Changes in Gulf of Alaska ecosystems due to ocean climate change and fishing

No abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author.

A number of changes have occurred in the ecosystems of the Northeast Pacific Ocean over the past 40 years. Most notably, Pacific Ocean perch, sablefish and shrimp decreased substantially, while halibut, pollock and arrowtooth flounder increased. In addition, Steller sea lions declined in the western Gulf of Alaska (specifically the central and western Aleutian Islands) since the 1970s, while the populations in Southeast Alaska increased during the same period. Similarly, herring increased in Southeast Alaska, while there was no noticeable increase in the west. Some or all of these changes may be related to fishing and/or a regime shift in ocean climate that occurred in the Northeast Pacific around 1977