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).

Rougheye rockfish (Sebastes aleutianus) and shortraker rockfish (Sebastes borealis) were collected from the Washington coast, the Gulf of Alaska, the southern Bering Sea, and the eastern Kamchatka coast of Russia (areas encompassing most of their geographic distribution) for population genetic analyses. Using starch gel electrophoresis, we analyzed 1027 rougheye rockfish and 615 shortraker rockfish for variation at 29 protein coding loci. No genetic heterogeneity was found among shortraker rockfish throughout the sampled regions, although shortraker in the Aleutian Islands region, captured at deeper depths, were found to be significantly smaller in size than the shortraker caught in shallower waters from Southeast Alaska. Genetic analysis of the rougheye rockfish revealed two evolutionary lineages that exist in sympatry with little or no gene flow between them. When analyzed as two distinct species, neither lineage exhibited heterogeneity among regions. Sebastes aleutianus seems to inhabit waters throughout the Gulf of Alaska and more southern waters, whereas S. sp. cf. aleutianus inhabits waters throughout the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, and Asia. The distribution of the two rougheye rockfish lineages may be related to depth where they are sympatric. The paler color morph, S. aleutianus, is found more abundantly in shallower waters and the darker color morph, Sebastes sp. cf. aleutianus, inhabits deeper waters. Sebastes sp. cf. aleutianus, also exhibited a significantly higher prevalence of two parasites, N. robusta and T. trituba, than did Sebastes aleutianus, in the 2001 samples, indicating a possible difference in habitat and (or) resource use between the two lineages.

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 layer is intended to represent the geographic extent of NOAA Fisheries’ Rockfish Recruitment and Ecosystem Assessment Survey stations. The Rockfish Recruitment and Ecosystem Assessment Survey started in 1983 and is led by NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center. This survey is a long-term survey that estimates year-to-year variability in young-of-the-year (YOY) rockfish and other groundfish, as well as enumerates krill and many other forage fishes and invertebrates in the California Current. Key objectives include the development of recruitment indices of rockfish (and other groundfish) for use in stock assessments, informing oceanographic studies of groundfish recruitment processes, and supported a number of ecosystem studies, such as helping researchers understand how ecosystem shifts impact ocean biodiversity, seabird reproduction, unusual mortality events, and the rise of whale entanglements. The survey is conducted annually on a NOAA research vessel, in late Spring when most YOY groundfish are pelagic and vulnerable to the gear. Mid-water trawl sampling occurs at night, and samples not only rockfishes, but many additional species including gelatinous zooplankton, mesopelagic fishes, and forage species such as krill, market squid, anchovies, and sardines. The survey also includes conductivity, temperature, depth (CTD) casts to collect environmental data, quantitative marine mammal and seabird observations, fisheries acoustics data collection, and sample collection for collaborative research activities, including eDNA, stable isotopes, and age and growth studies.

This layer is intended to represent the geographic extent of NOAA Fisheries’ Rockfish Recruitment and Ecosystem Assessment Survey. The Rockfish Recruitment and Ecosystem Assessment Survey started in 1983 and is led by NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center. This survey is a long-term survey that estimates year-to-year variability in young-of-the-year (YOY) rockfish and other groundfish, as well as enumerates krill and many other forage fishes and invertebrates in the California Current. Key objectives include the development of recruitment indices of rockfish (and other groundfish) for use in stock assessments, informing oceanographic studies of groundfish recruitment processes, and supported a number of ecosystem studies, such as helping researchers understand how ecosystem shifts impact ocean biodiversity, seabird reproduction, unusual mortality events, and the rise of whale entanglements. The survey is conducted annually on a NOAA research vessel, in late Spring when most YOY groundfish are pelagic and vulnerable to the gear. Mid-water trawl sampling occurs at night, and samples not only rockfishes, but many additional species including gelatinous zooplankton, mesopelagic fishes, and forage species such as krill, market squid, anchovies, and sardines. The survey also includes conductivity, temperature, depth (CTD) casts to collect environmental data, quantitative marine mammal and seabird observations, fisheries acoustics data collection, and sample collection for collaborative research activities, including eDNA, stable isotopes, and age and growth studies.

Many species of commercially valuable rockfish (Sebastes spp.) inhabit waters on the outer continental shelf in the Gulf of Alaska typically between depths of 100-300m. The benthic habitat requirements and spatial distribution of these rockfish species is relatively unknown. Information regarding benthic habitat use would improve current stock assessments and provide baseline information for an ecosystem approach to management. Several study areas in the Gulf of Alaska have recently been mapped with high resolution multibeam bathymetry and backscatter to generate detailed benthic habitat maps. Large populations of rockfish have been surveyed and harvested within these mapped areas. The NMFS MESA group conducted two submersible observation surveys in summer 2005 on three of these mapped areas, Albatross Bank, Hazy Islands, and Cape Ommaney. The objectives of these surveys were to collect information on rockfish habitat interactions and generate density estimates by habitat. Forty dive transects were completed on the mapped sites using the Delta two-person occupied submersible. We identified numerous gravid females and observed schooling behavior of several species over particular benthic habitats. Density estimates of rockfish using strip and line of sight methodologies are being determined by substrate and invertebrate habitat classification. We identify habitat types with high densities of rockfish species and describe differences between estimation methods.

This data set contains field and genetic identification of rougheye (Sebastes aleutianus) and blackspotted (Sebastes melanostictus) rockfish collected during AFSC bottom trawl surveys. There is considerable difficulty in correctly distinquishing between these species of rockfish in the field. The database contains the field identification of each specimen, genetic identification (true species identification) along with biological information for each specimen including weight, length, and age. Also included is the location and water depth where each specimen was collected.

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 cruise began when the ship departed Dutch Harbor on October 1, 2011 at 1500 ADT. Sampling commenced at collection site 1E, which corresponds to Station 1. Station number reflects the order of site occupation (see Cruise Report Table 1, Figures 1 and 2). All but one of the Semidi grid sites were successfully occupied by 10 October. Site 2B was not occupied successfully because the midwater trawl was torn by bottom contact and we chose to forgo sampling there in favor of running to the next station while the deck crew removed the tangled trawl from the net reel. Unfortunately, removing the net took about 12 hrs because the net became tangled on the reel. Only 17 of the 32 Kodiak grid sites were successfully occupied (Table 1). This was largely due to an overly ambitious cruise plan. Overall, samples were successfully collected to address cruise objectives (no. sites, gear type): time series (n=26 sites, midwater Stauffer trawl), resource selection models (RSM, n=35 sites, 3-m plumb staff beam trawl), potential prey (n=9 sites, 60-cm bongo, epibenthic sled, Van Veen grab infauna), and juvenile fish production (relevant data were collected at all sites). At nine sites, including Station 39, the sea floor was too rough to sample on bottom so only a midwater sample was collected. This additional sampling was to supplement collections made for the GOA-Integrated Ecosystem Research Program (RHeintz, see above Samples Collected) and for a study of otolith element composition. Sampling concluded after three unsuccessful attempts to obtain a sediment composition sample at Site 27G (Station 56) at approximately 03:25 on 14 October 2011.