2000 age compositions from the AI fishery and survey were included in the assessment. Changes in the Assessment Methodology (1) In years in which length and age compositions are available, the age composition was generally used and the length composition dropped from the analysis. However, only the length compositions were used for years 1963-1972, as the age compositions were derived from scale readings. (2) The recruitment strengths of the cohorts present in the first year of the model were individually estimated rather than assumed constant. (3) The foreign and domestic fishery is modeled with a single selectivity curve.