Project Information

Title: HRM Program: Studies of Reproductive Maturity among Age Cohorts of Pacific Herring in PWS 18170111-D

Project Year and Number: 2018: 18170111-D

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2019: 19170111-D, 2017: 17170111-D

Principal Investigator (PI): Kristen Gorman (PWSSC)

Managing Agency: NOAA

Assisting Personnel: None

Project Website: https://pwssc.org/reproductive-maturity-of-pacific-herring/

Research Location: Prince William Sound

Restoration Category: Monitoring, Research

Injured Resources Addressed: Pacific Herring

Abstract:

To address the lack of recovery of Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii, hereafter herring) in Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, research by the Herring Research and Monitoring (HRM) Program has been focused on improving predictive models of PWS herring stocks through observations and research. To this end, the goal of the project described here is to test the PWS herring Bayesian Age-Structured Assessment model’s age at maturity function with empirical data. The main objectives of the study originally proposed in FY17 are fourfold: 1) Assess the seasonal timing (spring, summer, fall, and winter) that allows for accurate determination of both previously spawned and maturing female herring, and maturing male herring, based on direct measures of gonad development to determine maturation states and the proportion of immature and mature herring per age cohort of interest (ages two through five) in PWS; 2) Assess inter-annual variability in the proportion of immature and mature herring per age cohort of interest in PWS collected at the optimal seasonal time as determined by Objective 1; 3) Couple histology results with annual scale growth information at the individual level, within specific age cohorts of interest, to understand if scale growth patterns reflect reproductive investment; and 4) Assess annual variation in herring age at maturity schedules before and after 1997 using ADF&G’s PWS herring scale library. The work to be conducted in FY18 is focused only on Objective 1, namely the direct measure of reproductive maturation among PWS herring to determine the proportion of immature and mature herring for age cohorts of interest to the Bayesian Age-Structured-Assessment model (ages two through five).


Proposal: View (232 KB)

Reports:
Annual Report FY18: View (604 KB)
Final Report: Not available. For current status, please contact us.

Publications from this Project: None Available