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Environmental and biological influences on the distribution and population dynamics of polar cod (Boreogadus saida) in the US Chukchi Sea

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Abstract

Polar cod (Boreogadus saida) is the most abundant fish in the US Arctic (US Chukchi and Beaufort seas), where commercial fishing is currently prohibited because data to assess the sustainability of potential fisheries are lacking. Using data from fisheries oceanographic surveys in the US Chukchi Sea during 2012 and 2013 (August–September), we examined drivers of distribution and abundance, and assessed the current status and dynamics of polar cod. We estimated age structure, abundance, biomass, natural mortality, and reproductive potential using data from these surveys, combined with available estimates of biological parameters from the literature. High densities of age-0 polar cod were observed in the northeastern Chukchi Sea, while older polar cod (age-1+) were more widely distributed throughout the survey area. Results indicate that temperature is an important driver for the distribution of both age-0 and age-1+ polar cod with age-0 polar cod less likely to be present in warmer waters (≥ 8 °C), which supports past research on drivers of fish and other ectotherm species distribution. Estimates of egg production and early survival suggest that the numbers of mature polar cod present in the survey area during summer are unlikely to produce the observed high abundances of age-0 polar cod in the US Chukchi Sea. This could imply that either mature polar cod migrate to the Chukchi Sea to spawn in the winter, that age-0 fish are advected from outside the study area, or that adult polar cod abundance is underestimated. Additional systematic surveys and further research are needed to resolve the origins of age-0 polar cod, identify nursery areas, and estimate early life survival.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the captains and crews of the F/V Alaska Knight and the F/V Bristol Explorer and the numerous Arctic Eis scientists that aided in sample collection. We thank Caroline Bouchard for providing age and length data for larval polar cod. We thank Haakon Hop, Bjarte Bogstad, and three anonymous reviewers for comments that resulted in a much improved manuscript. This study was funded in part by the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM, Awards # M12AC00009 and # M17AC00016) and in part with qualified outer continental shelf oil and gas revenues by the Coastal Impact Assistance Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior (contracts #s: 10-CIAP-010; F12AF00188). This publication is the result in part of research sponsored by the Cooperative Institute for Alaska Research with funds from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under cooperative agreement NA13OAR4320056 with the University of Alaska. Additional funding for graduate student support was provided by the North Pacific Research Board Graduate Student Research Award, J. Frances Allen Scholarship, Dr. H. Richard Carlson Scholarship, and the Al Tyler Memorial Scholarship.

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  1. College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 17101 Point Lena Loop Road, Juneau, AK, 99801, USA

    Jennifer M. Marsh, Franz J. Mueter & Terrance J. Quinn II

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This article belongs to the special issue on the “Arctic Gadids in a Changing Climate”, coordinated by Franz Mueter, Haakon Hop, Benjamin Laurel, Caroline Bouchard, and Brenda Norcross.

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Marsh, J.M., Mueter, F.J. & Quinn, T.J. Environmental and biological influences on the distribution and population dynamics of polar cod (Boreogadus saida) in the US Chukchi Sea. Polar Biol 43, 1055–1072 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-019-02561-w

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