Scientists at the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) conduct thorough, ongoing studies of all aspects of the biology of Alaska whitefish species, including their biotic and physical environment in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. The staff of the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) conducts similar studies of halibut throughout its range from California to Russia.
Scientists from NMFS and IPHC, in consultation with other fisheries biologists from government and academia, scientifically estimate the biomass of the various species and the recruitment (natural addition of young fish) to the stock.
They make their best estimate of the fraction of that biomass that may be safely and sustainably caught. This is a methodical process, performed with state-of-the-art fishery biological modeling methods. The NMFS and IPHC scientists also apportion the estimates among various statistical areas along the coast of North America, based on the abundance of fish in those areas. These estimates are called Acceptable Biological Catches, or ABCs.
