Resource Ecology & Fisheries Management (REFM) Division

Resource Ecology & Ecosystem Modeling Program

Fish Stomach Collection and Lab Analysis

Laboratory analysis was performed on 2,265 groundfish stomachs from the eastern Bering Sea and 1,140 stomachs from the Aleutian Islands region. Shipboard analysis of 1,362 stomachs from the eastern Bering Sea and 1,864 stomachs from the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) were conducted during the 2005 summer field season. During this quarter, no stomachs were returned by observers, and 807 stomachs were returned from research vessels in the Bering Sea or the GOA. In total, 15,463 records were added to the groundfish food habits database.

By Troy Buckley, Geoff Lang, and Mei-Sun Yang
 

Seabird Interactions

The Resource Ecology and Ecosystem Modeling Program (REEM) Seabird Program participated in field experiments to test first-generation seabird deterrent devices for trawl catcher-processor vessels. The devices were developed by the pollock fishing industry, represented by the Pollock Conservation Cooperative (PCC). Funding for development of the gear was supplied by the PCC and the NMFS National Cooperative Research Program.

The field tests were completed using two pollock catcher processors for two trips each in the Bering Sea during July and August. The field component of this work was led by Ed Melvin of Washington Sea Grant. Funding to support the fieldwork was supplied by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and by NMFS. Washington Sea Grant is compiling, editing, and analyzing the data and will produce a report describing the protocols and results. Three devices were tested: paired streamer lines, side boom arrays, and a third wire block.

By Shannon Fitzgerald


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AFSC Quarterly
Research Reports July-Sept 2005