Since Wislow Research's founding in 2018, project work has focused primarily on North Pacific fishery management action-related analyses. For additional key staff North Pacific fisheries experience pre-2018, click here. For fisheries experience in other regions pre-2018, click here. And for other Alaska research experience, click here.
North Pacific Fishery Management Council, Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program Review Social Impact Assessment
Wislow Research is preparing the social impact assessment (SIA) component of a Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) crab rationalization catch share program review. This review is being built upon similar analyses conducted for the three-year, five-year, and ten-year program reviews. The analysis will describe the effects of the program after 17 years and continue to track impacts in Adak, Akutan, King Cove, Kodiak, Sand Point, St. Paul, St. George, and Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, Alaska, along with Seattle, Washington and other communities or groups of communities as relevant. This project will involve close, ongoing coordination with other contractors, as well as National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and North Pacific Fishery Council (NPFMC or Council) staff members. Project in progress.
Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Socioeconomic Impacts of Fishery Disasters on and Pathways to Resilience for Subsistence Users in the Chignik Region of Alaska.
Working with Northern Economics, Inc. and the Chignik Intertribal Coalition, Wislow Research is systematically researching the socioeconomic effects of the Chignik sockeye salmon fishery disasters on subsistence users in the region related to food security, food replacement, community changes, and other concerns resulting from the fishery disasters, including impacts on relationships between commercial and subsistence fishing. To date, the multi-method project has involved fieldwork in the communities of Perryville, Chignik Lake, Chignik Lagoon, and Chignik. Project in progress.
National Marine Fisheries Service and North Pacific Fishery Management Council, Proposed Amendment to the Salmon Fisheries Management Plan for the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska Social Impact Assessment.
Wislow Research prepared an SIA component of an Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review (EA/RIR) for proposed changes in management of the drift gillnet commercial and saltwater sport salmon fisheries that occur in the Upper Cook Inlet portion of the Exclusive Economic Zone in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This project was a follow-on to the Salmon Fishery Management Plan Amendment 14 analysis listed below and involved close, ongoing coordination with other contractors, as well as NMFS and Council staff members. Project completed September 2023.
North Pacific Fishery Management Council, Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Halibut Abundance-based Management of Prohibited Species Catch Limits
Wislow Research prepared a comprehensive SIA to support the analysis of alternatives to change halibut prohibited species catch (PSC) limits in the BSAI region from a fixed limit approach to variable limit system based on indices of halibut abundance. This SIA involved an analysis of differential distribution of social impacts across fishing communities in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest engaged in either or both of the relevant groundfish and directed halibut fisheries. Project completed December 2022.
North Pacific Fishery Management Council, Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Trawl Catcher Vessel Pacific Cod Cooperative Program Social Impact Assessment.
Wislow Research prepared an SIA in support of an EA/RIR for a BSAI Pacific cod trawl catcher vessel cooperative style limited access privilege program (LAPP). The Council recommended a cooperative program where any License Limitation Program (LLP) license assigned to a vessel that authorized that vessel’s legal landings of targeted trawl catcher vessel BSAI Pacific cod during the qualifying years is eligible to receive harvest shares, along with processors who accepted those landings during the same period, with share amounts linked to historical participation levels. Project completed December 2021.
National Marine Fisheries Service and North Pacific Fishery Management Council, Amendment 14 to the Salmon Fisheries Management Plan for the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska Social Impact Assessment.
Wislow Research prepared an SIA in support of an EA/RIR for proposed changes in management of the portion of the Upper Cook Inlet salmon drift gillnet fishery that occurs in the federally regulated waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone. Project involved close, ongoing coordination with other contractors, NMFS and Council staff members, and the Council’s Cook Inlet Salmon Committee. Project completed January 2021.
National Marine Fisheries Service and North Pacific Fishery Management Council, Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program Reauthorization Social Impact Assessment.
Working with Brannan & Associates LLC, Wislow Research prepared a comprehensive SIA in support of an EA/RIR for the proposed extension the Rockfish Program, a LAPP style management program, beyond its then-current expiration date of December 31, 2021. This work built directly upon the Central GOA Rockfish Program five-year review SIA, completed in 2017, which was also led by Mike Downs. Project completed April 2020.
National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Miami FL. Toward a Demographic/Socioeconomic Survey of Crew Members in the Federal Fisheries of the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, Phase 2.
Mike Downs of Wislow Research served as Project Director on the second phase of a survey of crew members in the federally managed commercial fisheries in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico regions. Phase 2 involved providing support for the development of the survey instrument; piloting English, Spanish, and Vietnamese versions of the survey in the western Gulf of Mexico; and providing content for inclusion in a Paperwork Reduction Act package for submission to the Office of Management and Budget. Project Phase 2 completed September 2019.
National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center Staff Social Impact Assessment Workshop
Working with NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) staff, Wislow Research conducted a two-day SIA workshop for relevant AFSC staff members. Objectives included transferring information and/or facilitating discussion in the following areas: how regulatory requirements, best practices, and intended goals of SIA have been addressed and have evolved for the NPFMC in recent years; components typically included in Council SIAs, information sources used and lessons learned regarding available data and tools; when management actions have triggered relatively simple or complex SIAs; how AFSC products have informed Council SIAs; opportunities for better integration of AFSC work products into Council SIAs; and opportunities for innovation and integration of key social/community indicators across a range of AFSC/Council-produced analyses. Workshop conducted June 2019.
North Pacific Fishery Management Council, Secretarial Review Draft Social Impact Assessment: Catcher/Processor Mothership Restrictions in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands and the Gulf of Alaska when taking Directed Non-CDQ Pacific Cod Deliveries from Trawl Catcher Vessels
Wislow Research prepared a comprehensive SIA component of the analysis of alternatives to limit the ability of catcher/processors to act as motherships when taking trawl-caught catcher vessel deliveries in the BSAI non-Community Development Quota (CDQ) directed Pacific cod fishery. The SIA involved an analysis of differential distribution of social impacts across fishing communities in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest engaged in and dependent upon the fishery. Project completed April 2019.
North Pacific Fishery Management Council, Staff Social Impact Assessment Workshop
Mike Downs of Wislow Research conducted a workshop for 10 North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) to increase staff capabilities to produce SIA analyses in support of a range of proposed management actions. The workshop included information on regulatory requirements, best practices, and intended goals of SIAs; training on producing SIA components and the available information to do so; and initial steps toward the development of a template for the production of routine SIAs. Workshop conducted January 2019. Follow-on tasks completed February 2020.
