2009 walleye pollock larvae laboratory rearing experiment conducted in support of NPRB project 926. Data set contains various measurements of nuclear RNA used to determine the measurement that would be included in a model used to assess larval condition.

2007 Bering Sea walleye pollock larvae condition data set. Larvae collected 8- 14 May 2007.
Condition of larvae (healthy or unhealthy) was determined using the model described in Porter, S.M., and K.M. Bailey. 2011. Assessing the condition of walleye pollock Theragra chalcogramma (Pallas) larvae using muscle-based flow cytometric cell cycle analysis. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 399:101-109.

Aerial surveys of coastal Alaska are the primary method for estimating abundance of harbor seals. A particular challenge associated with aerial surveys of harbor seals is maintaining consistent spatial representation of haul-out locations (waypoints). In some cases, seals aggregate into a single large grouping at a particular area. In other cases, seals aggregate into several smaller groups spread over a particular area. To establish geo-spatial consistency, the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) maintains a list of haul-out locations that represent known harbor seal aggregations in Alaska. Haul-out locations were identified through aerial survey efforts and historical knowledge. Locations are assigned a unique alphanumeric identifier, based on the survey unit they fall within, and the spatial data are provided in the geographic (epsg:4326) coordinate reference system. These haul-out locations are used to inform management decisions pertaining to coastal activities (presence/absence of seals in a particular area) and to facilitate AFSC field work that includes both aerial and vessel surveys. Haul-out locations are updated annually based on information obtained from aerial survey observations.

The dataset contains Aluette and Mamou trawl catches from the Yukon delta for 2014 and 2015.

Chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) are an important natural resource in western Alaska for subsistence, commercial and cultural reasons. Declines in chum salmon returns in some western Alaska drainages over the last couple of decades have prompted regulatory changes and bolstered research on this species in this region. Since 2002, juvenile chum salmon have been collected as part of the annual U.S. Bering-Aleutian Salmon International Survey (BASIS) during the late summer/fall season in the eastern Bering Sea. From the 2003-2007 collections, nearly 5,000 juvenile chum salmon samples were genetically analyzed. With the available microsatellite baseline, regional stock estimates were produced from mixed-stock analyses. The proportions of juvenile chum salmon from four western Alaska regionsNorton Sound, lower Yukon (summer-run), upper Yukon (fall-run), and Kuskokwim/northeastern Bristol Baywere remarkably similar across years during early marine residence, especially given the latitudinal shifts from year-to-year in the distribution across the eastern Bering Sea shelf of this highly migratory species. Most of the juvenile chum salmon were from the Yukon River, which has two life-history types, an earlier and typically more abundant summer run, and a later fall run. The Kuskokwim/northeastern Bristol Bay contribution within the study area (lat. 58-63N) was negligible, indicating that these stocks do not migrate northward during their first summer. The Norton Sound group contribution varied annually, but in general, increased with latitude. These results support a migration model whereby western Alaska juvenile chum salmon, after leaving freshwater, head primarily west and south across the eastern Bering Sea shelf. A relative abundance index was developed from the proportions of the two life-history types in the Yukon River of juvenile chum salmon in the survey area. In all five years of collections, the summer-run contribution was higher than the fall-run contribution in the juvenile chum salmon samples. The proportions of the two life-history types in the juvenile chum salmon collected at sea were compared with those in the Yukon River adult returns. A correlation was found between the juveniles and subsequent adult returns. This suggests that it is during the period of freshwater and early marine residence that the cohort strength of Yukon River summer- and fall-run chum salmon is determined.

This dataset contains crab data from a field survey of Chionoecetes bairdi and C. opilio collected at six designated index sites in the Bering Sea during the 2014 NOAA/NMFS/AFSC/RACE crab-groundfish bottom trawl survey of the eastern Bering Sea. Each of the six index sites were made up of approximately 10 survey stations and chosen based on historical incidences of the parasite Hematodinium sp., the causative agent of Bitter Crab Syndrome (BCS). Crab collected at each survey station were preserved and tested in a laboratory with a DNA test for the presence of Hematodinium sp. parasite DNA to evaluate any changes in intensity of disease within the index sites that may provide information as to how the disease is moving or changing within EBS crab populations. The data includes index site, species, crab morphometrics, Hematodinium sp. parasite presence/absence based on PCR assay results.

Two-day experiments have been conducted as a separate leg on the Alaska Fisheries Science Centers longline survey since 1998. Experiments are conducted usually in the vicinity of Yakutat, Alaska in late July of each year. The majority of projects are longline gear related and include hook spacing experiments, hand versus auto bait gear comparisons, and bait type comparisons. Rockfish genetics and sperm whale depredation studies have also been conducted. Data collected during the two-day experiments include 100% hook census of catch, lengths of major species caught, and data collection procedures relevant to each individual study. The data are housed in a Microsoft Access database and maintained by the Marine Ecology and Stock Assessment group at the Auke Bay Laboratories.

Information on the distribution and relative abundance of nearshore fishes from beach seine hauls in Alaska is now available to managers as an online Fish Atlas. The atlas is dynamic and will continually be updated as more data becomes available. Presently, the atlas includes distribution and habitat use information for nearshore fishes in southeastern Alaska, Prince William Sound, the Aleutian Islands, and the Arctic. This online database has been designed to integrate with the spatially explicit, Alaska ShoreZone web enabled GIS platform. Further details about the database design can be found on Auke Bay Laboratories public website.