Field sampling on Taku, May 2007.

Beach pole seining on Taku, May 2007.

A total of 53 different estuaries have been sampled throughout southeast Alaska. Surveys were completed in cooperation with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game and the Alaska Regional Office. Sampling involves netting for fish and macroinvertebrates, water quality sampling, and foot surveys using ShoreZone methods. More than 200 animal taxa and more than 70 plant taxa have been identified. The majority of fish captured are juvenile forage fish such as herring and sandlance, however juvenile salmon often dominate spring catches. Seasonal aggregations of adult herring, sandlance, smelt, yellowfin sole, pricklebacks, sculpins, and crab have been documented. Shiner perch make up much of the summer catch in southern Southeast Alaska estuaries, but are nearly absent from northern estuaries. Several northern range extensions have been documented for fish and invertebrates. In protected bays, flatfish such as yellowfin sole and starry flounder are often abundant. Species diversity appears to be greatest in estuaries adjacent to large deep-water bays and least in those adjacent to fjords and, species assemblages in these two estuary types are very different. Distribution of marine algae, kelp, and eelgrass are dependant on environmental variables such as salinity, turbidity, and exposure.

Contact:
Mitch Lorenz
Auke Bay Laboratories
Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries

Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute
17109 Pt Lena Loop Rd
Juneau AK 99801
Mitch.Lorenz@noaa.gov