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.

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.

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.

Herring is one of the most energy-rich fish in the Alaskan ecosystem, and when populations struggle over time, such as the Lynn Canal population, there is management concern. Prior to 1983, Lynn Canal herring supported a productive sac roe fishery, a bait fishery, and a winter food and bait fishery. All commercial fisheries were closed in 1983 and remain so today. The purpose of this study was to examine the genetic structure of Lynn Canal herring and determine if it was discrete from other collections in southeast Alaska. We used microsatellite DNA to examine both spawning and non-spawning aggregates (collected in two consecutive years) in Lynn Canal, and compared them to two Southeast Alaska populations: Prince of Wales Island (southernmost waters) and Sitka Sound on Baranof Island (outer-coast). In addition we examined two collections from Prince William Sound (approx. 850 km NW) as a means to compare extent of divergence over large tracts of unsuitable spawning habitat. Because the geographic location of Lynn Canal is somewhat isolated and schools are known to over-winter in the area, we hypothesized that Lynn Canal herring experience reduced gene flow. The results of our study showed allele frequencies from 16 loci were highly similar across all collections, including the distant Prince William Sound. This investigation concurs with previous studies that there is a large amount of movement among herring in the Gulf of Alaska. We conclude that Lynn Canal herring are part of a meta-population that is possibly Gulf wide or larger.

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.

The Southeast Alaska Coastal Monitoring (SECM) project in Alaska was initiated in 1997 by the Auke Bay Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, to study the habitat use and early marine ecology of juvenile (age-0) Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and associated epipelagic ichthyofauna. This research has been conducted to meet several needs identified in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries 2006-2011 Strategic Plan, the North Pacific Anadromous Fisheries Commission (NPAFC) 20062010 Science Plan, and the Gulf of Alaska Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics (GLOBEC) Program. A primary goal of the 2006-2011 NOAA Fisheries Strategic Plan is to Protect, Restore, and Manage the Use of Coastal and Ocean Resources Through an Ecosystem Approach to Management. SECM research addresses the five fundamental activities identified under this goal, which include: Monitor and observe the land, sea, atmosphere. Understand and describe how natural systems work together, Assess and predict the changes in natural systems, Engage, advise, and inform individuals, partners, communities, and industries, and, Manage coastal and ocean resources SECM research emphasizes long-term monitoring of coastal marine habitats used by juvenile salmon and associated epipelagic fishes, to understand how environmental variation affects the sustainability of these marine resources in an ecological context. The study of juvenile anadromous stocks of salmon in ocean ecosystems is an important component of the NPAFC 2006-2010 Science Plan. This component recommends studies directed at understanding: seasonal distribution and migration route/timing of juvenile salmon; hydrological characteristics, primary production, and prey resources in the habitats; trophic linkages, growth rates and predation rates of juvenile salmon; and population size, survival rate and survival mechanism of juvenile salmon. SECM research focuses on each of these elements of this component. In particular, SECM examines the relationships among habitat use, marine growth, hatchery and wild stock interactions, year-class strength, and ocean carrying capacity of key juvenile salmon stocks in the Eastern Pacific rim. Research under the GLOBEC program incorporates basin-scale studies to determine how plankton productivity and the carrying capacity for high-trophic level, pelagic carnivores in the North Pacific Ocean change in response to climate variations, and incorporates regional-scale ecosystem studies to compare how variations in ocean climate affect species dominance and fish populations in the coastal margins of the Pacific Rim. SECM research addresses the regional-scale component of the GLOBEC program by 1) collecting biological data on juvenile Pacific salmon and ecologically related fish species from surface rope trawl samples, 2) monitoring physical and biological oceanographic indices at sampling stations in marine habitats, and 3) conducting process studies focusing on bioenergetics, prey fields, and trophic relationships of juvenile salmon and associated fishes.

Each year over 50 Alaskan groundfish stock assessments report the condition of Alaskan fisheries resources in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. Stock assessment scientists integrate biological observations and theoretical considerations via population modeling techniques to produce population dynamic trends and biological yield estimation. This data set captures various stock assessment trends and estimations.

The GOA/AI Bottom Trawl Estimate database contains abundance estimates for the Alaska Biennial Bottom Trawl Surveys conducted in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands in alternate years. The estimates build upon raw and summary data available from the RACEBASE database and include calculated catch-per-unit-effort (cpue)s for principal species of groundfish and key invertebrates for each survey region. The cpues are averaged by survey strata, and then average cpues are multiplied by stratum areas which results in estimates of biomass and numerical abundance. Length and age data are combined with abundance to estimate the population at length and sex and population at age and sex.

NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Office and Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s Auke Bay Laboratories designed the Nearshore Fish Atlas of Alaska (NFA) to provide access to available data on the distribution, relative abundance, and habitat use of nearshore fishes in Alaska. The NFA is a spatially explicit, unified database of numerous nearshore catch datasets collected by various agencies and organizations in Alaska over the past several decades. The compiled datasets are from dozens of studies with different objectives and gear types (e.g., beach seines, purse seines, and trawls). The online NFA application has spatial and tabular tools for extensive searching, filtering, and downloading fully attributed data.

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.