Project Information

Title: HRM Program: Annual Herring Migration Cycle 21170111-B

Project Year and Number: 2021: 21170111-B

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2020: 20170111-B, 2019: 19170111-B, 2018: 18170111-B, 2017: 17170111-B

Principal Investigator (PI): Mary Anne Bishop (Prince William Sound Science Center)

Managing Agency: NOAA

Assisting Personnel: None

Project Website: https://pwssc.org/tracking-seasonal-movements-of-adult-pacific-herring/

Research Location: Prince William Sound

Restoration Category: Monitoring

Injured Resources Addressed: Pacific Herring

Abstract:

This project is a component of the Herring Research and Monitoring (HRM) program. The goal of the HRM program is to improve predictive models of herring stocks through observations and research. Within Prince William Sound (PWS), adult Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) movements between spawning, summer feeding, and overwintering areas are not well understood. Addressing this knowledge gap will improve our ability to assess biomass trends and recovery of this ecologically important species. In 2013, we documented post-spawn migration of herring from Port Gravina to the PWS entrances by acoustic tagging adult herring and collecting data from the Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) acoustic arrays, which are located in the major entrances and passages connecting PWS with the Gulf of Alaska (GoA). However, the 2013 study could not establish movement direction and if herring were seasonally leaving PWS and migrating into the GoA. With funding from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council in FY16, we obtained the ability to distinguish direction of movements between PWS and the GoA by deploying additional acoustic receivers at the OTN arrays. The primary goal of this 2017-2021 project is to clarify the annual migration cycle of PWS adult herring by leveraging this expanded acoustic infrastructure. The specific objectives of this project are to 1) document location, timing, and direction of Pacific herring seasonal migrations between PWS and the GoA; 2) relate large-scale movements to year class and body condition of tagged individuals; and 3) determine seasonal residency time within PWS, at the entrances to PWS, and in the GoA. From 2017-2019 we tagged 491 fish, and depending on the tag year, 48% (2017) to 81% (2019) of the tagged herring were detected at the acoustic arrays located at the entrances to GoA. Preliminary analyses has shown that fish tended to enter the GoA at Hinchinbrook Entrance during spring and summer after spawning and return to PWS during the fall and winter. Length, weight, and condition have each been found to have a significant effect on the rate at which herring move from PWS to the entrance arrays. Recently, we tagged 235 herring on the spawning grounds during April 2020. With funding from the Alaska Ocean Observing System, University of Alaska will deploy an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in PWS for ~75d this 2020-21 winter with the objective to detect our acoustic tagged Pacific herring. Our FY21 work will focus on uploading data from arrays, analyses, manuscripts, and final report writing.  


Proposal: View (829 KB)

Reports:
FY17-21 Final Report: View (12,905 KB)

Publications from this Project: None Available