Collaborating with the Alaska Commercial Rockfish Fishery: Using Fishery Dependent Catch and Effort Data to Inform Gulf of Alaska Stock Assessments
Postdoc uses commercial fishing data to improve Gulf of Alaska rockfish stock assessments in collaboration with NOAA and industry.
This grant is no longer accepting proposals
NRC Research Associateship Programs has archived this opportunity.
Funder: NRC Research Associateship Programs
Due Dates: May 1, 2025 | August 1, 2025 | November 1, 2025 | February 1, 2026
Funding Amounts: $58,000 base stipend plus $3,000 travel allowance; experience-based supplements available; 2-year fellowship duration.
Summary: Postdoctoral fellowship to develop and integrate fishery-dependent catch and effort data with survey data to improve Gulf of Alaska rockfish stock assessments in collaboration with NOAA, Alaska Pacific University, and industry partners.
Key Information: Open to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and non-U.S. citizens; requires PhD; includes relocation and health insurance benefits; involves cooperative research with industry and government.
Description
This 2-year postdoctoral research opportunity is jointly offered by the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) and Alaska Pacific University’s Fisheries, Aquatic Science & Technology Laboratory (FAST Lab). The project focuses on improving stock assessments of commercially important Gulf of Alaska (GOA) rockfish species (Sebastes spp.) by integrating fishery-dependent catch and effort data with National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) bottom trawl survey data.
Currently, GOA commercial rockfish catch data are only used as gross removals in stock assessments due to challenges in extracting abundance trends from non-standardized fishery data. This research aims to:
- Statistically analyze existing industry catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) data to evaluate their informativeness about abundance trends.
- Identify the most useful data types for future industry sampling.
- Engage with industry partners through meetings and fishing trips to facilitate data collection.
- Conduct a workshop with fishers and stock assessment scientists to design feasible data collection methods.
- Develop and implement a pilot survey design conducted by industry vessels in under-sampled or unsampled rough seabed areas.
The project builds on prior cooperative research successes with the crab industry and involves collaboration with the Amendment 80 GOA rockfish trawl fleet and Kodiak-based trawl fleet.
Awardees will hold postdoctoral appointments at both AFSC and Alaska Pacific University. The first year is funded by AFSC via the NRC program, with supplemental funding from the FAST Lab for travel and second-year research, including pilot survey deployment.
Key Collaborators and Advisors
- Mark Zimmermann, MS, NOAA-AFSC, Seattle, WA
- Stan Kotwicki, NOAA-AFSC, Seattle, WA
- Pete Hulson, PhD, NOAA-AFSC Auke Bay Labs, Juneau, AK
- Prof. Brad Harris, PhD, Alaska Pacific University - FAST Lab, Anchorage, AK
Content experts include Jim Thorson, PhD (NOAA-AFSC), Curry Cunningham, PhD (Alaska Pacific University), and Suresh Sethi, PhD (Cornell University).
Keywords
Cooperative research, fishery stock assessment, spatial analysis, Alaska, rockfish
