BSFRF Bristol Bay red king crab trawl survey stock assessment, 2008. Hughes and Goodman

The Bering Sea Fisheries Research Foundation (BSFRF) cooperating with NMFS and ADFG conducted a second
full survey of Bristol Bay red king crab (BBRKC) in late May - June 2008 under NPRB project 825, as continuing
work of NPRB project 625. The 2008 survey used the same specialized trawl gear with a NETMIND trawl mensuration
package aboard the same chartered vessel the F/V American Eagle. The area swept for each trawl tow was accurately
measured by the trawl mensuration sensors and the use of the NMFS newly designed bottom contact sensor developed for
the 2007 survey that provided the ability to measure on-bottom time of the trawl. Survey methodology relied on results
from a 2005 pilot study for design, conduct and analysis of full-scale assessments for 2007 and 2008 of the BBRKC stock.
The 2008 survey sampling was conducted in 30 days at sea with an experienced scientific crew of four. The survey was
conducted over approximately the same 24,000 sq.nm. region as in 2007, consisting of 255 random site tows. Fourteen
additional stations were added along the eastern edge of the survey area in 2008 to expand survey coverage over the
eastern-most distribution of the BBRKC. As in the prior year survey, the 2008 survey methodology and gear proved highly
effective. The specialized trawl is believed to have a crab catchability coefficient near 1.0 resulting in a more accurate
measure of adult and small sized juvenile crab densities. The large number of stations sampled and the application of
geostatistics generated higher precision BBRKC biomass estimates than estimates from the standard NMFS survey in the
same area and time. BSFRF research for 2008 provided for a 2nd year of consistent comparative survey results. Abundance
and biomass estimates and station catch rates have been compared with the standard NMFS survey for the same region.
Results have been shared with NPRB, ADFG and NMFS and presented at a formal peer review workshop in the spring of 2009
where a working agreement was reached for current implementation of project 825/625 results and for future research
application. These datasets were archived as part of the North Pacific Research Board legacy project recovery effort undertaken by Axiom Data Science and NPRB in 2025. The goal of the recovery effort was to assess the NPRB-funded data projects from 2002 to 2014 and archive final data packages that were ready for publication to increase long-term accessibility and discoverability. Data packages were archived as is given limited funding and resources.