Area of Operations:

Gulf of Alaska and Unimak Pass

Date depart / port:February 7, 2000 / Seattle, WA
Date arrive / port:February 15, 2000 / Dutch Harbor, AK

NOAA - Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC)

Lisa RugenF / AFSC
(206) 526-4273
Lisa.Rugen@noaa.gov

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The primary objective was to obtain samples of young-of-the-year (YOY) pollock for determination of wintertime deposition on their otoliths, determination of otolith size at winter onset, and fish size and diet.  The secondary objective was to collect CTD, chlorophyll, nutrient and bongo samples at 4 stations in Unimak Pass.

OperationTows
20cm bongo (20Bon)4
60cm bongo (60Bon)4
Aleutian wing trawl (Aleutian)4
Seabird SeaCAT CTD (CAT)4
CTD with bottle samples (CTDB)4

Samples CollectedTowsNumber
SeaBird SeaCat CTD (CAT)4
Chlorophyll samples collected during CTD casts (ChlAM)4
Extracted chlorophyll (Chlor)4 24
SeaBird CTD (CTD)4
Stimulated fluorescence collected during CTD casts (Fluor) 4
Juvenile pollock collected for otolith analysis (J-Oto) 4343
Samples collected for NMML. (NMMLsamp)4 232
Nutrient samples collected from CTD casts (Nut)4 29
Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) data collected during CTD casts 4
Quantitative tow preserved in formalin (QTowF)8 8

The ship set sail from Seattle on February 7 for the Gulf of Alaska. The first transect line south of Kodiak Island was started at 1500 ADT on February 12. The EK500 was monitored during transect for indication of YOY pollock. Fish sign was consistently strong along the first and second transect lines, but we were unable to determine in the fish were adult or YOY pollock. A decision was made to fish on the third transit line to determine the composition of the sign. The Aleutian wing trawl with a 1/2" liner was fished for 5 minutes at a head rope depth of 165m. The catch consisted primarily of adult pollock, YOY pollock and eulachon. YOY samples were frozen in the -80 freezer for otolith analysis in Seattle. Additionally YOY pollock and various non-pollock species were also frozen for Carolyn Kurle and Beth Sinclair or NMML. Three more tows were made in the same manner along transect lines 4,5 and 6. The ship then transited to the line of stations in Unimak Pass. CTD casts with rosette bottles for nutrient and chlorophyll samples and plankton tows (60 and 20 cm bongos) were conducted at each station.

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The scientific party would like to acknowledge the hard work and support of the officers and crew of the Miller Freeman.