NPCREP bongo cruise

The objectives of this cruise are to conduct an ichthyoplankton survey and process oriented studies in the region between Unimak Pass, the Shumagin Islands, and through Shelikof Strait to Kodiak Island, Alaska, so that we may estimate the abundance, transport, and factors influencing the survival of young walleye pollock larvae. We will also occupy stations on Line 8 to continue our 19 year time series of environmental and biological conditions in Shelikof Strait.

The objectives of this cruise were to conduct an ichthyoplankton survey and process studies in the region between the Shumagin Islands and Shelikof Strait so that we could estimate the abundance, transport, and factors influencing the survival of young walleye pollock larvae. We also occupied six of the stations on Line 8 to continue our 26-year time series of environmental and biological conditions in Shelikof Strait. In addition to this sampling, stations selected from the main grid for the GOA-IERP research project were occupied to deploy the neuston gear to acquire larval fish of five target species (sablefish, walleye pollock, Pacific cod, arrowtooth flounder, and Pacific Ocean perch).

The objectives of this cruise were to conduct an ichthyoplankton survey and process oriented studies in the region between the Shumagin Islands and Shelikof Strait so that we could estimate the abundance, transport, and environmental factors influencing the survival of young walleye pollock larvae. Fresh standard length measurements were obtained at each station where larval pollock occurred to supply data for a larval survival index. Standard sampling protocols were used at 6 of the Line 8 stations to continue the historical database for this area.

The objectives of this cruise are to conduct an ichthyoplankton survey and process oriented studies in the region between Unimak Pass, the Shumagin Islands, and through Shelikof Strait to Kodiak Island, Alaska, so that we may estimate the abundance, transport, and factors influencing the survival of young walleye pollock larvae. We will also occupy stations on Line 8 to continue our 20 year time series of environmental and biological conditions in Shelikof Strait.

We will conduct an ichthyoplankton survey in the Gulf of Alaska in the vicinity of Kodiak Island, Alaska. This area is a known nursery ground for a variety of species of fish - walleye pollock, Pacific cod, rock sole, and Pacific halibut. Work is needed to describe larval fish and zooplankton assemblages in summer, and to examine the movement of water and associated biota from the slope onto the shelf. We will also conduct some trawling to describe abundances of juvenile groundfishes and small forage fishes in selected canyons and in the vicinity of Kodiak Island. Six satellite-tracked drifters will be released to study current trajectories in the vicinity of Port Lock Bank. Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth profiler casts will be made to characterize water column properties, collect nutrient and chlorophyll information, and to use to evaluate the flow field.

We will be conducting an ichthyoplankton survey in the waters contiguous to Kodiak Island, Alaska. This work is needed to describe larval fish assemblages on the shelf and slope in late summer and early fall, and to study the transport and early life history of larval forage fishes (ex: capelin). Zooplankton data and data on physical characteristics of the water column will also be collected. Limited trawling activities for juvenile groundfishes (age-0 pollock) and adult forage fishes (capelin) will be conducted as well to study differences in production between offshore banks and troughs and nearshore Kodiak Island.

Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigations (FOCI) is an effort by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and associated academic scientists. FOCI's goal is to understand the effects of abiotic and biotic variability on ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea in order to discern the physical and biological processes that determine recruitment variability of commercially valuable finfish and shellfish stocks in Alaskan waters. We will focus our efforts on the physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring in particular areas of this region. These include Portlock Bank, Stevenson Trough, and one of the large offshore eddies, that typically impact this area between April and September and contribute to on and offshore fluxes.

We will be conducting an ichthyoplankton and juvenile fish survey in the Eastern Bering Sea in the waters contiguous to the Alaska Peninsula and Unimak Island, Alaska. This work is needed to describe larval fish and zooplankton assemblages in the Bering Sea - basin, slope, outer shelf, middle shelf - in autumn. In particular, this area is a known nursery area for walleye pollock, northern rocksole, Greenland halibut, and Alaska plaice, and abundances of larvae and juveniles at this time of year are high. Zooplankton data and data on physical characteristics of the water column will also be collected. Limited beam trawling activities may also be conducted to study settlement and nursery areas for age-0 flatfishes.

To recover and deploy several surface and subsurface oceanographic instrumentation moorings at PMEL historical mooring sites BS-2 and BS-4. To complete CTD casts and bongo tows at specified Bering Sea locations.