Rockfishes (Sebastes spp.) and the fisheries they support along the northeastern Pacific Ocean have undergone dynamic changes over the last century. The unique life history traits of rockfishes pose a host of challenges that make them difficult to monitor and susceptible to overfishing. Previous research has demonstrated that fishers’ knowledge and scientific data can help to create a more complete picture of long-term changes in rockfish populations and nearshore ecosystems. In this study, we used a multiple evidence-based approach that draws together expert knowledge of fishers and fisheries agency staff with long-term harvest data to document recent changes in nearshore rockfish populations and fisheries in two regions along the Gulf of Alaska. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, we compiled and analyzed datasets from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to summarize spatiotemporal trends in commercial and recreational rockfish harvest and interviewed fishers and agency staff about their observations of long-term changes in nearshore rockfish populations and fisheries. We focused on two communities in the eastern and central Gulf of Alaska for which rockfish issues have been at the fore of management in recent years: Sitka and Kodiak, Alaska. We synthesized harvest data and abundance indices from expert knowledge in the context of fishery regulation changes to gain a more holistic perspective on the recent history of Alaska rockfish fisheries. While increases in localized fishing pressure and declines in relative abundance underlie concerns about pelagic and yelloweye rockfish populations and fisheries, stable or high abundance and proactive management for some species and locations also yield an optimistic outlook about their status. Variables such as gear type, sector, time periods fished, regulatory changes, and species targeted influenced experts’ perceptions of rockfish fisheries and populations. Our findings highlight the challenges of bringing together disparate data and the benefits of including multiple knowledge sources to produce a more complete understanding of complex fishery systems.

岩鱼（塞巴斯蒂斯spp.) 及其支持的太平洋东北部渔业在上个世纪发生了动态变化。岩鱼独特的生活史特征带来了许多挑战，使它们难以监测并且容易受到过度捕捞的影响。先前的研究表明，渔民的知识和科学数据有助于更全面地了解岩鱼种群和近岸生态系统的长期变化。在这项研究中，我们使用了一种基于证据的多种方法，将渔民和渔业机构工作人员的专业知识与长期收获数据结合起来，记录阿拉斯加湾沿岸两个地区近岸岩鱼种群和渔业的最新变化。使用定量和定性方法，我们汇编和分析了阿拉斯加渔业和游戏部的数据集，总结商业和休闲石斑鱼捕捞的时空趋势，并采访了渔民和机构工作人员，了解他们对近岸石斑鱼种群和渔业长期变化的观察。我们专注于阿拉斯加东部和中部的两个社区，近年来岩鱼问题一直是管理的重点：阿拉斯加的锡特卡和科迪亚克。我们在渔业监管变化的背景下综合了专家知识的收获数据和丰度指数，以更全面地了解阿拉斯加岩鱼渔业的近期历史。虽然局部捕捞压力的增加和相对丰度的下降是对远洋和黄眼石斑鱼种群和渔业的担忧的基础，一些物种和地点的稳定或高丰度和积极管理也产生了对其状况的乐观前景。诸如渔具类型、部门、捕捞时间段、监管变化和目标物种等变量影响了专家对岩鱼渔业和种群的看法。我们的研究结果强调了汇集不同数据的挑战以及包括多个知识来源以更全面地了解复杂渔业系统的好处。