7DY11 Seacat Data

The primary objectives are to conduct fieldwork to 1) extend time series of age-0 walleye pollock abundance off east Kodiak Island and in the Semidi Bank vicinity, and 2) test the utility of habitat models for predicting site-specific presence of flatfish over the continental shelf. Sampling will occur at pre-determined locations to collect age-0 walleye pollock and juvenile flatfishes. Secondary objectives are to 1) examine the hypothesis that benthic and neritic fishes in the coastal Gulf of Alaska (GOA) utilize different geographic areas for production of juveniles, and 2) collect samples of the potential prey taxa of these fishes. This work is needed to evaluate age-0 walleye pollock abundance as a recruitment predictor, to determine if juvenile flatfish habitat includes extensive parts of the continental shelf as predicted or is restricted to much smaller areas near shore, and to elucidate habitat differences among juvenile fishes to better understand how external forces might affect the taxonomic composition of fishery resources within the GOA ecosystem.