We look forward to seeing you at one of our IPHC seminars! Past and future seminars are listed below. Please stay tuned for upcoming events. To stay current on the Seminar Series subscribe to IPHC Media and News.
COMPLETED SEMINARS | ||
16 March 2022 – 11:00 am | ||
High-quality genomics toward improving fishery management of Greenland Halibut in the North Atlantic. | ||
Anne-Laure Ferchaud, Normandeau E, Babin C, Audet C, Morgan J, Treble M, Walkusz W, Lambert Y & Bernatchez L. – Département de Biologie, Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Québec | ||
Abstract – The Greenland Halibut is one of the main demersal fish species commercially exploited in Eastern Canada, and accurate information on geographic population structure and local adaptation are thus required to contribute to maintain the long-term sustainability of this species. We de novo assembled the reference genome by combining long read sequencing technology with scaffolding, containing more than 95% of gene completeness and identified the 2 sex chromosomes and subsequently demonstrated the importance of considering sex-linked markers in such studies. We then generated high-quality whole-genome libraries from 1297 Greenland Halibut sampled from 32 localities across the Northwest Atlantic (from Arctic Canadian and Greenlandic coasts to the Gulf of St Lawrence). Our analysis resolution allowed identifying population genetic structure throughout the species’ range and notably revealing the high connectivity between Canadian and Greenland coasts and the specificity of Gulf of St Lawrence. We identified genomic regions associated with environmental variables and implied in high differentiation between the Gulf of St Lawrence and the rest of the Atlantic. Altogether, our results revealed a pattern of spatial selection in a marine fish species with high dispersal potential, and will help supporting the management of this important exploited species. | ||
30 March 2022 – 11:00 am | ||
Improved synthesis of movement and diet: analyzing tags, surveys, fishery CPUE, stomach content, and fatty acids | ||
Jim Thorson, NOAA-NWFSC | ||
Abstract – Global change is causing rapid shifts in stock distribution and productivity, with impacts on place-based stakeholder groups. While management procedures can be robust to this variability, stakeholder confidence in management for high-profile stocks still requires attributing changes to specific mechanisms. Changes can sometimes be attributed to shifts in habitat preference or diet, but the common statistical tools for analyzing stomach contents (compositional analysis) and movement (state-space track reconstruction) may be daunting for a population or community ecologist to apply, critically review, or communicate. I discuss two conceptually simple, theoretically grounded, and computationally feasible approaches that bridge this gap. Specifically, stomach-content analysis can be as simple as a generalized linear model, while habitat preference and search behaviors can be fitted as a Continuous time Markov Chain (CTMC) using standard model-fitting tools. I demonstrate these techniques using case studies involve sea birds, wolf scat, and various fish tagging and survey programs. | ||
25 May 2022 – 11:00 am | ||
Non-market Valuation and Recreational Fishing: The What, Why, and How | ||
Dan K. Lew, NOAA-AFSC | ||
Abstract – Economic values of fishery resources are often desired by analysts and decision-makers to better inform fishery management decisions. Economic value information can help in the evaluation of allocation decisions and fishing regulation changes, and generally provides a means for understanding trade-offs among activities. While economic values associated with commercial fishing can frequently be estimated by examining market behavior (e.g., seafood markets, quota markets), recreational fishing values must be estimated using non-market valuation techniques given the general absence of explicit markets that directly reveal the value of recreational activities. Non-market valuation approaches fall into two main types: revealed preference (RP) methods that use information on observed behavior to infer underlying values and stated preference (SP) methods that use information from carefully worded questions in surveys or interviews that reveal the values of interest. In this talk, I describe the application of RP and SP methods to value recreational fishing and provide some examples related to saltwater recreational fishing in Alaska and elsewhere. I also identify some limitations, but also opportunities, for using these approaches in relation to Alaska fisheries management and in broader ecosystem-based management contexts. | ||
8 June 2022 – 11:00 am | ||
Conservation engineering approaches for supporting fisheries sustainability in Alaska | ||
Dr. Noëlle Yochum, Conservation Engineering- MACE/RACE, Alaska Fisheries Science Center- NOAA Fisheries, Seattle, WA | ||
Abstract – Conservation engineering provides a platform for collaborations with the fishing industry focused on evaluating fishing gear performance through innovative research on fish behaviour and biology, gear design, and fishing technology. This research supports fisheries sustainability through the mitigation of bycatch, bycatch mortality, and habitat impacts. In Alaska, the Conservation Engineering group (CE) in the Midwater Assessment and Conservation Engineering Program (Alaska Fisheries Science Center) has been conducting bycatch mitigation research in multiple fisheries. This talk will highlight CE research on Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) bycatch in the Alaska trawl fishery for walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus). This includes the development and evaluation of bycatch reduction devices that provide an opportunity for salmon to escape from the trawl and the use of artificial light to affect salmon behaviour. Information will also be presented on new technological approaches for addressing bycatch. |
21 April 2021 – 11:00 am | ||
Gear modifications in groundfish bottom trawl and longline fisheries to optimize species selectivity | ||
Dr. Mark Lomeli, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, Newport, OR | ||
Abstract – The U.S. West Coast groundfish bottom trawl fishery contributes substantially to the wide variety of high-quality fishes available to regional and global markets, and the overall economic value of commercial fisheries to the region. However, bycatch of Pacific halibut can impact some fishers’ ability to efficiently harvest their quota shares of groundfishes as relatively limited bycatch quota is available to the fishery. As the Pacific halibut stock is projected to decrease between 2021 and 2023, bycatch caps are unlikely to rise above current levels, and directed mortality limits are likely to decrease. Thus, developing techniques that can reduce adverse interactions between bottom trawl gear and Pacific halibut would positively impact the West Coast groundfish fishery and the directed Pacific halibut fisheries (commercial and recreational). In this presentation, gear selectivity studies designed to reduce Pacific halibut bycatch in the West Coast groundfish bottom trawl fishery will be presented. Lastly, potential research examining how modified circle hooks with an appendage could potentially reduce the rate of yelloweye rockfish bycatch in the directed Pacific halibut longline fishery will be discussed. | ||
17 February 2021 – 11:00 am | ||
Perspectives of depredation from fishermen, scientists, and whales | ||
Lauren Wild, University of Alaska Southeast, Sitka Campus, Sitka, AK | ||
Abstract – Sperm whales remove fish from commercial fishing gear worldwide. In the Gulf of Alaska, they are targeting sablefish caught on commercial longline fishing vessels. The Southeast Alaska Sperm Whale Avoidance Project (SEASWAP) was formed in 2003 by fishermen and scientists to study this behavior, better understand the interaction, and work collaboratively to minimize encounters. This talk will discuss the evolution of research and findings from SEASWAP, with a focus on fishermen guided research questions, scientific findings, and attempts of collaborators to “think like a sperm whale” in order to create effective deterrent options. Highlights of these collaborative efforts include increased knowledge of the population of sperm whales in the Gulf of Alaska, a better understanding of whale behavior, and testing of deterrent devices that could reduce whale-vessel interactions, such as an acoustic decoy and towed arrays. Scientists with SEASWAP have guided research using animal borne tags to explore both fine-scale and broad-scale movement of whales, attaching acoustic and video equipment directly to fishing gear to observe and track whales, and most recently analyzing diet of sperm whales in the region through stable isotope analysis. This work continues to provide incredible knowledge of sperm whales and depredation behavior to scientists and industry members alike, while often inspiring more questions than answers along the way. | ||
10 February 2021 – 11:00 am | ||
Ageing fish at the speed of light using Fourier transform-near infrared spectra of otoliths | ||
Dr. Tom Helser, Resource Ecology and Fisheries Management Division, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries, Seattle, WA | ||
Abstract – Traditional methods to estimate the fish age, which have not fundamentally changed in over a century, rely on microscopic counting of otolith annuli preceded by various preparation techniques including embedding, burning, sawing or sectioning. These methods are expensive, labor intensive and inherently subjective among individual analysts, making repeatability and precision of age estimates a challenge. As part of a NOAA funded 5-year strategic initiative, we investigated the use of Fourier transform near Infrared spectroscopy (FT-NIRS), which measures energy absorbance signatures in the molecular structure of otoliths, and partial least squares regression to rapidly estimate fish age. Among the case studies to be illustrated, FT-NIR spectra of EBS walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogramma) otoliths explained 90% – 95% of the variation in traditional age estimates, predicted fish age within ± 1.0 year 90% of the time, achieved better precision and less bias, and at nearly 10x the rate compared to traditional ageing methods. We are also exploring the use of deep learning and FT-NIRS. Similar to convolutional neural networks (CNN) for image recognition we applied this interconnected node architecture to spectral vibrational frequencies in the range of 8,000 to 12,500 cm-1 as well as other fish and otolith attributes. Finally, several examples our research will illustrate how this innovative technology using FT-NIRS have applicability to fish tissues, other than otoliths, to rapidly estimate important life history attributes such as reproductive status from ovaries and energy density from muscle or liver. |
9 December 2020 – 11:00 am | ||
Integrating adaptive genetic variation into fisheries management: An overview of the genomics program at NOAA AFSC | ||
Dr. Wes Larson, Genetics Program, Manager; Auke Bay Laboratories, Alaska Fisheries Science Center-NOAA, Juneau, AK | ||
Abstract – Genetic analysis represents a powerful tool for informing resource management and studying adaptation in wild populations. For example, genetic tools can be used to delineate conservation units and identify genes that are important for local adaptation. In this talk, I will provide an overview of some of the ways that I have used genomics to inform fisheries management and study local adaptation. These examples include improving resolution of stock structure in Chinook salmon, investigating the genetic basis of phenotypic differentiation in sockeye salmon, and using eDNA to investigate fish community composition in inland lakes. I will also discuss future plans for genomic work at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center and how this work may be complementary to ongoing and future research at the IPHC. |
Cheryl Barnes, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Assessing the potential for competition between Pacific halibut and Arrowtooth flounder in the Gulf of Alaska
Yvonne deReyner , West Coast Regional Office, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Seattle, WA
Ecosystem-based fisheries management: making the transition from ideas to action on the U.S. West Coast
Peter Frey, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, Seattle, WA
The West Coast Groundfish Bottom Trawl Survey: Design, data products, and things hopefully of interest to halibut people
Farron Wallace, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, Seattle, WA
Great news: technology is finally at a point where we can build sophisticated machine learning applications that run on mass market devices. Challenges and opportunities for remote fisheries monitoring
Joe Peterson, Makah Fisheries Management, Makah Tribe, Neah Bay, WA
Bycatch reduction in directed halibut fisheries with the Makah Tribe’s traditional halibut hook
Janet Duffy-Anderson, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, Seattle, WA
Climate oscillations, the Cold Pool, and walleye pollock recruitment in the Bering Sea: lessons from recent years and the outlook for 2018
Marc Mangel, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA
Doing Policy-Relevant Science; Understanding Policy-Relevant Science: The Essential Tension
Brian Beckman, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, Seattle, WA
Physiological insights into the marine ecology of Pacific Salmon: interactions among growth, oceanography and marine survival of coho salmon
Lorenz Hauser, School of Aquatic and Fishery Science, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Which fish is which? Genetic stock identification in Pacific cod and herring
Elisabeth Figus, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska at Fairbanks, AK
Using local knowledge to inform management in the Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) fishery off Southeast Alaska
Alan Haynie, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, Seattle, WA
The Evolution of Bycatch Reduction Measures in Bering Sea Groundfish Fisheries
Melissa Head, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, Seattle, WA
Assessing reproductive strategies in marine fishes: applications to management
Cole Monnahan, School of Aquatic and Fishery Science, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Revisiting the effect of hook spacing on halibut catch rates and the implications of catch per unit effort (CPUE) standardization in the central Gulf of Alaska
Dan Drinan, School of Aquatic and Fishery Science, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Population structure and sex determination in Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis)
Rick Goetz, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, Manchester, WA
Deciphering the biology of sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria): Reproductive life history, population genetics and depth selection behavior of sablefish off the Washington coast
Thomas Hurst, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, Newport, OR
Responses of Alaskan groundfishes to ocean acidification