P-317
Otoliths, Ovaries, and Fin Clips, Oh My! Biological Specimen Sampling By Human Observers
Otoliths, Ovaries, and Fin Clips, Oh My! Biological Specimen Sampling By Human Observers
Resource managers and stock assessors rely on location-specific data about fish populations to assess their health and maintain sustainable harvest levels. While electronic monitoring aids in capturing discard amounts, the biological data observers have been collecting for decades are vital pieces of data. Age data, genetic information, capture location of coded-wire-tagged salmon, maturities, lengths, and gender ratios are all valuable inputs into understanding the status of a fishery. Plant monitors are able to collect biological data from full retention shoreside vessels but the ability to link haul-specific location to biological data is lost. Catcher-processors and motherships operating in the Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) fishery off the United States West Coast deploy on trips averaging 16 days. Hake is processed and frozen onboard, while bycatch species are generally discarded after being sampled by a fisheries observer. The only way to obtain biological specimens, such as otoliths or fin clips, from both hake and bycatch species, is by deploying human observers on these vessels. The Northwest Fisheries Science Center’s At-Sea Hake Observer Program (A-SHOP) oversees the deployment of fisheries observers on catcher-processors and motherships participating in the at-sea Pacific hake fishery.