It is accepted that sablefish in the NE Pacific consists of two distinct populations: a Northern population (Alaska and northern British Columbia waters); and a southern population (southern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California waters). The northern sablefish population is assessed as single stock in Alaska EEZ waters (including Gulf of Alaska, E Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands), due to the highly migratory patterns of the northern sablefish population (Hanselman et al., 2011).