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Overview

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Sablefish are distributed throughout the GOA, and BSAI areas off the coast of Alaska. Adults generally live in waters of 150–1,500 m, but are primarily concentrated at 400–1,000 m along the continental slope. Juveniles tend to be pelagic or semipelagic, living in shallower, nearshore waters, and moving deeper with age. Sablefish spawn during late winter to early spring. Substantial migration of sablefish among the GOA and BSAI areas has been documented. Sablefish are often considered to be a single population along the west coast of the U.S. and into Alaska, but they are managed as four stocks. They are opportunistic feeders, and prey includes fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods. Juvenile sablefish are eaten by a wide variety of fish, by sea birds and pinnipeds. Pacific halibut, cod, lingcod, hagfishes (Eptatretus sp.), sharks, and killer whales (Orcinus orca) reportedly eat adults. Sablefish reach a maximum age of 62 years in Alaska. The primary product is a headed and gutted fish, but otherwise whole fish for Japanese markets with small amounts distributed in specialty domestic markets (Kruse et al. 2000).

History

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In the 1880s a commercial fishery began for halibut (Hipploglossus stenolepis) with sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) targeted as a secondary fishery in the inside waters of Southeast Alaska (Kruse et al. 2000, Sigler et al. 2003). In 1958, Japanese longliners began harvesting sablefish in the eastern Bering Sea, moving to the Aleutian Islands and GOA as Japaneses trawl fisheries preempted the fishing grounds (Sigler et al. 2003). In the 1970s, Japanese, Russian, Korean, and Taiwanese longliners focused on sablefish and cod in the GOA. (Kruse et al. 2000). The U.S. longline fishery began expanding in the early 80s in the GOA, and by the late 80s almost all sablefish harvested in Alaska were taken by the U.S. fleet. Ever decreasing season lengths accompanied complete domestication of the federal until an individual fishing quota (IFQ) program and 8-month season for the fixed (longline and pot) gear fishery was implemented in 1995. In 2003, the season length was extended to eight and a half months, beginning on March 1. (NPFMC 2004).

Management

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In federally-managed sablefish fisheries, most of the sablefish catch in the GOA comes from the central Gulf, followed by Southeast. Catches from the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands portions of the BSAI area were similar in 2002. In the GOA sablefish are caught primarily in a directed longline fishery and as bycatch in trawl fisheries (DiCosimo and Kimball 2001). In both the GOA and BSAI, the TAC is allocated differentially among gear types in different management areas (DiCosimo and Kimball 2001; Witherell 2000). In the federally-managed BSAI sablefish fishery, 20% of the BSAI fixed gear quota is allocated to Community Development Quota (CDQ) communities (Witherell 2000).

Fixed gear (longlines and pots) sablefish fisheries in both the GOA and BSAI are conducted under Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) programs. The fixed gears seasons open March 15 and close November 15, concurrent with the halibut fishery (DiCosimo and Kimball 2001; Witherell 2000).

State-managed sablefish fisheries in the Southeast Region (Chatham and Clarence Straits) are managed under a shared quota system. All permit holders receive an equal share of the annually determined catch quota. The Chatham Strait fishery is a longline fishery. The Clarence strait fishery is primarily a longline fishery with some catch in pots. In recent years, the sablefish season in Chatham Strait opened on September 1 and closed November 15. Beginning in 2003, the Chatham Strait fishery opened on August 15 and closed on November 15. The sablefish longine fishery in Clarence Strait runs from June 1 to August 15 and the pot fishery from September 1 to November 15.

Sablefish fisheries managed by ADF&G west of 144° W longitude include a limited entry fishery in Prince William Sound and open access fisheries in the Cook Inlet and Aleutian Island areas. The Prince William Sound sablefish fishery is managed for a GHL set as the midpoint of a guideline harvest range derived from the estimated area of sablefish habitat and a yield-per-unit-area model (Berceli et al. 1999). Fishing season length is based on the GHL, estimated number of participants, and past catch rates. In Cook Inlet, the first GHL was set in 1997 based on the recent 10-year average harvest of 96,000 lb (43.5 mt) adjusted up or down annually in proportion to the federal TAC set for the central GOA (Trowbridge 1998). The Aleutian Islands sablefish management area includes all state waters west of Scotch Cap Light (164° 44" W. longitude) and south of Cape Sarichef (54° 36" N. latitude). The fishery opens May 15 and closes concurrent with the federal fishery unless closed earlier by emergency order when the state GHL is attained. In the Aleutian Islands the GHL is based on a combination of harvest history, fishery performance, and the federal TAC based on NMFS surveys.

[For current management information please see individual regional groundfish home pages: Southeast Alaska and Yakutat Area | Cook Inlet & Prince William Sound | Kodiak, Chignik, Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands .]

 

Relationship of State to Federal Management

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In contrast to parallel fisheries for pollock and Pacific cod, there are no parallel sablefish fisheries managed by the state. Quotas and seasons separate from those established for the federally-managed sablefish fisheries are established for the state waters fisheries in the Aleutian Islands (Westward Region) and the state-managed fisheries in Prince William Sound (Central Region) and Chatham and Clarence Straits (Southeast Region).

Gear

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The state-managed, directed fishery for sablefish in Chatham Strait is restricted to longlines. The Clarence Strait sablefish fishery has separate seasons during which longline and pot gears are allowed. In the Prince William Sound districts, the majority of the catch is taken with longlines, although one bottom trawl vessel qualifies for the limited entry sablefish fishery (Berceli et al. 2002). In state-managed fisheries in the BSAI area, longline, pot, jig, and hand troll are legal gear types (Failor-Rounds 2004).

In the federally-managed sablefish fisheries in the GOA, sablefish are caught primarily by longline gear in the directed fishery and as bycatch in trawls. In the BSAI sablefish are caught with trawl, longline, and pot gear.

 

Recent Harvests and Status

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In the 5-year period ending 2004 harvest of sablefish has averaged almost 34 million pounds (15,836 mt) in the federal fishery and have varied from a high of over 4.3 million pounds (1,970 mt) in the state fishery in 2000 to a low of about 3.3 million pounds (1,490 mt) in 2002 (historical harvests, 1986-2004). There was an average of 415 permitted vessels in the federal sablefish fishery producing catch with an average exvessel value of $71 million. An average of 239 permits in the state fishery yielded $10.6 million.

Conservation and Other Issues

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Although at a low level relative to the peak abundances of the late 1980s and early 1990s, the sablefish population in the GOA and BSAI is relatively stable. The population is neither overfished nor approaching an overfished condition. There are currently small, open access fisheries for sablefish in state waters in the North Gulf District of Cook Inlet and the Aleutian Island District. Although not currently problematic, such open access fisheries for high valued sablefish could result in fishing pressure sufficient to overtax management capabilities and/or result in localized depletion. Due to funding constraints and assessment complexity, there is currently an adequate stock assessment program for only one of five discrete sablefish fisheries within state waters. Increased interest in sablefish aquaculture, in Canada and the United States, is raising issues—similar to those raised by salmon farming—about the potential negative impacts of sablefish farming on the health of wild stocks of sablefish and on the market for wild sablefish.

[Based on excerpts from the publication, Commercial Fisheries in Alaska, Woodby et al. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Special Publication 05-09, June 2005 (PDF - 1,059K). Information or data on this web page may have been updated and may no longer match the original publication.]

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Last updated: February 22, 2008