Floating glacial ice serves as a haul-out substrate for a significant number (10-15%) of Alaskan harbor seals, and thus surveying tidewater glacial fjords is an important component of statewide efforts to estimate seal abundance. Surveys conducted during pupping suggest that glacial haul outs have higher than average productivity and thus may serve as important source populations statewide. The availability of ice for hauling out varies with seasonal glacial dynamics, but over decades of climate change most tidewater glaciers are now retreating toward eventual grounding with many already ceasing to calve ice into the water. Compounding glacial retreat and thinning is the trend at most of these sites toward increasing tourism and a low compliance of tour vessels to seal approach guidelines and regulations. It is thus important to track glacial populations over the long-term especially as various impacts may degrade seal habitat leading to fewer glacial seals and potential impacts to the population state-wide. There are currently 28 glacial sites that have at least one actively calving tidewater glacier and in turn seals that haul out on the ice during the seals’ molting period, when most surveys have occurred. Due to concerns about vessel disturbance, Disenchantment and Icy Bays have been surveyed during molting almost annually between 2001-2011 (ex 2003); surveys occurred during pupping and molting in 2004 and 2005, and have occurred just during molting apx. every other year since 2011. Johns Hopkins Inlet in Glacier Bay has been surveyed annually using these methods since 2007, with surveys occurring during both pupping and molting. The remaining 25 sites have been surveyed on an opportunistic schedule (based on weather and aircraft availability), which for most sites equates to about every 2-3 years. Some of the smallest sites have been surveyed on a 4-5 year schedule. These schedules will likely continue with more abundant sites in Prince William Sound (e.g., College Fjord and Columbia) and Southeast Alaska (Tracy Arm, Endicott Arm, LeConte Bay, and Glacier Bay) having higher priority and contingent on management concerns.

Scientists from the Midwater Assessment and Conservation Engineering (MACE) Program of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center's (AFSC) Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering (RACE) Division conducted an acoustic-trawl (AT) stock assessment survey of the western Gulf of Alaska (GOA) shelf to estimate the distribution and abundance of walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) in summer 2015. Previous surveys of the GOA were also conducted during the summers of 2003, 2005, 2011, and 2013 by MACE. The 2015 survey covered the shelf from the Islands of Four Mountains to Yakutat Trough including many associated bays and troughs. The biomass estimate for the entire survey area was 1,482,668 t. The majority of the pollock observed were located on the continental shelf (64%), Shelikof Strait (19%), east of Kodiak Island in Chiniak (2%) and Barnabas Troughs (6%), and in Marmot Bay (3%). The vast majority (91%) of the biomass for the entire survey was from fish 30-50 cm in length (likely mostly age-3 fish), Fish weight at length was slightly lower in fish greater than 40 cm FL compared to surveys conducted in the summer GOA in previous years. Backscatter was attributed to other species where possible. A biomass estimate was also calculated for Pacific ocean perch (Sebastes alutus, 407,988 t) and the relative abundance and distribution for euphausiids (primarily consisting of Thysanoessa inermis, but also including T. spinifera, T. raschii, and Euphausia pacifica) was estimated.

In May of 2006, scientists from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center participated in a pilot outreach program in Sand Point, Alaska. At the meetings, fishermen raised a number of concerns about the adequacy of walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) assessment. The issues appeared to be related to the contrasting observational scales of fishermen and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) scientists responsible for conducting assessment surveys and population modeling. NMFS resource assessment surveys have a large spatial scale (i.e., the entire Gulf of Alaska) and occur infrequently as they are biennial summer bottom trawl and acoustic-trawl surveys, with annual or biennial winter acoustic-trawl surveys targeting key spawning areas(von Szalay, et al. 2010; Guttormsen and Yasenak, 2007; Guttormsen and Jones, 2010). The stock assessment model for pollock estimates stock abundance for the central and western Gulf of Alaska (Dorn et al., 2011). In contrast, the observational scale of fishermen is spatially restricted but temporally extensive, since they are on the water fishing throughout the year. Fishermen questioned whether NMFS assessment activities were appropriately designed to monitor the status of pollock in their area. They noted that additional surveys in different seasons and a more comprehensive acoustic-trawl survey effort in winter could help address seasonal issues such as movement between spawning and feeding areas. Cooperative research projects with the Sand Point fishing community were identified as a potential approach for addressing some of these issues, but fishermen wanted the assurance that their investment of time and effort will lead to improvements in stock assessment. The acoustic-trawl surveys described in this report resulted from collaboration between NMFS scientists, the Aleutian East Borough, and local fishermen to address issues raised during the outreach program. Acoustic-trawl surveys were conducted from a local fishing vessel in the western Gulf of Alaska during 2007-2013. To some extent, the surveys carried out during this period reflected shifting program objectives. The initial objective was simply to demonstrate the feasibility of using local fishing vessels to conduct acoustic-trawl surveys and to collect acoustic and biological information sufficient to estimate walleye pollock biomass and spatial pattern. Once this was demonstrated, the focus of the project expanded to include other objectives. Specific objectives of the project were the following: Evaluate the feasibility of conducting acoustic-trawl surveys of pollock using local fishing vessels. Evaluate the quality of acoustic data collected from the Simrad ES60 echosounder. Evaluate the appropriateness of the design of the current NMFS acoustic-trawl surveys in the western Gulf of Alaska. Specific issues to be addressed included 1) transect density in bathymetrically complex regions in the western Gulf of Alaska, 2) day/night differences in pollock density, and 3) temporal variability of pollock density during replicate transects. Evaluate the timing of the NMFS survey (mid-February) in Sanak Trough by conducting a survey in January prior to the NMFS survey. Evaluate relationships between adult pollock density, young-of-the-year pollock density, euphausiid density, and the distribution of foraging humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). The estimates of abundance and distribution of walleye pollock were developed for areas covered by cooperative acoustic-trawl surveys conducted aboard a fishing vessel during alternate Septembers and Januarys between 2007-2013. Physical oceanographic and biological composition observations, initial findings from ancillary data collections of marine mammal observations, and dual-frequency differencing techniques to discriminate different types of acoustic backscatter were also developed.

The acoustic trawl database for Lynn Canals echo-trawl survey was conducted from 2001 to 2004 throughout southern Lynn Canal in southeast Alaska. Acoustic surveys were conducted one day per month and trawl surveys were conducted every 3 months to verify acoustic signals and collect biological data. This study was conducted to study the relationship between Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) and their prey. Additional acoustic surveys were conducted throughout the winter of 2004 to 2005 on 6 consecutive days once a month in order to study forage fish hots spots. Acoustic equipment were calibrated before every trawl survey. Acoustic data were analyzed by the same qualified acoustician throughout the surveys duration with calibrations entered into the analytical software after each calibration. Trawls were used to identify the fish species associated with a specific acoustic signal and to get length weight data per species. Trawl data were also used to enumerate and identify all nekton found within the study area and to generate length frequencies, species composition and abundance by species and season. The acoustic data was use to generate biomass estimates for Pacific herring and walleye pollock. Longlines were deployed to better identify and enumerate the benthic species not usually caught in pelagic trawls.

Scientists from the Midwater Assessment and Conservation Engineering (MACE) Program of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering (RACE) Division conducted an acoustic-trawl (AT) stock assessment survey of portions of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) shelf to estimate the distribution and abundance of walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) during summer of 2013. The survey (cruise DY2013-07) was conducted between 8 June and 9 August on the Gulf of Alaska shelf from 50-1,000 m depth extending from the Islands of Four Mountains to Yakutat Bay. The area referred to as the shelf includes transects that are roughly perpendicular to the continental shelf depth contours and extend in a general north-south direction from inshore bottom depths of =50 m to upper continental slope bottom depths of > 1,000 m. Smaller surveys were conducted in several bays and around islands including: Sanak Trough, Morzhovoi Bay, Pavlof Bay, the Shumagin Islands area (including Renshaw Point, Unga Strait, and West Nagai Strait), Mitrofania Island, Nakchamik Island, Shelikof Strait, Alitak Bay,Barnabas Trough, Chiniak Trough, Marmot Bay, Prince William Sound, Kayak Island Trough, and Yakutat Trough. All activities were conducted aboard the NOAA ship Oscar Dyson, a 64-m stern trawler equipped for fisheries and oceanographic research. The survey followed established AT survey methods as specified in NOAA protocols for fisheries acoustics surveys and related sampling.

Scientists from the Midwater Assessment and Conservation Engineering (MACE) Program of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center's (AFSC) Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering (RACE) Division conducted an acoustic-trawl (AT) survey of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) shelf to estimate the distribution and abundance of walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) in summer 2017. Previous surveys of the GOA have also been conducted by the MACE program during the summers of 2003, 2005, 2011, 2013, and 2015. The 2017 survey covered the shelf from the Islands of Four Mountains to Yakutat Trough including many bays and troughs. Surface water temperatures across the GOA shelf averaged 11.6° C, overall, approximately 0.6° C cooler than in 2015 (mean 12.2° C) and 1.0° C warmer than in 2013 (mean 10.6° C), which were the only other surveys with comparable coverage. Large aggregations of age-0 pollock were observed throughout the survey but especially in the Shumagin Islands and Shelikof Strait areas. The estimated amounts of age-1+ pollock for the entire surveyed area were 2.64 billion fish weighing 1,341,973 metric tons (t). The majority of the pollock biomass was observed on the continental shelf (84%), Shelikof Strait (5%), near Mitrofania Island (3%), and east of Kodiak Island in Chiniak (2%) and Barnabas Troughs (4%). The majority (86%) of the biomass in the survey area consisted of age-5 fish from the 2012 year class. Compared to previous summer GOA surveys, fish weight at length was similar, but length at age was slightly smaller. Backscatter was attributed to species other than pollock when trawl verification, differentiation based on backscatter frequency response, or other methods allowed. Abundance and biomass estimates were calculated for Pacific ocean perch (Sebastes alutus; 305.9 million fish weighing 172,388 t), and backscatter distribution and abundance relative to previous surveys was estimated for euphausiids (primarily consisting of Thysanoessa inermis, but also including T. spinifera, T. raschii, and Euphausia pacifica).

Scientists from the Midwater Assessment and Conservation Engineering (MACE) Program of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering (RACE) Division routinely conduct acoustic-trawl (AT) stock assessment surveys to estimate the distribution and abundance of walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus).The survey (cruise DY2011-03) was conducted between 14 June and 12 August on the Gulf of Alaska shelf from 50-500 m depth extending from the Islands of Four Mountains to the Chiniak Trough east of Kodiak Island. The area referred to as the shelf includes transects that are roughly perpendicular to the continental shelf depth contours and extend in a general north-south direction from inshore bottom depths of <=50 m to upper continental slope bottom depths of >500 m. Smaller surveys were conducted in several bays and around islands including: Morzhovoi Bay, Sanak Trough, Pavlof Bay, the Shumagin Islands areas of Renshaw Point, Unga Strait, and West Nagai Strait, Mitrofania Island, Nakchamik Island, Shelikof Strait, Chiniak Trough, Barnabas Trough, and Alitak Bay. All activities were conducted aboard the NOAA ship Oscar Dyson, a 64-m stern trawler equipped for fisheries and oceanographic research. The survey followed established AT methods as specified in NOAA protocols for fisheries acoustics surveys and related sampling.

Scientists from the Midwater Assessment and Conservation Engineering (MACE) Program of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center's (AFSC) Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering (RACE) Division conducted acoustic-trawl (AT) stock assessment surveys in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) during late winter and early spring 2017 to estimate the distribution and abundance of walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) within several of their main spawning grounds. These pre-spawning pollock surveys covered the Shumagin Islands, Sanak Trough, and Morzhovoi and Pavlof Bays (DY2017-01; 8-14 February).

The Alaska Fisheries Science Center's Status of Stocks and Multispecies Assessment (SSMA) Programs Fishery Interaction Team (FIT) conducted a fish survey in the marine offshore waters of the Beaufort Sea during the month of August, 2008. The Mineral Management Service (MMS) provided funding for the survey. The results of the survey provided estimates of abundance, species composition and biological information of marine fish and invertebrates, oceanographic properties and information on the macro- and micro- zooplankton communities.

Scientists from the Midwater Assessment and Conservation Engineering (MACE) Program of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center's (AFSC) Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering (RACE) Division conducted an acoustic-trawl (AT) stock assessment survey of the Bogoslof region of the EBS