Northern Bering Sea Surface Trawl Survey - 2022

The Northern Bering Sea (NBS) is a key rearing area for juvenile salmon from the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK) Region, which supports approximately 90% of the statewide subsistence harvest of Chinook salmon and 95% of the subsistence harvest of chum salmon. This project will perform research on juvenile salmon abundance and ecology as part of the 2022 NBS surface trawl survey. Results will provide stock-specific juvenile abundance estimates and pre-season projections for adult Yukon River Chinook and chum salmon returns and evaluate the impact of warming climate on the trophic ecology and energetic condition of juvenile salmon in the NBS.

This project will fill in knowledge gaps surrounding the early life history of salmon species in the NBS and assist fisheries management through pre-season forecast models of run size that account for changes in the marine ecosystem due to the loss of Arctic sea ice. Pre-season forecasts used in combination with traditional adult based forecasts will help promote sustainable fishing opportunities by subsistence users in the region by assisting with the communication of management plans, enabling management strategies to be developed consistent with stock status, and improving access to the available harvest. Additionally, the ability to predict adult run abundance several years into the future using juvenile-based forecasts allows fishery managers and stakeholders to be more adaptive to changing run sizes years in advance. An improved understanding of the trophic ecology in the NBS will identify the potential for trophic bottlenecks and intra- and interspecific competition for food resources, and provides an important ecosystem context to forecast models and juvenile abundance.