This study compares timing of egg extrusion, embryo development, timing and duration of eclosion, and incubation periods of Kodiak, Alaska primiparous and multiparous Tanner crabs (Chionoecetes bairdi) reared in identical conditions to determine if and how these variables differ between reproductive states. Female reproductive state (primiparous or multiparous) and dates of egg extrusion were recorded, eggs were sampled monthly to determine egg stage and area, and larvae were collected daily during eclosion to determine timing and duration of eclosion.

The data from this study, describes embryo development in Golden king crab, Lithodes aequispinus. Six female multiparous golden king crab were captured from the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and mated in the laboratory. Their embryos were photographed and staged on average once every 9 days throughout embryogenesis.

To study the effects of ocean acidification we examined the effects of ocean acidification on the embryo stages of the economically important southern Tanner crab, Chionoecetes bairdi. Ovigerous females were reared in one of 3 treatments: control (ambient pH ~8.1), pH 7.8, and pH 7.5 for 2 years. Embryos in year 1 were from oocytes developed in the field whereas embryos in year 2 were from oocytes developed under acidified conditions. Datasets associated with this study include Brooding Duration, Carbonate Chemistry, Embryo Morphology, and Embryo Stages. Embryo stages assessed monthly included detailed developmental stages from the prefuniculus formation through the prehatching stage. Embryo stages were not different among pH treatments. Embryo morphology included egg area, egg diameter, yolk area, yolk diameter, embryo area, eye area, and eye diameter. Each morphological characteristic varied according to pH treatment using a principal component analysis.

Juvenile rockfish were observed amongst coral, sponge, cobble, and gravel habitats. Rockfish utilized coral habitats more than any other, while gravel was the least utilized. Sponge and cobble habitat utilization was intermediate to coral and gravel. Predation of young-of-the-year rockfish by sculpin predators was greatest in gravel habitats and lowest in coral habitats.

Data are currently limited or lacking for several federally managed rockfish species of the genus Sebastes found within the Gulf of Alaska. This project is related to the core mission of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center as it will provide data which will refine and improve assessment models for these commercially important species. The initial data collection from this project began in 2009 and is on-going. Samples of a variety of rockfish species have been collected from several years and in several locations throughout the Gulf of Alaska. These data are stored in database files (MS Excel or MS Access).

Diel epipelagic sampling for juvenile Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), rockfish (Sebastes spp.), sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria), and associated species was conducted in order to identify factors that may affect year-class success of these commercially important species. Sampling occurred in offshore marine habitats of the coastal northeast Pacific Ocean from 10-20 August 2005 and was conducted with a surface trawl fishing the upper 20 m of the water column along transects up to78 km offshore near 58 N. Three habitats were sampled along each transect over a 24-hr period: the continental shelf (<200 m depth), the continental slope (400-750 m depth), and the abyss (>2,000 m depth). A total of 38,747 fish and squid representing 24 species were sampled in 56 trawl hauls. Of the targeted juvenile fish species, a total of 587 salmon, 11 rockfish, and 70 sablefish were captured. Sampling during day (1500-1900) and night (2200-0200) periods indicated that biomass of fish and squid was 2-4 times higher at night at (each?)all habitat types pooled across transects. No distinct patterns between day or night occurrence were noted for juvenile pink salmon (O. gorbuscha), chum salmon (O. keta), sockeye salmon (O. nerka), or coho salmon (O. kisutch), however, juvenile Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) were encountered only at night. Catches of juvenile rockfish and juvenile sablefish were quite low in this study, and larger sample sizes of these fish are needed to adequately determine their diel distribution. Diel differences were apparent with forage species such as Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi), capelin (Mallotus villosus), and eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus) that were almost exclusively sampled at night. The offshore distribution patterns of target species were distinctly different, with the most common occurrences of juvenile salmon over continental shelf habitats, juvenile sablefish over continental shelf and slope habitats, and juvenile rockfish over slope and abyss habitats. Pacific herring, capelin, eulachon, and Pacific sardines (Sardinops sagax) were found over continental shelf habitats, whereas small squid and myctophids occurred primarily at slope and abyssal habitats. The greatest overall catch biomass was of gelatinous species (jellyfish), which was consistently higher than that of all fish and squid combined, usually by an order of magnitude. Individual fish or squid species with highest average weight per haul were pomfret (Brama japonica), adult coho salmon, Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas), and blue sharks (Prionace glauca). The occurrence of the latter two warm-water species and Pacific sardines were of interest because this study occurred during an anomalously warm year and the capture of Pacific sardines and Humboldt squid represent northern range extensions for these species. Stomach content analysis of potential predator species of the target species showed that only adult coho salmon were predating on juvenile salmon and sablefish, and only pomfret were predating on juvenile rockfish. Further sampling of the target species is needed in these habitats during more normal environmental conditions to validate these observations.

This data set describes the holding temperatures and developmental stages of larvae of red and blue king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus and P. platypus) reared to the first crab stage at the Kodiak Laboratory.

There is increasing global awareness of the need for sustainable aquaculture. Aquaculture represents a potential mechanism for supplementing wild fish harvests, either through stocking of cultured animals or farming to market size. In the first case, stocked animals would be available to sport and commercial fishermen. In the latter, consumer demand would be met directly with a farmed product, reducing pressure on wild stocks. By the year 2030, the global population is projected to reach 8.2 billion, with an expected demand for seafood of 150 million metric tons (mmt), 54 mmt of which the Food and Agriculture Organization (www.fao.org) estimates that aquaculture must contribute. Meanwhile in the U.S., an astounding 86% of the seafood consumed is imported ($9 billion annually), which makes seafood second only to oil as the largest natural resource contributor to our national trade deficit. There remains a great need for U.S. aquaculture production to fill the seafood void. Commercial-scale production of marine finfish in the U.S. is limited to a handful of species, however, including red drum, Pacific threadfin, cobia, cod, and flounder (excluding the anadromous Atlantic salmon), and production is often inconsistent. On the U.S. West Coast, many native marine species represent good potential candidates for aquaculture. Most of these, such as California sheephead, California halibut, cabezon, lingcod, white seabass, and rockfishes, are fully or over-exploited by capture fisheries. Other high-value species like California yellowtail and yellowfin tuna are transitory, with apparently healthy populations, but based on success elsewhere in the world, are believed to offer excellent potential for commercial aquaculture development in the U.S. A major step in the creation of a viable and profitable marine aquaculture industry lies in developing reliable fingerling production, and central to this is understanding the variables that determine egg and larval quality. The lack of knowledge in what optimizes egg and larval quality is an important limiting factor in developing culture techniques for any species (Kjorsvik et al. 1990; Bromage 1995). Inconsistent or poor egg quality significantly affects the production and viability of larval and juvenile fish. In the absence of high-quality eggs, it is not possible to optimize husbandry practices because larval performance is substandard under typical culture conditions, such as high stocking densities, aggressive weaning regimes, and grading or other handling procedures. Unfortunately, identifying simple indicators of egg quality has been difficult as no individual metric is universally applicable within and among species. This proposal seeks to identify easy-to-use indictors, as well as determine pre- and post-spawning factors that affect egg quality, in up to three very different ecologically and economically valuable marine fish species native to the U.S. West Coast: a highly-pelagic finfish, the California yellowtail (Seriola lalandi; CYT); a deep-sea whitefish, the sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria; SF); and/or a semi-resident benthic flatfish species, the California halibut (Paralichthys californicus; CH). All three species are multiple batch spawners, producing large numbers of eggs several times over the course of a spawning season. Defining the differences between high and low quality eggs and documenting correlations between quality and different conditions (e.g. broodstock diet, age, domestication status, spawning methods, or progression through the spawning season) will directly impact the success of culturing species like these. If inferior batches of eggs can be identified early on, culturists would have a valuable tool, which would significantly advance mariculture development along the U.S. West Coast and elsewhere by leading toward consistent fingerling production of species with great potential for culture.

The importance of high relief structure containing biotic habitat to rockfish and other species remains largely unknown. This data set was created to examine the importance of this habitat for Pacific ocean perch, northern rockfish, and dusky rockfish. These data were derived from four research cruises that occurred between May 2012 and December 2014. During the cruises, video data was recorded of habitat associations, plankton samples were collected, temperature profiles were recorded, and several types of biological samples were taken from trawl captured rockfish. These data will be recorded in several tables in an access database and video files will also be available.

The datasets contain larval size, water temperature, cell cycle data, and classification of larval condition.