Partial assessment of the skate stock complex in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands BSAI Chapter 18

The Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) skate complex is managed in aggregate, with a single set of harvest specifications applied to the entire complex. However, to generate the harvest recommendations the stock is divided into two units. Harvest recommendations for Alaska skate Bathyraja parmifera, the most abundant skate species in the BSAI, are made using the results of an age structured model and Tier 3. The remaining species (“other skates”) are managed under Tier 5 due to a lack of data. The Tier 3 and Tier 5 recommendations are combined to generate recommendations for the complex as a whole. Beginning in 2017, groundfish stocks managed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council are on a new assessment cycle. As was previously the case, full assessments for the BSAI skate complex will be performed in even years when full survey data are available. In off years, the previous update format has been expanded to include more complete data regarding catch and biomass. 2017 NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) Submitted Public Domain 1863