Project Information

Title: HRM Program: Annual Herring Migration Cycle 20170111-B

Project Year and Number: 2020: 20170111-B

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2021: 21170111-B, 2019: 19170111-B, 2018: 18170111-B, 2017: 17170111-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 (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 improved our 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. During spring 2017 we tagged 124 herring in northeast PWS at Port Gravina and detected 59 tagged herring at entrances to the GoA. Nine fish were detected returning to the spawning grounds the following winter/spring. In April 2018, we tagged 202 herring at Port Gravina and at Hawkins Island (Canoe Pass) and to date have detected 136 at entrances to GoA. During FY19 we tagged 165 herring on the spawning grounds during April and will tag an additional 55 in fall 2019. For FY20 we will tag 210 herring on the spawning grounds in spring.


Proposal: View (502 KB)

Reports:
Annual Report: View (1,286 KB)
Final Report: See Project 21170111-B

Publications from this Project: None Available