Misawa et al. 2020 consider Arctoraja to be a subgenus rather than a genus and further work is required to resolve this and other issues in the genus Bathyraja, e.g., validity of genera Bathryaja and Rhinoraja (Stehmann et al. 2021). The Alaska Skate and the Hokkaido Skate (Bathyraja simoterus) may be two forms of the same species but are currently retained as separate species based on widely disjunct ranges (Last et al. 2016). There may be a cryptic species in the eastern Bering Sea that has not yet been distinguished morphologically from Bathyraja parmifera (Spies et al. 2021).

The Alaska Skate (Bathyraja parmifera) is a medium-sized deepwater skate (to at least 137 cm total length) known from a widespread distribution in the North Pacific Ocean, from the northwestern Sea of Okhotsk to southeastern Chukchi Sea, including east of Wrangel Island and on the Beaufort Slope, and the Bering Sea to the Aleutian Islands and Alaska, United States. It has been recorded on continental and insular shelves and slopes at depths of 17–392 m on sandy-muddy-gravelly substrates. Across the North Pacific Ocean, skates are bycatch of industrial trawl, longline, and trap groundfish fisheries, and in some areas, skates comprise up to 10% of the total recorded biomass. The Alaska Skate is a common bycatch of fisheries targeting groundfish, including Pacific Cod (Gadus macrocephalus), Alaska Pollock (Gadus chalcogramma), and Greenland Halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides). The species is the most abundant skate in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands where female spawning biomass has been increasing since the mid-1980s. Elsewhere, in the western Bering Sea, Sea of Japan, and Sea of Okhotsk research trawl surveys indicate a generally increasing abundance trend. There is increasing international demand for skate products in countries including China, Japan, and Korea and this increased demand has increased skate retention and interest in developing skate targeted fisheries. There are catch limits set for skates (as a group) in Russian and United States waters. Areas of high skate egg density in the United States Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands are designated Habitats of Particular Concern which allows management intervention where fishing activity is deemed harmful to the habitat. The population is estimated to be stable and the Alaska Skate is therefore assessed as Least Concern.

The Alaska Skate is found in the North Pacific Ocean, from the northwestern Sea of Okhotsk to southeastern Chukchi Sea, including east of Wrangel Island and on the Beaufort Slope, and the Bering Sea to the Aleutian Islands and Alaska, United States (Grigorov et al. 2015, Love et al. 2021).

Across the North Pacific (western Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, Northwest Pacific Ocean), trends in abundance data from research trawl surveys have shown a generalized increasing trend between 1974–2013 (Grigorov et al. 2015). Some decline in skate catches were observed in the Sea of Okhotsk from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, but these trends rebounded by the mid-2010s to levels similar to, or exceeded, those observed in the 1980s (Grigorov et al. 2015).

Species-specific abundance data are available for the Aleutian Islands, eastern Bering Sea (EBS) slope, and EBS shelf and are based on demersal trawl surveys conducted by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service. The Alaska Skate is the most abundant skate of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) skate complex, and has accounted for up to 97% of aggregated skate biomass estimates since species identification became reliable in 1999 (Ormseth 2020). Most (96%) Alaska Skate is reported on the EBS shelf. Total modelled biomass estimates for the Alaska Skate showed an increasing trend between 2000–2023, from 387,589 tonnes (t) in 2000 to a peak of 550,912 t in 2016, followed by some decline to 418,414 t in 2023; however, the peak in 2016 was the highest since ~1970 and the biomass since 1996 has been consistently much higher than the previous decade (Tribuzio et al. 2023). Female spawning biomass has also showed an increasing trend since the mid-1980s (Ormseth 2020, Tribuzio et al. 2023). The female spawning biomass data were analysed over three generation lengths using a Bayesian state-space framework (Sherley et al. 2020, Winker et al. 2020). This analysis yields an annual rate of change, a median change over three generation lengths, and the probability of the most likely IUCN Red List category percent change over three generation lengths (see the Supplementary Information). The trend analysis revealed an increase of 0.03% over three generation lengths (54 years) and the highest probability of a Least Concern status.

The Alaska Skate is demersal on continental and insular shelves and slopes at depths of 17–392 m on sandy-muddy-gravelly substrates (Orlov et al. 2006, Love et al. 2021). Reports to 1,425 m in the western Bering Sea may be a misidentification or an undescribed species (Love et al. 2021). It reaches a maximum size of 137 cm total length (Stevenson et al. 2007, Matta et al. 2017, Love et al. 2021). Males mature at 92 cm TL and females mature at 93 cm TL (Matta and Gunderson 2007). Reproduction is oviparous with a gestation of ~3.5 years and size-at-birth of 22 cm TL (Hoff 2007, 2008, 2010; Hoff et al. 2010). Estimated female age-at-maturity is 10 years and maximum age is 26 years and thus, generation length is 18 years (Matta et al. 2017).

The Alaska Skate is a common bycatch of commercial trawl, longline, and trap fisheries targeting groundfish, including Pacific Cod (Gadus macrocephalus), Alaska Pollock (Gadus chalcogramma), and Greenland Halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides). Most of the population occurs at depths above 200 m. It may be retained for the meat of the skate wings with retention rates of up to 30% in some fisheries. Post-release mortality is unknown but was 41% for deepwater Bathyraja species in southwest Atlantic trawl fisheries (Ellis et al. 2017).

In Russia, the fisheries usually operate to depths of 600–800 m (Ormseth and Matta 2011). There have been occasional experimental fisheries since 2016 that fish to 2,500 m depth (I.V. Volvenko unpub. data 2019) that may constitute a threat if expanded with the interest in developing targeted skate fisheries in the North Pacific. Skate fisheries in Russia are growing: the average annual skate catch reported to official statistics has grown nearly 3-fold, from 1,650 tonnes (t) in 2004–2008, 3,510 t in 2009–2013, and 4,860 t in 2014–2018; there is no species-specific skate catch reporting (Panchenko et al. 2020). In the eastern Bering Sea, skate egg cases, including the Alaska Skate, are brought to the surface by commercial demersal trawl and longline fishing vessels targeting deepwater fish including Pacific Cod and Greenland Halibut (Stevenson et al. 2019).

In Russia, skates were previously discarded but more recently have been landed for export of wings to China, Japan, Korea, and the British Virgin Islands (Orlov and Volvenko 2022). International demand for skates by Korea is very high and has increased skate retention with Korea a major importer of skates from around the world (Hyun-Su et al. 2013). In the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands fisheries, 27–51% (average 38%) of all skates were retained from 2011–2023, with larger individuals retained due to the higher market value, and while this may include the Alaska Skate, there is limited species-specific information (Tribuzio et al. 2023).

There is a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for skates in Russian and United States waters. In Russian waters, the TAC has changed little since the 1990s and in the 2020s is 11,2000–11,3000 t (Orlov and Volvenko 2022). In the United States Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) regions this species is managed as part of a skate complex with the TAC determined for the complex as a whole. The BSAI TAC for the complex is based on the age structured model for the Alaska Skate and the combined other skate survey biomasses multiplied by an assumed natural mortality rate and has varied little from 2012–2023 and in 2023 was 27,441 t (Tribuzio et al. 2023). In 2015, six areas in the BSAI region of high skate egg density were designated Habitats of Particular Concern which allows management intervention where fishing activity is deemed harmful to the habitat. The 82 square nautical miles of habitat is split into different areas at the continental shelf/slope break, and aims to protect egg cases of various skate species. Targeted fishing for skates in the Gulf of Alaska has been prohibited since 2005 (Ormseth 2021). Further research is needed on population size and trends, and life history, and catch rates should be monitored.