Project Information

Title: HRM Program: Annual Herring Migration Cycle 17170111-B

Project Year and Number: 2017: 17170111-B

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2021: 21170111-B, 2020: 20170111-B, 2019: 19170111-B, 2018: 18170111-B

Principal Investigator (PI): Mary Anne Bishop

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 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 if herring were seasonally leaving PWS and migrating into the GoA. With funding from EVOS in FY16, we will improve our ability to detect movements between PWS and the GoA by deploying additional acoustic receivers at the Ocean Tracking Network 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 Gulf of Alaska.


Proposal: View (526 KB)

Reports:
Annual Report FY17: View (636 KB)
Final Report: See Project 21170111-B

Publications from this Project: None Available