Project Information

Title: Physical Oceanographic Processes in Relation to the Early Life History Stages of Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasi) in Prince William Sound Alaska 090817

Project Year and Number: 2009: 090817

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2008: 080817, 2007: 070817

Principal Investigator (PI): Shelton Gay (Prince William Sound Science Center)

Managing Agency: NOAA

Assisting Personnel: None

Research Location: Prince William Sound

Restoration Category: Research

Injured Resources Addressed: Pacific Herring

Abstract: Past research of juvenile Pacific herring in PWS has shown that recruitment is highly influenced by conditions within nursery sites affecting survival within the first year. Studies of the physical oceanography of nursery fjords has indicated that each site has a unique set of hydrographic conditions that are influenced by both local processes and water exchange between the GOA and PWS. These factors vary significantly depending on geographic location. The proposed study will build upon past research by continuing a hydrographic time series within nursery fjords and collect high resolution data on currents and hydrography to determine the dominant mechanisms of water exchange and circulation within two experimental fjords; one located in a highly productive sub-region (Simpson Bay) and one located in less productive sub-region influenced by tidewater glacial outflow (Whale Bay). Also, this project will provide a physical context for a suite of biological sampling proposed for these sites.

Proposal: View (4,132 KB)

Reports:
Annual Report FY09: View (24 KB)
Final Report: Not available. For current status, please contact us.

Publications from this Project: None Available

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