The Northeast Pacific GLOBEC Program: Coastal Gulf of Alaska

(First Paragraph) The Gulf of Alaska (GOA) continental shelf encompasses approximately 370,000 km2, or about 13% of the U.S. continental shell and supports a rich and diverse marine ecosystem including some of the largest commercial fisheries in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. Of particular economic importance is the salmon fishery, which was worth on the order of $170 million (landed value) in 2000 accrued from a catch of over 100 million fish. However, there is considerable variability on both interannual and longer time scales in harvest and recruitment success to this and other GOA fisheries. Of recent interest are compelling indications that abundances of salmon, other fish species, and zooplankton vary on decadal scales in association with North Pacific basin-scale climate changes (Beamish, 1995; Mantua et al., 1997; Roemmich and McGowan, 1995; Brodeur et al., 1996; Francis et al., 1998; Anderson and Piatt, 1999; Hollowed et al., 2001).