"Regional Activities"

Information on the distribution, abundance, species composition, habitat use, and life-stage of 121 fish species caught in nearshore marine waters of Alaska is synthesized in this atlas. Data were collected by scientists from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Auke Bay Laboratories over a 14-year period (1998-2011). Fish were captured with a beach seine mostly in summer in four different habitat types (bedrock outcrops, eelgrass meadows, understory kelp beds, and sand or gravel beaches) at 93 locations and 555 unique sites within nine regions of Alaska spanning from the Arctic to southeastern Alaska. Data on species assemblages are summarized among regions and habitat types. Distribution maps, graphs of abundance and length frequency, and photos are presented for each species. This atlas is unique because the same methods were used to sample fish and habitat over a large extent of coastal Alaska, and the core group of researchers doing the work remained the same throughout all years.

The Arctic ecosystem is changing rapidly, yet information on nearshore fish assemblages for the northeastern Chukchi Sea is extremely limited. To address this information gap, we sampled nearshore fish assemblages with a beach seine and a small bottom trawl at six stations in the northeastern Chukchi Sea in August 2007, 2008, and 2009, and in September 2009. Catch and species composition differed by gear type and between sample periods, including the two in 2009. A total of 16039 fish representing 18 species were captured in 24 beach seine hauls, and 3108 fish representing 24 species were captured in 48 trawl tows. Beach seine catch was dominated by capelin (83%), and trawl catch was dominated by Arctic cod (56%). Species that were good discriminators between gear types were capelin (seine) and slender eelblenny (trawl), and unidentified small sculpins were the most common taxa caught with both gear types. Capelin and Arctic cod captured by either gear type were mostly juveniles (judging by size). Variability among sampling periods in catch and species composition within gear types can likely be attributed to annual variations in environmental conditions, including differences in water temperature (range: 2 ̊ – 9 ̊C). The shallow nearshore environment of the northeastern Chukchi Sea provides important habitat for many fish species and is extremely vulnerable to disturbance. Loss of sea ice from global warming may open up formerly inaccessible areas to oil and gas exploration, vessel traffic, and commercial fishing. Thus, long-term monitoring of nearshore fish assemblages in the Alaskan Arctic is necessary for managers to make informed decisions in this fragile environment.

The domestic groundfish fishery off Alaska is an important segment of the U.S. fishing industry. With a total catch of 2.12 million metric tons (t), a retained catch of 2.05 million t, and an ex-vessel value of $1,051 million in 2012, it accounted for 47.4% of the weight and 19.9% of the ex-vessel value of total U.S. domestic landings as reported in Fisheries of the United States, 2011 (FUS 2012 was not yet available at the time of this draft). The value of the 2012 groundfish catch after primary processing was $2,540 million (F.O.B. Alaska).

Juvenile Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), ecologically-related species, and associated biophysical data were collected from the marine waters of the northern region of southeastern Alaska (SEAK) in 2012. This annual survey, conducted by the Southeast Coastal Monitoring (SECM) project, marks 16 consecutive years of systematically monitoring how juvenile salmon utilize marine ecosystems during a period of climate change. The survey was implemented to identify the relationships between year-class strength of juvenile salmon and biophysical parameters that influence their habitat use, marine growth, prey fields, predation, and stock interactions. Thirteen stations were sampled monthly in epipelagic waters from May to August (total of 23 sampling days). Fish, zooplankton, surface water samples, and physical profile data were typically collected during daylight at each station using a surface rope trawl, Norpac and bongo nets, a water sampler, and a conductivity-temperature-depth profiler. Surface (3-m) temperatures and salinities ranged from approximately 7 to 14 ºC and 16 to 32 PSU across inshore, strait, and coastal habitats for the four months. A total of 46,144 fish and squid, representing 29 taxa, were captured in 96 rope trawl hauls fished from June to August. Juvenile salmon comprised approximately 96% of the total fish catch. Juvenile pink (O. gorbuscha), chum (O. keta), sockeye (O. nerka), and coho (O. kisutch) salmon occurred in 73-84% of the hauls by month and habitat, while juvenile Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) occurred in 20% of the hauls. Abundance of juvenile salmon was high in 2012; peak CPUE occurred in July in strait habitat and in August in coastal habitat. Coded-wire tags were recovered from 27 coho salmon and 6 Chinook salmon, mainly including hatchery and wild stocks originating in SEAK and captured in strait habitat; an additional 18 adipose-clipped individuals without tags (presumably originating from the Pacific Northwest) were recovered mainly in coastal habitat. Alaska enhanced stocks comprised 71%, 30%, and 9% of chum, sockeye, and coho salmon, respectively. Predation on juvenile salmon was observed in 3 of 9 fish species examined. The longterm seasonal time series of SECM juvenile salmon stock assessment and biophysical data is used in conjunction with basin-scale ecosystem metrics to annually forecast pink salmon harvest in SEAK. Longterm seasonal monitoring of key stocks of juvenile salmon and associated ecologically-related species, including fish predators and prey, permits researchers to understand how growth, abundance, and interactions affect year-class strength of salmon during climate change in marine ecosystems.

The goal of the Ecosystem Considerations report is to provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management and to spur new understanding of the connections between ecosystem components by bringing together many diverse research efforts into one document.

The domestic groundfish fishery off Alaska is an important segment of the U.S. fishing industry. With a total catch of 2.07 million metric tons (t), a retained catch of 1.99 million t, and an ex-vessel value of $991 million in 2011, it accounted for 55.4% of the weight and 21.9% of the ex-vessel value of total U.S. domestic landings as reported in Fisheries of the United States, 2010 (FUS 2011 was not yet available at the time of this draft). The value of the 2011 groundfish catch after primary processing was $2,520 million (F.O.B. Alaska).

Juvenile Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), ecologically-related species, and associated biophysical data were collected from the marine waters of the northern region of southeastern Alaska (SEAK) in 2011. This annual survey, conducted by the Southeast Coastal Monitoring (SECM) project, marks 15 consecutive years of systematically monitoring how juvenile salmon utilize marine ecosystems during a period of climate change. The survey was implemented to identify the relationships between year-class strength of juvenile salmon and biophysical parameters that influence their habitat use, marine growth, prey fields, predation, and stock interactions. This report also contrasts the 2011 findings with selected biophysical factors from the prior 14 sampling years. Thirteen stations were sampled monthly in epipelagic waters from May to August (total of 21 sampling days). Fish, zooplankton, surface water samples, and physical profile data were typically collected during daylight at each station using a surface rope trawl, Norpac and bongo nets, a water sampler, and a conductivity-temperature-depth profiler. Surface (3-m) temperatures and salinities ranged from approximately 6 to 14 ºC and 15 to 32 PSU, respectively, from May to August across inshore, strait, and coastal habitats. A total of 6,640 fish and squid, representing 27 taxa, were captured in 96 rope trawl hauls fished from June to August. Juvenile salmon comprised approximately 78% of the total fish catch. Juvenile pink (O. gorbuscha), chum (O. keta), sockeye (O. nerka), and coho (O. kisutch) salmon occurred in 42-80% of the hauls by month and habitat, while juvenile Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) occurred in ≤ 17% of the hauls. Abundance of juvenile salmon was relatively low in 2011; peak catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) in strait habitat occurred in August for all species except chum salmon (June). Coded-wire tags were recovered from 10 coho salmon and 6 Chinook salmon from hatchery and wild stocks originating in SEAK and Washington. Alaska enhanced stocks were also identified by thermal otolith marks from 60%, 21%, and 5% of chum, sockeye, and coho salmon examined, respectively. Predation on juvenile salmon was observed in 3 of 9 species examined. Biophysical measures from 2011 differed from prior years, in many respects. Compared to the 15-yr longterm mean values, temperature anomalies were negative, salinity anomalies were positive, zooplankton density was low, and condition residuals were negative for juvenile pink, chum, and sockeye salmon. The SECM juvenile salmon stock assessment and biophysical data are used in conjunction with basin-scale biophysical data to forecast pink salmon harvest in SEAK. Longterm seasonal monitoring of key stocks of juvenile salmon and associated ecologically-related species, including fish predators and prey, permits researchers to understand how growth, abundance, and interactions affect year-class strength of salmon during climate change in marine ecosystems.

Information on fish in coastal waters of the Alaskan Arctic is outdated or nonexistent, especially in areas targeted for oil exploration and increased transportation activities. To address this information gap, we sampled fish in nearshore waters...

The importance of a particular habitat to nearshore fish can be best assessed by both diurnal and nocturnal sampling. To determine diel differences in fish assemblages in nearshore eelgrass and under-story kelp habitats, fish were sampled diurnally and nocturnally at six locations in western Prince William Sound, Alaska, in summer 2007. Abundance of fish between day and night were similar, but species composition and mean size of some fish changed. Species richness and species diversity were similar in eelgrass during the day and night, whereas in kelp, species richness and species diversity were greater at night than during the day. In eelgrass, saffron cod (Eleginus gracilis) was the most abundant species during the day and night. In kelp, the most abundant species were Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) during the day and saffron cod at night. Diel differences in fish size varied by species and habitat. Mean length of saffron cod was similar between day and night in eelgrass but was greatest during the day in kelp. Pacific herring were larger at night than during the day in kelp. Diel sampling is important to identity nearshore habitats essential to fish and help manage fish stocks at risk.

The NWFSC’s Point Adams Research Station, located at the mouth of the Columbia River at Hammond, OR, is home to 30 scientists and staff who spend most of their time shadowing salmonids, or their predators, for a living.