U.S. Beaufort Sea Fish Communities

U.S. Beaufort Sea Fish CommunitiesBrenda L. Norcross

andLorena E. Edenfield

School of Fisheries and Ocean SciencesUniversity of Alaska Fairbanks

Photo credit: S. Carroll

US – Canada Northern Oil and Gas Research ForumAnchorage, AK November 2012

UAF Beaufort Sea surveys• 3 cruises– 2010: WWW1004 (6 days, Westward Wind)– 2011: BeauFish (21 days, Norseman II)– 2012: US Transboundary (10 days, Norseman II)

• Sampling gears:– Benthic nets: Fish and Invertebrates– Midwater nets: Fish and Zooplankton– Oceanography– Sediments and Infauna

Photo credit: C. Cano

Canadian 3-m beam trawl

Otter trawl

3-m plumbstaff beam trawl

Modified 3-m PSBT for complex substrate

Photo credit: BOEM

Photo credit: S. MacPhee

2010

2010• Small sampling area, mostly shallow– Camden Bay, “Sivuliq area”– Funded by Shell Exploration and

Production Co.– 17 stations from 20-100 m

• Captured approximately 800 fish total– 600 in bottom gear

Photo credit: T. Foster

Photo credit: S. Carroll

2010- small area, shallow

Cods26%

Eelpouts2%

Poachers1%

Pricklebacks1%

Sculpins55%

Snailfishes and Lumpsuckers

15%

2011

• Large area, mostly shallow– BeauFish cruise, from Camden Bay to Pt. Barrow– Funded by BOEM– 79 stations from 15-200 m

• Captured approximately 17,000 fish– 13,000 in bottom gear

Photo credit: I. Rutzen

2011

2011- large area, shallow

Cods51%

Eelpouts4%

Poachers4%

Pricklebacks6%

Sculpins23%

Smelts and Sand lance

<1%

Snailfishes and Lumpsuckers

13%Flatfishes<1%

All fishCaptured 13,000

Size range: 1 -12 inches

Photo credit: K. Mecklenburg

SnailfishCaptured 750 Size range: 1 -8 inches

Photo credit: B. Sheiko

SculpinsCaptured 2,700 Size range: 1 -9 inches

Photo credit: B. Sheiko

CodCaptured 68,000 Size range: 1 -7 inches

From Gallaway et al., submitted

2012

2012 Collaboration

US Beaufort Canadian Beaufort

Norseman II Frosti

Photo credit: S. Atchison

2012- US Beaufort• Small area, shallow and deep depths– US Transboundary cruise, central US Beaufort– Funded by BOEM– 18 stations from 20-1,000 m

• Captured approximately 5,500 fish– 4,700 in bottom gear

2012- small area, deep

Cods32%

Eelpouts11%

Poachers4%Pricklebacks

4%Rays<1%

Sculpins18%

Smelts and Sand lance

<1%

Snailfishes and Lumpsuckers

31%

Flatfishes<1%

Percent composition of catch at depth

20 50 100 200 350 500 10000%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Snailfishes and Lumpsuckers Smelts and Sandlance Sculpins Rays

Pricklebacks Poachers Flatfishes Cods

Depth

Perc

ent c

ompo

sitio

n of

catc

h

20 50 100 200 350 500 10000

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

Sculpins Cods Snailfishes Flatfishes Eelpouts All Families

Depth

Aver

age

Leng

th (m

m)

Average length at depth

Species ListRajidae Hemitripteridae Zoarcidae

Raja binoculata Nautichthys pribilovius Gymnelus hemifasciatusOsmeridae Agonidae Gymnelus viridis

Mallotus villosus Aspidophoroides monopterygius Lycodes mucosus

Osmerus mordax Leptagonus decagonus Lycodes polarisGadidae Podothecus veternus Lycodes raridens

Arctogadus glacialis Aspidophoroides olrikii Lycodes sagittariusBoreogadus saida Cyclopteridae Lycodes adolfiEleginus gracilis Eumicrotremus derjugini Lycodes rossi

Cottidae Liparidae Lycodes seminudisArtediellus scaber Liparis fabricii Lycodes reticulatusGymnocanthus tricuspis Liparis gibbus Lycodes frigidusIcelus spatula Liparis bathyarticus Stichaeidae

Myoxocephalus quadricornis Liparis tunicatus Anisarchus medius

Myoxocephalus scorpius Careproctus sp. Eumesogrammus praecisus

Triglops nybelini Ammodytidae Leptoclinus maculatusTriglops pingelii Ammodytes hexapterus Lumpenus fabricii

Pleuronectidae Stichaeus punctatusHippoglossoides robustus

Reinhardtius hippoglossoides

43 confirmed species from 12 families

Length differencesYear Minimum

Length (mm)Maximum

Length (mm)Average

Length (mm)2010 19 146 482011 18 300 562012 15 795 99

2010-2011 vs 2012

Shelf vs. slope• Average length– Shelf = small– Slope = big

• Catch composition– Shelf- sculpins, snailfishes,

and cod– Slope- eelpout, rays, and

flatfishes– Different species within

families

East vs. West

Density of all fishes is greater in west

Larval cod density high in east

Photo credit: C. Cano

• US and Canadian Beaufort– 10 planned transects on US and Canadian side of border– collaboration between scientists

• 2013: Norseman II (UAF) and Frosti (DFO)• 2014: Sikuiliaq– Both US and DFO scientists

Future transboundary surveys

Photo credit: C. Cano

• Ichthyoplankton• Hydroacoustics• ROV/gliders• Primary productivity• Marine mammal

surveys• Seabird observations

Potential enhancements to future transboundary surveys

Image courtesy of Kate Stafford, 2012 RUSALCA Expedition, RAS-NOAA

Thanks!

Photo credit: S. Carroll

• The crews of the Westward Wind (2010) Norseman II (2011 and 2012)

• UAF Fisheries Oceanography Lab students and technicians

• BOEM and Shell Exploration and Production Co. for funding

• Canada Department of Fisheries and Oceans