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The NWFSC Scientific Publications Database serves as an archival repository of NWFSC-published products including scientific findings, journal articles, technical memorandums, reports, or other information authored or co-authored by NWFSC or funded partners. As a repository, the SPD retains documents in their original published format to ensure public access to scientific information.

NOAA Fisheries Northwest Science Center Publication Details

CitationO’Brien, K. A., Andrews, K. S., Langseth, B. J., & Berger, A. M. 2026. Quantifying potential impacts of ocean-use sectors on biomass and density estimates for fisheries stock assessments. Fisheries Research, 299, 107749. DOI: 10.1016/j.fishres.2026.107749 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2026.107749)
TitleQuantifying potential impacts of ocean-use sectors on biomass and density estimates for fisheries stock assessments
Publication Year2026
Volume299
Pages107749
Keywordsstock assessment, groundfish, groundfish fishery, offshore wind energy, marine spatial planning, uncertainty estimation, survey mitigation
AbstractGrowing competition among ocean use sectors (e.g., energy development, conservation, commercial fisheries) can lead to spatial conflicts that can restrict the domain of fishery-independent surveys. The loss of survey coverage presents challenges for marine resource management, particularly in estimating indices of abundance and biomass—key components of many stock assessments. This study used fishery-independent trawl data to evaluate the potential impacts of spatial closures of varying sizes, locations, shapes, and time since last sampling on biomass and density estimates, using U.S. West Coast offshore wind energy planning and designated areas as a case study. Spatiotemporal models were applied to simulate scenarios where survey access was restricted. Results indicate that these models can effectively interpolate abundance within closed areas when prior survey data exist. However, predictive performance declined exponentially in regions lacking historical observations, with accuracy
Official CitationO’Brien, K. A., Andrews, K. S., Langseth, B. J., & Berger, A. M. 2026. Quantifying potential impacts of ocean-use sectors on biomass and density estimates for fisheries stock assessments. Fisheries Research, 299, 107749. DOI: 10.1016/j.fishres.2026.107749
Links (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2026.107749)