Using model simulations to compare performance of two commercial salmon management strategies in Bristol Bay, Alaska

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the costs and benefits, in relation to economics and Alaska’s salmon management policies, associated with two management strategies on the Egegik and Togiak sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) fisheries in Bristol Bay, Alaska. “Daily management” allows managers to open or close the fishery on a daily basis, whereas a fixed fishing schedule allows fishing, to the extent practical, on fixed days of the week. To compare the strategies, we simulated the effects of daily management and a fixed fishing schedule on the two fisheries. Our simulations show that a daily management strategy results in higher yearly catches, less yearly variation in escapement, and fewer years of escapement below the goal range. A fixed fishing schedule results in less yearly variation in catch and a more stable harvest rate, with the harvest stability more pronounced when effort was held constant. Daily management is a desirable strategy for fisheries that are managed for maximum sustainable yield, have high fishing effort, have a small fishing area, or have a more temporally compressed run. A fixed fishing schedule is a desirable strategy for fisheries with less intense effort, budgetary or efficiency concerns, or stock components that differ in run timing.