Statistically based sampling strategies for Gulf of Alaska ecosystem trawl survey monitoring

Historical data from the western Gulf of Alaska was examined in order to optimize sampling efforts for future small mesh trawl surveys. A model of species abundance and spatial distribution was constructed for assessing the level of sampling required to detect species abundance change within precision limits of various sampling levels in individual bays (Alitak Bay, Chignik Bay, Castle Bay, Kiliuda Bay, Marmot Bay, Pavlof Bay, and Ugak Bay).