The salmon population increases in Alaska in most of the 1980s and 1990s were attributed to favourable ocean conditions allowing high survival of juveniles (Eggers et al., 2005). Several other factors contributed to the increases, including: (i) improved management; (ii) elimination of high seas driftnet fisheries; (iii) reduction in bycatch in fisheries for other species; and (iv) relatively pristine river habitats with minimal influence of extensive development.
Salmon stocks currently face increasing environmental problems. Many of the stocks, particularly those in the south of the region, are already severely affected. Being anadromous, salmon reproduction is strongly affected by riverine and estuarine habitat degradation caused by agriculture, logging, mining, oil and gas development, industrial development and urban expansion. The resulting conflicts with other economic sectors make mitigation difficult. There is also concern that the use of hatchery production to help compensate for habitat loss may lead to the destruction of wild stocks (Hilborn and Eggers, 2000). Damming of rivers for hydroelectric power development, water storage, and flood control have historically done great damage to salmon runs. However, under the United States Endangered Species Act and provisions of the United States Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, developments are required not to destroy essential fish habitat. As a consequence, there has been some movement towards mitigating prior habitat loss. Active projects are in place to remove dams that have blocked salmon passage on some rivers (Stadler et al., 2011).
The production of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) is variable and differs among species. Pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), the most abundant and smallest species, has biennial runs with one year weak and the other strong. However, when their abundance is averaged over the region, there has been an increasing trend since the 1970s. In the past decade, catch has exceeded the long-term average. The catch of sockeye salmon (O. nerka), the second-most abundant species, consists of the catch from several large river systems. The largest of these is the Bristol Bay River system in the southeast Bering Sea and the Fraser River system in British Columbia. The catch of sockeye increased in the 1980s following good in-river survival in the late 1970s and the end of the high seas interception fisheries. Overall catch then declined in the 1990s, but in recent years has increased and is near the long-term average of 127 000 tonnes. The dynamics of sockeye salmon are demonstrated by recent events in the Fraser Columbia River fisheries. This fishery experienced a record abundance in 2010 with catch in excess of 10 million fish, up from only 1 119 in 2008 (DFO, 2001– 2011). Chum salmon (O. keta) is the third-most abundant species. Catches increased through the 1980s to a peak of 103 000 tonnes in 2000. Since then, chum catches have declined to near the long-term average of 70 000 tonnes. The bycatch of chum salmon in Bering Sea demersal trawl fisheries is currently a management issue. Chum salmon is an important species in many western Alaska rivers and the presence of sea-ranched Asian chum that feed in the eastern Bering Sea complicates management (NPFMC, 2011).
Long-term trends in the salmon catch in the Northeast Pacific appear to be favouring offshore species such as sockeye and pink salmon. These species have generally increased in the period of extended jurisdiction to 200 miles. However, the species that spend most of their ocean life near shore, such as chinook salmon (O. tschawytscha) and coho salmon (O. kisutch) have experienced a long-term downward trend in the same period. Some of this change may be the result of climate-induced changes in the forage base. In 1998–99, a shift from a warm to a cooler state in the region was observed to have induced a shift in the plankton community. This may account for some of observed trends in salmon survival (Peterson and Schwing, 2003).

Accordingly, the largest demersal fish population of them all was the complex of Alaska pollock stocks. These stocks were distributed over the breadth of the sub-Arctic Pacific, both the Northeast Pacific (Area 67) and the Northwest Pacific (Area 61). In much of the 1980s, Alaska pollock held the distinction of being the largest exploited demersal fish population in the world. The resource declined sharply as a result of reduced recruitment in the early 1980s. This appeared to be a result of anomalous ocean conditions, but the resource has now recovered and catch is projected to be about 1.4 million tonnes.
The eastern Bering Sea pollock fishery is a limited-entry fishery with quota shares allotted to participating vessels. Almost all fisheries in the region are managed by a similar quota system. One advantage is that catch is accurately monitored to ensure catches are limited to share amounts. This ensures that total catch does not exceed harvest limits. Fisheries on Alaska pollock are managed to ensure catch does not exceed that derived from a risk-averse F_MSY. Pollock and other demersal species in Alaska are constrained to fall within total annual harvest limits, and aggregate catch cannot exceed the upper limit. In the eastern Bering Sea, this limit is set at 2 million tonnes (NPFMC, 2011).

The other large gadoid populations in Area 67 are Pacific cod and Pacific hake (or “Pacific whiting”). These species have followed a similar pattern of a rising catch from the mid-1970s to mid-1980s with moderate fluctuations at intermediate levels since 1995. Pacific cod are fully exploited in both the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. Pacific hake is considered to be fully exploited. While the largest stock of Pacific cod is in the Bering Sea, Pacific hake is concentrated in the region off the west coasts of Canada and the United States of America.

Of the important flatfish populations, the valuable Pacific halibut resource showed a rising trend through the 1980s. A slight decline occurred in the 1990s, followed by an upswing in catch with improved recruitment in the late 1990s to a peak of 41 000 tonnes in 2004. Since then, there has been a downward trend owing to reduced growth and recruitment, but stocks are expected to increase in future years. (Hare, 2010; Figure B11.5)

The stocks of other flatfish species are lightly exploited. The total Alaska flatfish population is estimated to be almost 7 million tonnes in 2010 (Table D13). Yellowfin sole is a significant species in the catch and the major species in the Bering Sea flatfish fishery. The exploitation rate is low on nearly all species of flatfish, with the exception of petrale sole off Washington–Oregon–California, which is currently assessed as overfished. However, that assessment is being re-evaluated as catches have remained stable for several decades. The primary reason for the low exploitation of flatfish is the bottom trawl restrictions in place to minimize the bycatch of halibut and crab species. Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) has long been classified as below target abundance as a result of a failure to observe significant recruitment in trawl surveys since the late 1970s. It has now been found to be increasing in newly developed surveys of the outer continental shelf slope.
The current large populations of flatfish have shown indications of density-dependent growth in some species. Bering Sea northern rock sole underwent a ninefold increase in stock size from 1975 to 2010 (200 000 tonnes to 1.8 million tonnes). Length-at-age has declined significantly as the population has increased and expanded west towards the shelf edge. This density-dependent downward trend in size-at-age primarily affected year classes between 1979 and 1987. It also has been observed in the strong 2001–03 year classes in recent surveys. The exploitation rate remained low from 1979 to 2009, averaging only 3.4 percent as the fish are primarily caught in a limited roe fishery and as bycatch in the large yellowfin sole fishery (Matta, Black and Wilderbuer, 2010). Some scientists are postulating that similar density-dependent growth reduction is occurring in Pacific halibut.

Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) is distributed throughout Area 67 and is a fully exploited species that has been allocated to many stakeholders. Sablefish were exploited heavily by distant-water fisheries and had been reduced to a low biomass by the late 1970s. In the late 1970s, sablefish had a very strong year class, similar to many other fish species (Hollowed, Bailey and Wooster, 1987). This year class bolstered the fishery and supported the development and growth of a North American fishery.

In the Groundfish Fishery Management Plan of the Pacific Fishery Management Council, there are more than 80 demersal fish species (groundfish). These species include more than 60 species of rockfish in the family Scorpaenidae, 7 roundfish species, 12 flatfish species, dogfish shark, skate, and a few miscellaneous bottom-dwelling marine fish species. Based on the standards of the Groundfish Fishery Management Plan for defining overfished demersal fish species, eight species are currently assessed as overfished by the NMFS in the area of the Pacific Fishery Management Council. These species are: bocaccio rockfish (Sebastes paucispinis), canary rockfish (S. pinniger), cowcod (S. levis), darkblotched rockfish (S. crameri), Pacific Ocean perch (S. alutus), widow rockfish (S. entomelas) and yelloweye rockfish (S. ruberrimus). Since the previous review of resources in FAO Statistical Area 67, two species have been removed from the overfished category. These species are Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) and lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus), as well as an additional species, petrale sole (FAO, 2005). Some of the rockfish (Sebastes spp.) such as widow rockfish are close to being declared rebuilt. However, other species that are very long-lived and have low growth and reproduction may require many years to rebuild.

Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) supports an extremely valuable fishery, much of it for high-valued roe destined for the Japanese market. Since the mid-1970s, herring have been fluctuating at low to moderate abundances. The abundance trends vary among the numerous stocks in the region, but, overall, the very recent trend is for fairly healthy abundance (Woodby et al., 2005). Similarly, herring catches have been stable at moderate levels since the 1970s. The catch is much reduced from the very high catches of herring taken by fisheries in the first half of the twentieth century. Overall, Alaska and British Columbia fisheries on herring are well managed for their long-term sustained yield. In southeast Alaska, herring abundance has been trending upwards since 1980. The Pacific herring population in Prince William Sound collapsed in 1993, four years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The cause has yet to be determined and the population has shown little sign of recovery. Indications are that disease may have been a factor, but factors related to habitat modification from the oil spill cannot be excluded as a cause. In the southern end of the range, herring stocks are at very low levels in the region from California to Puget Sound. This may be related to long-term climate change.

Sardine stocks have shown a strong resurgence in the Northeast Pacific since the mid-1990s. The biomass for Pacific sardine increased rapidly through the 1980s and 1990s, peaking at 1.57 million tonnes in 2000. The biomass has subsequently trended downwards to 537 173 tonnes in 2010 (Hill et al., 2010). Recruitment increased rapidly through the mid-1990s, peaking at 17.156 billion fish in 1997, 19.743 billion in 1998 and 18.578 billion in 2003. Recruitment was notably lower from 2006 to 2009. As the stock grew, it expanded its range from southern California towards Oregon and the northern tip of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. At this time, it is not clear whether large sardine populations will persist in these northern regions, or contract to a more southerly distribution. In a prior increase in the sardine population in the 1920s, the species also increased in British Columbia but then contracted until the recent expansion of the 1990s (McFarlane and Beamish, 1999).

Crab and shrimp are the main invertebrates in the Northeast Pacific harvest. Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) populations may currently be declining from historic highs of the early 2000s. King crab (Paralithodes) catches have been stable for the past decade, but are far below the record harvests of the 1970s. The stock is expected to increase further in size through improved management as this fishery has recently entered into a catch share management programme. As in other rationalized fisheries, catch should improve and the fishery should have a reduced impact on crab populations. Effort has decreased and so has the handling mortality of sublegal-sized crabs that are released. Snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) stocks have highly variable recruitment and fluctuating populations. Catches were high through the 1980s and 1990s, but then declined sharply in 2000. Starting in 2008, the catch began to increase again, but catches remain well below those of earlier years. Pandalid shrimp catches were high in Alaska until the 1980s. However, more recently, they have been very low, probably as a result of the sharp and rapid increase of gadoid predators. In southern regions of Area 67, catches have been relatively stable and  increasing.

In the coastal zone, there are fisheries for clam, oysters, abalone sea urchin and sea cucumber. Clam populations have suffered local problems as a result of to disease or pollution. However, overall invertebrate catch is increasing primarily owing to increased demand from Asian markets. Coastal species that are taken include northern abalone (Haliotis kamtshatkana) and geoduck clam (Panopea abrupta). Catches of intertidal clams (Venerupis philippinarum, Protothaca staminea and Saxidomus gigantea), razor clam (Siliqua patula), and red sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus) are currently stable or increasing in areas where commercial harvest occurs.