What are feasible new paradigms for fisheries management?
Fisheries management requires decisions about harvest limits based on available information and understanding of populations gained through research. State and federal fisheries management in Alaska have a well-deserved reputation of rendering science-based management decisions. In federally managed fisheries, the abundances of fish and invertebrate stocks are assessed by scientists who combine fishery-dependent data with routine fishery-independent surveys and state-of-the-art statistical estimation models. Nevertheless, aside from a few commercially important fish and invertebrates, information about the structure and functioning of pelagic and benthic communities off Alaska is sparse. A more comprehensive understanding of the functioning of benthic habitats and how they are affected by fishing or other stressors is needed. As climate changes, fisheries and other human activities are likely to shift into the northern Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas – areas where knowledge about bio
