Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) collected from 13 Alaskan drainages were genetically characterized at 28 protein coding loci using starch–gel electrophoresis. Chinook salmon in western Alaska are generally quite similar to each other but are distinct from the more diverse southeastern Alaskan populations. Genetic compositions of southeastern Alaskan populations are generally intermediate between those of western Alaska and previously studied non-Alaskan populations to the south. Given that chinook salmon survived the Wisconsin glaciation in both the Bering and Pacific refuges, we propose that chinook salmon from both refuges participated in the post-Wisconsin colonization of southeastern Alaskan rivers.
Methot, R. D., Tromble, G. R., Lambert, D. M., and Greene, K. E. 2014. Implementing a science-based system for preventing overfishing and guiding sustainable fisheries in the United States. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 71: 183–194. Fisheries management in the United States is primarily governed by the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, first enacted in 1976. Overarching principles are that fishing mortality rates should not jeopardize the capacity of a stock to produce maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and that overfished stocks (i.e. biomass is too low) should be rebuilt to the level that will support MSY. The science-based system for achieving sustainable fisheries is implemented, in part, through setting annual catch limits (ACLs) that cannot exceed the acceptable biological catch that is recommended by Scientific and Statistical Committees using methods that account for scientific uncertainty. Accountability measures (AMs) are management measures to prevent ACLs from being exceeded or correct any overages that occur. Implementation in 2012 of ACLs and AMs in all Federal fisheries was a historical achievement in the United States; one that will help rebuild stocks and ensure sustainable fisheries into the future. Some remaining challenges include: determining appropriate catch levels and management approaches for stocks with incomplete data; assessing more stocks, more frequently; addressing differences between managing stocks as a complex vs. managing individual stocks in a multistock fishery; and incorporating social and economic factors in determining the appropriate response to uncertainty.
United States marine fisheries are highly diverse, exploiting resources in ecosystems ranging from the arctic to the tropics, and in both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Protecting, restoring and managing the use of coastal and ocean resources is one of the strategic goals of National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA Fisheries is the agency with primary responsibility to achieve this goal. A variety of ecosystem approaches have been used in fisheries management, but improvements are needed in the understanding of ecosystems and their dynamics. The general approach is to establish strategic fishery ecosystem plans (FEP) that describe goals, the current state of information and knowledge and priorities for research; establish a management framework to utilize existing ecosystem knowledge; improve ecosystem science and models on an ongoing basis; and utilize the best available scientific information in management decisions. Important challenges still remain and include providing management with decision support tools to deal with increased complexity of objectives and information, the need for better communication and outreach to the public and to policy makers and the need to strengthen the statutory basis for the ecosystem approach to fisheries management (EAFM). Finally, ocean governance issues are challenging, involving multiple levels of government with overlapping, but differing, geographic scope and legal authority.
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