Contributions of shore-based observers are boosting catch accounting data in Alaska’s multi-million dollar pollock fishery.
Results of a NOAA Fisheries study released on Jan. 23 said their study of observer data collected between January 2020 and November 2023 found that shore-based observers consistently met core monitoring responsibilities – specifically accounting for salmon caught incidentally to the pollock fishery.
Observers not only generated data necessary for management but also provided useful information for evaluating whether sampling levels were sufficient to detect rare species and bycatch, the report said.
The data was collected over 4,000 pollock offloads at 14 shoreside fish processing plants in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. Electronic monitoring systems monitored fishing activity at sea for regulatory compliance while shore-based observers focused on sampling landed catch.
NOAA Fisheries noted that deploying at-sea observers can be logistically challenging and expensive in some fisheries. That’s why hybrid monitoring programs, using electronic monitoring at sea with human shore-based observers, are becoming more common.
Shore-based observers compiled species composition data to support catch accounting and verify industry catch reporting. These observers gathered biological data to support stock assessments – including the length and weight of fish, sex, and otoliths, which are used to determine the age of the fish.
However, comparisons between shore-based observer data and industry reported fish tickets showed that industry-reported data were not always reliable for all species. Some species, including skates, forage fishes – and certain rockfish and flatfish were under reported, aggregated or misidentified on fish tickets, according to the NOAA report.
“Shore-based observers primarily focused on monitoring offloads to obtain accurate counts of salmon,” said Andy Kingham, a fishery biologist with the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. “This was particularly important for Chinook salmon, which has strict catch limits that can affect fishery closures.”
All pollock loads in the Bering Sea were selected for shoreside salmon monitoring and species composition sampling, while in the Gulf of Alaska about 30% of offloads were randomly selected. In both instances, observers used offloads to compare the species recorded by observers with those listed in the industry-reported fish tickets.
Accounting for prohibited species such as salmon and halibut was prioritized.
Jason Jannot, supervisory fishery biologist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, said the results showed short-based observer programs strengthen the accuracy of catch accounting by providing independent verification and identifying where reporting can be improved.
