Alaska Fisheries Science Center Metadata Library

To improve accessibility, we've provided descriptions of our laboratories' contributions below:

Auke Bay Laboratories

The Alaska Fisheries Science Center's Auke Bay Laboratories (ABL) conducts scientific research throughout Alaska on fish stocks, fish habitats, and the chemistry of marine environments. Information from this research is widely used by commercial interests such as fishing industries and governmental agencies involved in managing natural resources.

The headquarters of ABL is the Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute, a "green" office and laboratory building located at Lena Point, north of Juneau, Alaska. The ABL headquarters serves as the focal point for four other ABL facilities. Three ABL facilities are located in the City and Borough of Juneau at Auke Bay, Auke Creek, and downtown Juneau, respectively, and the fourth is at Little Port Walter, on Baranof Island, southeast of Sitka. Auke Bay Marine Station includes fresh and saltwater laboratories, offices, and dive and docking facilities. Auke Creek Research Station is a permanent fish weir and hatchery owned by NOAA that is jointly operated with the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The Juneau Subport Dock and Warehouse has berthing and crane facilities for ocean-going vessels, warm dry storage, office space, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game boat repair and storage facility. Little Port Walter Marine Station has fixed and floating docks, office space, dry storage, bunkhouse and kitchen, and fish weir and hatchery. ABL facility staff also have responsibility for managing the Pribilof Island facilities.

Habitat and Marine Chemistry

Beaufort Sea sampling of coastal fish populations near Barrow, Alaska.

Marine survey data from ABL research on commercially marketable species such as rockfish, sablefish, and salmon, and on non-marketable and/or protected species such as eel grass, plankton, Steller sea lions, and harbor seals are made available to fishing industries, state and federal regulators, and international treaty bodies.

Groups involved in managing human activities in coastal environments frequently base their actions on ABL's knowledge of the quantities and qualities of fish habitats in the affected areas. ABL's capabilities in environmental chemistry research contribute to greater understanding of the fate and effects of pollutants in marine ecosystems, genetics of marine animal populations, and the structure and functioning of marine food webs.

ABL is organized into five research programs(ABL Organizational Chart): Genetics, Ecosystem Monitoring and Assessment (EMA), Fisheries Ecology, Diet and Zooplankton (FEDZ) , Marine Ecology and Stock Assessment (MESA), and Habitat Assessment and Marine Chemistry (HAMC).

• Auke Bay Laboratories Hydrocarbon Database Metadata
• Auke Bay Laboratories Climatology Metadata

Fisheries Management And Analysis Division

The precursor to the North Pacific Groundfish Observer Program (NPGOP) was established in 1973. A small group of U.S. advisory scientists were invited aboard Japanese motherships to monitor the incidental catches of Pacific halibut in the groundfish catches. This group expanded into the Foreign Fishery Observer Program when the Magnuson Fishery Conservation Act of 1976 mandated that foreign vessels operating within the Fishery Conservation Zone accept U.S. citizens as observers.

In 1978, U.S. fishers entered the fishery through joint venture operations with the foreign vessels. Legislative acts in 1988-90 mandated observer coverage of domestic fishing vessels, resulting in the creation of the NPGOP. By 1991, the Americanization of the Alaskan groundfish fisheries was complete and all foreign fishing ended.

The observer program is managed by the Fisheries Monitoring and Analysis Division (FMA) which is charged with monitoring groundfish fishing activities in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off Alaska and conducting research associated with sampling commercial fishery catches; estimation of catch and bycatch mortality; and analysis of fishery-dependent data. The Division is responsible for training, briefing, debriefing and oversight of observers who collect catch data onboard fishing vessels and at onshore processing plants and for quality control/quality assurance of the data provided by these observers. Division staff process data and make it available to the Sustainable Fisheries Division of the Alaska Regional Office for quota monitoring and to scientists in other AFSC divisions for stock assessment, ecosystem investigations, and an array of research investigations

National Marine Mammal Laboratory

The National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML) conducts research on marine mammals important to the mission of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with particular attention to issues related to marine mammals off the coasts of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California. Research projects focus on ecology and behavior, population dynamics, life history, and status and trends. Information is provided to various domestic and international organizations to assist in developing rational and appropriate management regimes for marine resources under NOAA's jurisdiction. These organizations include the NMFS Alaska and Northwest Regional Offices, the NMFS Office of Protected Resources, the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, the International Whaling Commission, and the Arctic Council.

Research conducted by NMML utilizes a variety of methods and tools to obtain needed information. Determination of status and trends of marine mammal populations requires information on abundance, stock structure, mortality and net productivity. To obtain these data, censuses are carried out from ships, aircraft and on land. Radio and satellite-linked telemetry is utilized to determine movements and migrations, critical feeding areas and depths, and other behavioral data. Sophisticated analyses and modeling are carried out to determine necessary population parameters. Research programs are carried out cooperatively with many other federal, state and private sector collaborators.

Resource Assessment And Conservation Engineering Division

The Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering (RACE) Division comprises fishery and oceanography research scientists, geneticists, pathobiologists, technicians, IT Specialists, fishery equipment specialists, administrative support staff, and contract research associates. The core function of this diverse group is to conduct quantitative fishery surveys and related ecological and oceanographic research to measure and describe the distribution and abundance of commercially important fish and crab stocks in the eastern Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska and to investigate ways to reduce bycatch, bycatch mortality and the effects of fishing on habitat The status and trend information derived from both regular surveys and associated research are analyzed by Center stock assessment scientists and supplied to fishery management agencies and to the commercial fishing industry. RACE Division Programs include Fisheries Behavioral Ecology, Groundfish Assessment, Midwater Assessment and Conservation Engineering, Recruitment Processes, Shellfish Assessment, and Research Fishing Gear. These RACE programs operate from three locations in Kodiak, Alaska; Newport, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington.

The research surveys conducted from both NOAA and chartered ships utilize a range of traditional (e.g. bottom trawls) and advanced technology sampling techniques (e.g. acoustics), mensuration equipment, and other sampling systems. A large inventory of such gear is built and maintained by the Division's Survey Support and Research Fishing Gear Programs. RACE Division scientists also use underwater video and sonar systems to observe fish and crab behavior during capture, and laboratory experiments to measure potential for animal survival after experiencing capture stress. Conservation engineering scientists also work with industry to test modifications of fishing equipment to reduce the take of - or impacts on - incidental species (bycatch), which may be out of season or not of commercial fishing interest and the effects of fishing on habitat.

Resource Ecology And Fisheries Management Division

The Alaska Fisheries Science Center's Resource Ecology and Fisheries Management (REFM) Division conducts research and data collection to support an ecosystem approach to management of Northeast Pacific and eastern Bering Sea fish and crab resources. More than twenty-five groundfish and crab stock assessments are developed annually and used by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to set catch quotas. In addition, economic and ecosystem assessments are provided to the Council on an annual basis. Division scientists evaluate how fish stocks, ecosystem relationships and user groups might be affected by fishery management actions and climate.

REFM scientists in the Status of Stocks and Multispecies Assessments (SSMA) program use biological and oceanographic information coupled with numerical simulation techniques to study the interaction of fish populations, fisheries, and the environment. The Fishery Interaction Team of SSMA conducts field studies to examine potential commercial fishery impacts on prey including reduction in the abundance or availability of prey at local scales and disturbance of prey fields. Ecosystem assessments and information and multispecies and ecosystem models on the relationship between predators and prey developed by the Division's Resource Ecology and Ecosystem Modeling staff also contribute to management advice. The Age and Growth program is primarily focused on providing age data that contributes to a basic understanding of a species, whether it is in the context of sustainable fisheries, species conservation, or species biology. These age data are critical to development of age-structured models and fishery management advice. The Socioeconomic program staff provides economic information to NMFS, industry and other agencies to assist with such projects as evaluating the economic effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, developing guidelines for valuing commercial and recreational fisheries, or evaluating economic impacts of fisheries rationalization programs. Sociocultural information on Alaskan communities and traditional ecological knowledge is also compiled and evaluated.