Results of the 2012 Chukchi Sea bottom trawl survey of bottomfishes, crabs, and other demersal macrofauna
Abstract
The results of the 2012 Chukchi Sea bottom trawl survey of bottomfishes, crabs, and other dermersal macrofauna are presented. The 2012 survey was only the fourth Chukchi Sea survey conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service or its predecessor, the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, since 1959.
Seventy-one survey stations were successfully completed during the bottom trawl survey. The survey area extended north and east from the Bering Strait to Barrow Canyon, bounded to the west by the U.S.-Russia Maritime Boundary and east to the 10-m bathymetry limit along the Alaska coastline. Demersal populations were sampled by trawling at stations centered within 55.56 × 55.56 km (30 × 30 nautical miles) grid cells covering the survey area.
Survey results presented in this report include biomass in metric tons (t), abundance numbers, and catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE; kg/ha and no./ha) for all taxa identified during the survey. Size composition and CPUE distribution plots are presented for the most abundant fish and invertebrate species. Appendices provide station data, summarized catch data by station, species listings, and biomass and population data for the sampled populations.
Funding for this survey was provided in part by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Arctic Ecosystem Integrated Survey (Arctic Eis) contract agreement number M12PG00018.
