Many pelagic juvenile rockfish (Sebastes) were collected in juvenile salmonid surveys in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) from 1998 to 2002. Often species identification of rockfish is difficult or impossible at this stage of development (20 to 40 mm), and the juveniles of only a few species indigenous to Alaska waters have been described. These collections are samples of the first large aggregations observed in GOA waters and provided an opportunity to document the occurrence of several species of rockfish. Using mtDNA markers developed to identify rockfish species, we were able to identify unequivocally four species (Sebastes alutus, S. aleutianus, S. borealis, S. reedi) from subsamples of the collections. Other individuals were assigned to groups of two or three species. Using morphological data alone, we identified S. boreaslis, S. crameri, and S. reedi. The other species were initially indistinguishable by their morphology from S. alutus. The combined genetic and morphological data successfully resolved the other species as S. entomelas and probably s. ciliatus/variabilis, although S. polyspinis cannot be ruled out. In addition to documenting the presence of these species in the GOA, the results provide useful information for identifying pelagic juvenile rockfishes in surveys targeting this early life history stage.

This collaborative study between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service, Sea Mammal Research Unit, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada investigated the relationship between diet and population trends of Steller sea lions in the Aleutian Islands. During this study, data from a total of 3,118 samples collected throughout the year in the Aleutian Islands from 1990-2012 (including 399 samples collected during this study at 14 sites (NPRB #1114: 345 in March 2012 and 54 in summer 2012) and 305 samples collected during NPRB #720) were analyzed to characterize the spatial, temporal and seasonal variation in sea lion diet and examined the relationship between population trend and diet diversity in both seasons and throughout the year. Additionally, a combination of dietary information methods, including traditional hard part identification and a molecular methodology developed by Tollit et al. (2009) that found DNA extracted from the soft scat of wild Steller sea lions, were used to sub-sample scat samples to identify prey occurrences that were undetected by hard parts alone.