Snap Shot of Planned 2019 Bering Sea Surveys

LOCATION: Eastern Bering Sea

OBJECTIVE: These annual surveys are to collect data on  oceanographic and ice conditions, zooplankton, larval fish and passive acoustic data of whale sounds and ocean noise. Data are collected using special instruments (CTDs), which record physical and chemical properties (i.e., conductivity, temperature and depth) throughout the water column and a series of stationary moorings mounted to the seafloor along the 70-m depth contour from Bristol Bay in the south to St. Lawrence Island in the north. Collected data also support development of marine ecosystem assessments.

LOCATION: Southeastern Bering Sea

OBJECTIVE: This annual survey uses research nets and other equipment to collect data on adult groundfish and crabs and oceanographic data. Collected data are used for several long-term assessments of abundance and distribution of commercially important fish and crab species including walleye pollock, Pacific cod, Greenland turbot, yellowfin sole, northern rock sole, red king crab, snow, and Tanner crabs. Collected data also support development of marine ecosystem assessments.

LOCATION: Northern Bering Sea

OBJECTIVE: This biennial survey uses research nets and other equipment to monitor the transition zone between the temperate waters of the southeastern Bering Sea shelf and the Arctic waters of the Chukchi Sea to understand how the loss of sea ice will affect the distribution, abundance, recruitment (number of young fish that grow to maturity) and fitness (stored fat which affects growth and survival) of groundfish, crab and other bottom-dwelling species. 

LOCATION:  Northern Bering Sea

OBJECTIVE: This annual survey uses a variety of equipment and electronic instruments to understand how loss of sea ice will affect the distribution, abundance, fitness (stored fat which affects growth and survival) of young fishes, seabirds, and mammals and the food they depend upon.