This research area is focused on improving and reducing uncertainty in stock assessment models of important commercial fish species in the Bering Sea through the collection of fisheries oceanographic indices.

The primary objective of this cruise will be mooring operations – including recoveries, deployments and searches - in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea. Additionally, there will be biological sampling at mooring sites and the 70 m isobath line. A SBE 19Plus was deployed synoptically with gear used to sample icythoplankton and zooplankton at these locations. Temperature and Conductivity were measured and Salinity and Sigma-T were derived from these measurements. While the SeaCAT measures values on the down and upcasts, only the upcasts are used.

The primary objective was to conduct an assessment of eggs and larvae of Walleye Pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) over the eastern Bering Sea shelf. The data collected will be used to examine the interactions among climate, weather, and ichthyoplankton distribution and abundance. This work is needed to describe larval fish assemblages and determine how physical and biological factors affect the transport and survival of fish larvae. The survey is a collaboration between two Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) programs, Ecosystems and Fisheries Oceanography Coordinated Investigations (Eco-FOCI), and Ecosystem Monitoring and Assessment (EMA). A SBE 49 was deployed synoptically with Bongo, CalVET and Tucker trawls used to sample icythoplankton and zooplankton at selected stations. Temperature and Conductivity were measured and Salinity and Sigma-T were derived from these measurements. While the SeaCAT measures values on the down and upcasts, only the upcasts are used.

The primary objective of the cruise was the recovery and deployment of moorings in the Bering Sea. The second objective was physical oceanographic property sampling at and near the mooring locations.

To recover and deploy several surface and subsurface oceanographic instrumentation moorings at PMEL historical mooring sites BS-2 and BS-4. To complete CTD casts and bongo tows at specified Bering Sea locations.

To recover and deploy surface and subsurface oceanographic instrumentation moorings at several locations in the Bering Sea. To complete CTD casts and plankton tows at sampling stations in and around the mooring locations and along the 70 meter isobath. To collect data on the physical, chemical and biological parameters at each sampling station.

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.

To recover and deploy surface and subsurface oceanographic instrumentation moorings. To complete Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) profiler casts.

Examine the interactions among climate, weather, and the recruitment of fishes in the eastern Bering Sea. We will conduct an ichthyoplankton and zooplankton survey in the waters from the Pribilof Islands in the north to the Aleutian Islands in the south and along the Alaska Peninsula east to Bristol Bay. This work is needed to describe larval fish and zooplankton assemblages and determine how physical and biological factors affect the transport and survival of fish larvae.

The objectives of this cruise were to conduct an ichthyoplankton survey and process studies in the region between the Shumagin Islands and Shelikof Strait and then from SE Kodiak to the Kenai Peninsula so that we could estimate the abundance, transport, and factors influencing the survival of young walleye pollock larvae. We also occupied six of the stations on Line 8 to continue our 27-year time series of environmental and biological conditions in Shelikof Strait. In addition to this sampling, 43 stations selected from the grid for the GOA-IERP research project were occupied on the shelf break as well as on the NE side of Kodiak Island to acquire larval fish of five target species (sablefish, walleye pollock, Pacific cod, arrowtooth flounder, and Pacific Ocean perch). A SBE 19Plus was deployed synoptically with gear used to sample icythoplankton and zooplankton at selected stations. Temperature and Conductivity were measured and Salinity and Sigma-T were derived from these measurements. While the SeaCAT measures values on the down and upcasts, only the upcasts are used.