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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2006 63(6):1118-1135; doi:10.1016/j.icesjms.2006.03.014
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© 2006 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea

Interannual changes in distribution of age-0 walleye pollock near the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, with reference to the prediction of pollock year-class strength

Andreas G. Winter* and Gordon L. Swartzman

School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195, USA

*Correspondence to A. G. Winter: Present address: Fishery Industrial Technology Center, University of Alaska, Kodiak, AK 99615, USA; tel: +1 907 486 1509; fax: +1 907 486 1540. e-mail: ffagw{at}uaf.edu.

Walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) is a key species and a major commercial fishery target in the eastern Bering Sea (EBS). Recruitment of juveniles to the adult stock is largely determined by first-year survival in favourable nursery areas, and the waters around the Pribilof Islands are an important nursery area. Based on a six-year acoustic survey programme (September 1994–1999) to investigate abundance and distribution variations of age-0 pollock, we developed a set of predictive indices relating the age-0 Pribilof population to the EBS pollock stock at recruitment (age-3). EBS year-class strength at recruitment correlates with age-0 density, the spatial relationship between juveniles and euphausiids, and the degree of centricity of the age-0 distributions around the Pribilof Islands, i.e. neither too far inshore nor offshore. Seabird numbers and density ratios of predatory groundfish also influenced age-0 pollock distribution, but did not provide consistent discrimination among year classes. We hypothesize that age-0 pollock must transition from a copepod diet to a euphausiid diet by September to maximize their survival potential and to estab ish a strong adult cohort.

Keywords: acoustic surveys, Pribilof Islands, walleye pollock, year-class strength

Received 29 September 2005; accepted 17 March 2006.


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