Assessing rockfish abundance in untrawlable habitats is a key area of study for the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. In order to accurately estimate abundance knowledge of rockfish response to the observation platform must be known. In 2013, we performed a series of experiments to examine rockfish response to a stereo drop camera. These data area stored as image files, .Rdata files, .sql3 files and as .xlsx files.

The core function of the Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering (RACE) Groundfish Assessment Program (GAP) 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, Gulf of Alaska. As part of the quality control and general documentation of these efforts, digital photographs are taken during each of the surveys. These photos are stored on an AFSC server as .jpg files.

The project consisted of a nearshore fish, invertebrate, and habitat survey in northern Bristol Bay, Alaska. A 32-ft. gillnet vessel, the F/V Willow was chartered for the survey, and we also used a 20-ft. aluminum skiff with 90-hp. motor for shallow water work. The survey was staged out of Dillingham, Alaska and took place from July 26-August 8, 2009.The main gear types used during the survey were a beach seine and a bottom beam trawl. A surface pair trawl (towed by the vessel and the skiff) was deployed in one location. Using these gear types, we sampled from the shoreline to 17 m depth, as well as surface waters ~1 km from the shoreline. Catches were sorted to species, enumerated, and when possible weighed using spring scales. Length measurements were taken for most species. Voucher specimens were preserved in 10% formalin for confirmation of species identification. A small number of samples were frozen for age and energetics analysis . Photographs were taken of most species. Small, datalogging conductivity-temperature-depth recorders (CTDs) were deployed on the trawl gear, and also placed on temporary moorings in several locations to study fluctuations in temperature and salinity over tidal cycles. We also recorded habitat variables at beach seine sites according to the methodology used in the Nearshore Fish Atlas of Alaska. During July 26-August 1, 2009 sampling was conducted in Nushagak Bay. High wind and waves hampered the sampling throughout this entire week and largely determined possible sampling locations. Two days were completely lost due to weather. On August 3 we traveled from Dillingham to the west side of the Nushagak and from August 4-8 sampling was conducted along the Nushagak Peninsula and in Kulukak, Nunavachak, Ungalikthluk, and Togiak Bays. During most of this time we experienced high winds but they did not hamper the sampling to the same degree as in the Nushagak. On August 8 we traveled back to Dillingham.

Members of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center's (AFSC) Stock Assessment and Multispecies Assessments Program are responsible for determining the condition of fisheries resources in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone using data collected by other AFSC scientists and developing strategies for managing those resources. Their research focuses on updating information on population dynamic trends, estimation of biological yields, and management strategies (as presented in annual assessment documents).

This database contains information about shrimp surveys conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands dating back to 1953. The main tables used for analysis are the shrimp.catch, shrimp.length, shrimp.cruise, and shrimp.haul tables. Join columns provide linkages between the tables.The shrimp.catch table contains catch weights and counts by haul. Not all catch weights have associated counts and in the earlier years of the time series the catch of all species was not recorded so care must be taken that a non-recorded catch is not interpretated as a zero catch. The shrimp.length table contains the length measurements of the shrimp and other taxa taken during the smallmesh survey.The Shrimp.cruise table contains information on each of the individual surveys called cruises included in the smallmesh database from the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, and Aleutian Islands. The definition of a cruise has not been consistent over the years. Generally, a cruise is conducted by a single vessel in a single geographic area. For certain cruises however, multiple vessels participated in hauls ranging from the Bering Sea to the Gulf of Alaska. The records from some cruises contain as few as one haul while several consist of over 500 hauls. The Shrimp.haul table contains the basic information gathered for each haul including location, date and time, and gear information. Some of the hauls in the data set are from surveys not necessarily targeting shrimp, mainly the hauls in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires the description and identification of essential fish habitat (EFH) for species included in federal fishery management plans (FMPs). NMFS Alaska Region provides a collection with EFH maps, supporting data, and supplemental habitat datasets. Alaska EFH maps are developed by species’ life history stages within the spatial extent of the fishery management units of the FMPs. The data included varies by FMP, representing EFH based on species survey distribution maps developed through analysis of species distributions from fishery independent surveys and fishery observer data (Scallop FMP), cumulative frequency distribution model maps developed through analysis of species survey data and environmental covariates (Salmon FMP), and species distribution model maps developed through analysis of species data from fishery independent surveys or fishery observer data and environmental covariates (Groundfish, Crab, and Arctic FMPs). The EFH mapping data available in this collection include GIS files (geodatabases, shapefiles, raster files) that are organized by FMP with supporting documents. The EFH maps and supporting data are updated with the completion of an EFH 5-year Review. One of the challenges for understanding EFH in Alaska’s nearshore is the extensive and complex coastline (~55,000 km) with a diversity of estuarine and marine habitats. Supplemental datasets in this collection are Alaska ShoreZone, Shore Station, and the Nearshore Fish Atlas of Alaska (NFAA). ShoreZone is an aerial imaging, coastal habitat classification and mapping system used to inventory alongshore and across-shore geomorphological and biological attributes of the shoreline. The georeferenced, oblique, low altitude aerial imagery is acquired during the lowest tides of the year and then used to classify habitat attributes into a searchable database. Alaska ShoreZone data in this collection include videos, video still images, photos, GIS files (geodatabase and shapefiles), data dictionary, protocol, and flight plans. Shore Station is a compilation of data collected during low tide surveys from hundreds of intertidal sites throughout coastal Alaska. Survey data include observed species, species assemblages, geomorphic features (e.g., sediment, substrate, bedform), beach length, slope, specific elevation profiles. Shore Station data in the collection include photos, GIS files (geodatabase and shapefiles), and supporting documentation. The NFAA is a centralized, relational database of nearshore fish surveys, providing data on the distribution, relative abundance, and habitat use of nearshore fishes in Alaska. This dataset includes numerous nearshore surveys collected by various agencies and organizations over the past several decades with different objectives and gear types (e.g., beach seines, purse seines, and trawls). NFAA data in the collection include photos, GIS files (geodatabase and shapefiles), and supporting documentation.

Benthic samples were collected between 2009-2012 in the Bering Sea to study Essential Fish Habitat. Station locations were at or near fixed stations of the AFSC bottom trawl survey. Granulometry of surficial sediment and infauna communities were analyzed.

A comprehensive species list of marine invertebrates of Alaska has been lacking. The checklist of Austin (1985) treated the marine invertebrates of the southern coast of Alaska to California and since then many new species have been described, many range extensions have been discovered, and considerable changes in higher-level systematics have been made. The checklist we compiled lists over 3,500 species and includes the currently accepted scientific name and its significant synonyms, common names, type localities, geographic and depth distributions, a general statement of abundance in Alaska when known (e.g., rare, uncommon, common, abundant), and general remarks. This checklist will serve as a foundation for future species-specific research. Updated species lists are necessary to reflect the current state of biodiversity knowledge and are thus essential for conservation planning and management. To monitor and predict future changes to marine life, the distribution and abundance of marine species need to be better understood, and this can only be achieved with reliable identifications based on a sound taxonomy. The current status and future directions of Alaskan marine invertebrate biodiversity are briefly discussed.

The GOA/AI Bottom Trawl Estimate database contains abundance estimates for the Alaska Biennial Bottom Trawl Surveys conducted in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands in alternate years. The estimates build upon raw and summary data available from the RACEBASE database and include calculated catch-per-unit-effort (cpue)s for principal species of groundfish and key invertebrates for each survey region. The cpues are averaged by survey strata, and then average cpues are multiplied by stratum areas which results in estimates of biomass and numerical abundance. Length and age data are combined with abundance to estimate the population at length and sex and population at age and sex.

Aerial photographic surveys for bowhead whales were conducted near Point Barrow, Alaska, from 19 April to 6 June in 2011. Approximately 4,594 photographs containing 6,801 bowhead whale images were obtained (not accounting for resightings). The 2011 field season was very successful: we flew 36 out of 49 available days and conducted 49 flights in that time; we were grounded due to weather on 13 days. The longest period of time that we were grounded due to weather (low ceilings/fog) was three days. This occurred after the migration had slowed down, during a time when few whales passed the ice perches according to the ice-based visual survey. The 2011 migration was steady with several peaks (30 April, 4-5 May, 12 May), and then the migration rate slowed down considerably after 14 May. The photographs taken in 2011 are a significant contribution to the bowhead whale photographic catalogue. They will be used to calculate a population estimate that may be used for comparison with the 2011 ice-based estimate and will provide better precision in estimates of bowhead whale life-history parameters.