GSS Tech Contributes to Alaska Fish Research

In mid-July, GIS Technician Klaus Friedli assisted in field sampling with GSS partner-organization Alaska BioMap in the northern parts of the Kodiak Archipelago. The sampling will contribute to a study titled: Validating a biophysical individual-based model (IBM) of juvenile Pacific cod settlement, growth, and survival in the Gulf of Alaska. The fieldwork is part of broad-scale sampling across the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) in potential nearshore nursery areas for juvenile Pacific cod to validate early benthic juvenile abundance predictions from the IBM. Biophysical IBMs incorporate input from physical ocean circulation models and models of nutrients, phytoplankton and zooplankton to predict larval transport, growth, and settlement of fish at scales relevant to population-level early life dynamics and recruitment.

Field sampling was conducted using baited cameras and beach seine sets. Pacific cod, Saffron cod, and Pollock cod caught in a beach seine set were collected for measurements and DNA samples. Size and daily ages of field-collected juvenile Pacific cod will be used to evaluate dispersion, migration rates, and growth rates predicted by the IBM from spawning sites to nearshore settlement areas and make recommendations for updates to the model. These models will ultimately be used to relate juvenile Pacific cod abundance and condition to specific habitat features (vegetation, substrate, depth, etc.) to further enhance the IBM and significantly augment Essential Fish Habitat designations.