The objectives of these Arctic nearshore fish surveys is to measure seasonal changes in the distribution, demographics, trophic position and nutritional status of forage fish during the partial and complete ice-free season near Pt. Barrow, along the nearshore Chukchi and Beaufort Seas including Elson Lagoon, Alaska. These data will be related to biological and physical conditions observed near the Chukchi and Beaufort coasts and Elson Lagoon. Arctic Cod (Boreogadus saida), Saffron Cod (Eleginus gracilis), Capelin (Mallotus villosus), Sand Lance (Ammodytes hexapterus), Coregonids and sculpins will serve as the primary forage species targeted in the proposed work. The physical features to be measured include salinity, temperature, current direction and speed, wind direction and speed and bathymetry, but most importantly we seek a better understanding of how weather (wind) would affect the transport through the multi-inlet Elson Lagoon and its relation to coastal currents. Biological features include the community composition, abundance, distribution and quality of zooplankton prey available to forage fish. The catch data in this database include sampling efforts from 3 complimentary studies using similar gear in similar areas: ACES (Arctic Coastal Ecosystem Survey) and SHELFZ (Shelf Habitat and EcoLogy of Fish and Zooplankton), Ecology of Forage Fishes in the Arctic Nearshore. Data will be comparable to NOAAs previous efforts in the nearshore near Pt. Barrow (e.g. Thedinga et al. 2013). Combining these historical data with the proposed work will lead to an improved understanding of the relationship between forage fish and their nearshore habitats during the partial and complete ice-free period. The information developed by this proposed project is needed by those engaged in predicting impacts of climate change, developing oil and gas resources, managing foraging habitat of marine mammals, and planning for increased marine transportation.

Groundfish diet data collected during the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (NOAA/NMFS) groundfish surveys in the eastern Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska regions from 1981 to the present. Groundfish diet data are also collected by fishery observers aboard commercial fishing vessels. Diet data is associated with corresponding haul location data. Diet data is described to the lowest practical taxon with the exception of fish and crab prey which a generally described to the species level. These data are in an Oracle 11g.

Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) runs in rivers that flow into the eastern Bering Sea have been inconsistent and at times very weak. Low returns of chinook (O. tshawytscha) and chum (O. keta) salmon to the Yukon River, Kuskokwim River, and Norton Sound areas of Alaska prompted the state of Alaska to restrict commercial and subsistence fisheries during 2000 and declare the region a fisheries disaster area. Weak salmon returns to these river systems follow several years of low sockeye (O. nerka) salmon returns to Bristol Bay, which was declared a fisheries disaster region during 1998 by both the State of Alaska and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Causes of the poor salmon returns to these river systems are not known however, the regional-scale decline of these stocks indicates that the marine environment may play a critical role. Ocean conditions, particularly in the first few months after the salmon leave fresh water, are known to significantly affect salmon survival (Holtby et al. 1990; Friedland et al. 1996; Beamish and Mahnken 2001). Mechanisms affecting marine survival of the eastern Bering Sea salmon stocks are unknown, principally due to the lack of marine life history information on western Alaska salmon. To improve understanding of the marine life-history stage of salmon in the Bering Sea, the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) began an internationally coordinated research program on salmon in the Bering Sea called the Bering-Aleutian Salmon International Survey (BASIS) (NPAFC 2001). As part of BASIS, scientists from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Ocean Carrying Capacity (OCC) program conducted a fall survey on the eastern Bering Sea shelf to provide key ecological data for eastern Bering Sea salmon stocks during their juvenile life-history stage. The goal of the OCC/BASIS salmon research cruise was to understand mechanisms underlying the effects of environment on distribution, migration, and growth of juvenile salmon on the eastern Bering Sea shelf. Primary objectives of BASIS include: 1) to determine the extent of offshore migrations of juvenile salmon from rivers draining into the eastern Bering Sea, 2) to describe the physical environment of the eastern and northeastern Bering Sea shelf occupied by juvenile salmon, and 3) to collect biological information on other ecologically important species. Summaries of previous Bering Sea juvenile salmon research cruises can be found in Farley et al. (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005).

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.

This study is a cooperative effort between Douglas Island Pink & Chum (DIPAC), the University of Alaska Fairbanks, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (UAF, SFOS), the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Auke Bay Lab (ABL), and the Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) to determine the potential for interactions between DIPAC hatchery chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) fry and wild chum salmon fry in Taku Inlet, Southeast Alaska. We analyzed patterns in spatial and temporal distribution, size, and condition of juvenile chum salmon collected in the littoral and neritic waters of Taku Inlet in 2004 and 2005. Energy density and diet of wild and hatchery chum salmon fry in Taku Inlet were analyzed and compared to data obtained later in the season for chum salmon stocks caught in Icy Strait. The greatest potential for wild/hatchery interactions was in the outer inlet, directly following early hatchery releases (May 9-11). Peak outmigration for wild chum salmon fry coincided with early hatchery releases; in contrast, most wild chum salmon fry had already emigrated from the estuary by the time of late hatchery fry release (May 22 June 1). In both years, hatchery fry were rare in the inner inlet, but comprised over 95% of the catch in the outer estuary during the peak of outmigration. Hatchery chum salmon were significantly larger than wild fry in both beach and neritic samples. Wild and early hatchery chum salmon were smaller in the littoral than the neritic habitat, indicating that both groups moved from shallow to deeper water with ontogeny. In spite of large differences in abundance, no negative correlation between abundance of hatchery fish and condition of wild fish was identified. Both wild and early hatchery chum salmon fry showed apparent growth through the season, while late hatchery fry appeared to leave the estuary soon after release. Regardless of origin, most chum salmon juveniles emigrated from the study area in late May and early June, indicating a high probability for mixed-stock schools. Hatchery chum salmon juveniles were initially larger and had greater energy content than wild fish; however, energetic values converged by mid-June in Taku Inlet. In Icy Strait, energetic condition of wild and hatchery chum salmon juveniles was also similar. Multivariate analysis of 54 prey measures indicated that diets of the two groups were distinctly different throughout the season in all Taku Inlet locations and converged in Icy Strait.

Our experience with juvenile sablefish and long term rearing of broodstock indicate that salmon grower feeds currently used by commercial sablefish farmers for grow out are not optimally formulated to support maximum growth and efficient feed conversion. However, there are no published studies examining the effects of dietary nutrient balance on productive performance and growth at any post larval life-history stage for this species, and there are currently no commercial diets specifically formulated for sablefish in the marketplace. Because of the large impact of feed cost on the economic viability of farming sablefish, we are focusing on grow out diets intended for use during the post larval stages of development when the fish are being reared to harvest size. In this research, we use a novel statistical mixture model and response surface analysis method to determine the optimal level of dietary protein, lipid and digestible carbohydrate for testing. This approach permits simultaneous testing of diet formulations encompassing the full range of protein, lipid and digestible carbohydrate that can be produced commercially using today’s most advanced extrusion feed manufacturing technology. Raw data on rearing densities, tanks, water temperature, mortalities, ration and feed size may be available.

Zooplankton data are abundance by taxanomic group (to species where possible), stage, size and sex. Zooplankton sorting is performed at The Polish Plankton Sorting Institute in Szcecin, Poland. The zooplankton protocol was changed in 2012 to include a wider range of taxaonomic categories for all study areas and to finer taxanomic resolution where possible. Limited biomass information is available using literature values for micrograms carbon of select copepod species. Various gears with different mesh sizes are used to asses different size classes of zooplankton including 20/60cm paired bongos, Tucker, Multinet, MOCNESS, Methot, CalVET and microzooplankton nets hung on nisken bottles.

The dataset contains trawl and seine catches from Southeast Alaskan estuaries sampled from 1995 to 2008. The data also include physical variables (temp, salinity, turbidity), and shorezone shoreline classifications.

Since 1988, scientists at the Auke Bay Laboratories have been using the /Delta/ submarine for a wide range of research projects. Over 500 dives have been completed. The video collected during these projects provides valuable direct observations of seafloor habitat and biological attributes. This project is assembling a database that will include dive locations and basic biological and substrate information from each of the dives. To date, biological and substrate data have been processed for about 40% of the dives.

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.