Sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) is a commercially valuable groundfish species in Alaska, with the population assessed annually by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Alaska Fisheries Science Center. Sablefish recruit into the commercially fished population at 2 years old and are poorly sampled by most surveys before that age. However, information on the abundance, distribution, and size of pre-recruitment age fish is valuable as an ecosystem indicator for older fish. Size and an index of growth rate of age-0 sablefish were quantified using samples from seabird diets at Middleton Island, Alaska, an island in the northern Gulf of Alaska. Age-0 sablefish information may serve as an indicator for potential recruitment into older age populations. This report (1) provides information on the data collection for age-0 sablefish from seabird diets at Middleton Island, Alaska from 1978 to 2022, (2) describes a method for quantifying age-0 sablefish size and growth rate, and (3) describes the size and growth rate of sablefish sampled over time. An annual release of age-0 sablefish size and growth data by U.S. Geological Survey based on continued collections on Middleton Island, Alaska, may be used to assess ecosystem status and as a recruitment indicator for sablefish.
Citation Information
| Publication Year | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Title | Age-0 sablefish size and growth indices from seabird diets at Middleton Island, Gulf of Alaska |
| DOI | 10.3133/ofr20231049 |
| Authors | Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Scott A. Hatch |
| Publication Type | Report |
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Series Title | Open-File Report |
| Series Number | 2023-1049 |
| Index ID | ofr20231049 |
| Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
| USGS Organization | Alaska Science Center Ecosystems |
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Age-0 Sablefish Size and Growth Indices from Seabird Diets at Middleton Island, Alaska
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Age-0 Sablefish Size and Growth Indices from Seabird Diets at Middleton Island, Alaska
This dataset provides annual summaries of information on age-0 sablefish in Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata) chick diets from Middleton Island, Alaska. This includes number of diet samples, number of sablefish sampled, proportion of total biomass, catch per unit effort, and frequency of occurrence for each year. We calculated an annual growth index for age-0 sablefish using the relation - Connect