Project Information

Title: Using Otolith Chemistry to Discriminate Pacific Herring Stocks in AK 070769

Project Year and Number: 2007: 070769

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2005: 050769

Principal Investigator (PI): Ted Otis (Alaska Department of Fish & Game)

Managing Agency: ADFG

Assisting Personnel: None

Project Website: http://www.herringstockid.info

Research Location: Gulf of Alaska

Restoration Category: Research

Injured Resources Addressed: Pacific Herring

Abstract: This proposal is an extension of EVOS Project 050769, which is currently assessing the temporal stability of stock discrimination criteria derived from fatty acid analysis (FAA) of herring cardiac tissues. In 2006, Otis (050769) collected heads from fish sampled for FAA so chemical analysis of the otoliths could be conducted to evaluate which technique was most effective for determining herring stock structure at fine spatial scales. In this study, Dr. Nate Bickford (EVOS Project 060782) will process those samples using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to determine whether otolith chemistry can be used to corroborate FAA techniques for determining fine scale structuring within and among Alaska’s herring stocks (e.g., Sitka, PWS, Kamishak, Kodiak, Dutch Harbor, Togiak, and Kuskokwim Bay). Results will be published and should allow researchers to better define ecologically significant stock boundaries, likely affecting how commercially exploited herring populations are assessed and managed.


Proposal: View (333 KB)

Reports:
Annual Report FY07: View (22 KB)
Final Report: View (593 KB)

Publications from this Project: None Available