Annual Study of Salmon in Southeast Alaska - Post 6

July 30, 2020

Scientists in our Auke Bay Laboratories are collaborating with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to study juvenile salmon in Southeast Alaska coastal waters.

Survey |

Alaska

July 30, 2020

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A juvenile wolfeel saved for the Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute aquarium. Photo: NOAA Fisheries.

Today we finished up sampling in Upper Chatham and collected live zooplankton for lipid analysis. It is a beautiful sunny day (sunscreen required for most of us) and is a big help as we clean pack up all of the survey equipment. After tending to the aquarium fish, we anchor up in Oliver’s Inlet and watch the sun set in Stephens Passage.

We caught a total of 3,532 fish consisting of 17 different species during the July survey. Herring was the most abundant species of fish, with a catch of 2,434. We caught 500 kg of jellyfish consisting of five different species or species groups. Moon jellyfish (Aurelia sp.) were the most abundant species with a total catch weight of 370 kg. Juvenile salmon catches during the July survey were: 304 pink salmon, 239 chum salmon, 194 Chinook salmon, and 100 coho salmon.

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Another successful survey! Members of the July, 2020 SECM survey on the backdeck of the R/V Medeia, ADF&G staff: Craig Conger, Jim deLaBruere, Cedar Stark, and Luke Erickson, NMFS staff: Andy Gray and Jamal Moss. Photo: NOAA Fisheries.

Sunset in Stephens Passage while anchored up in Oliver’s Inlet. Photo: NOAA Fisheries.

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Meet the Bloggers

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Andrew Gray

Andrew currently manages the Salmon Ocean Ecology and Bycatch Analysis (SOEBA) sub-program (within the Ecosystem Monitoring and Analysis program). The central objective of SOEBA is to understand the relation between ocean conditions and the distribution, growth and recruitment of salmon and associated species of groundfish well enough to contribute to groundfish stock assessments and the management of salmon bycatch in groundfish fisheries.

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Jim Murphy

Jim Murphy is a fisheries biologist with the Ecosystem Monitoring and Assessment Program. He studies salmon ecology. He also develops models to forecast Chinook salmon returns to the Yukon River and harvest models for Pink salmon. He serves on the U.S./Canada Yukon River Joint Technical Committee.

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Annual Study of Salmon in Southeast Alaska

For two decades scientists have been studying salmon in the Gulf of Alaska. Surveys are important for forecast river returns and monitoring bycatch in other commercial fisheries.

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