Auke Bay Laboratories

A Division of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center


Our Leadership


Management Team


Other Locations

Auke Bay Laboratories

The Auke Bay Laboratories is headquartered at the Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute. This "green" facility includes 66,000 square feet of office space and 33,000 square feet of lab space. It is located at Lena Point, north of Juneau, Alaska. Other facilities include: Auke Bay Marine Station – Auke Bay, Juneau AK, the Auke Creek Research Station – Auke Creek, Juneau, AK, Juneau Subport and Dock – downtown Juneau, AK, Little Port Walter Marine Station – on southern Baranof Island and Pribilof Island facilities – Bering Sea, Alaska.

Auke Creek Research Station

Located 12 miles from downtown Juneau, Auke Creek Research Station is operated by the Auke Bay Laboratories Salmon Ocean Ecology study program on a cooperative basis with University of Alaska Fairbanks, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the University of Alaska Southeast. The long time series of observations on the seven anadromous fish species made at the Station’s counting weir is not available elsewhere in Alaska. First hand evidence of changes in fish populations in response to climate change is provided by the biological and environmental information generated at this Station. Its information is also used by ADF&G to guide harvest management decisions on commercial and recreational fisheries in the region. An experimental hatchery located near the mouth of the stream provides insights into the genetic basis for many aspects of the behavior of anadromous fish species, and it has been used to train three generations of graduate students in genetics and salmonid biology. The accessibility of the Station by road from the urban area of Juneau makes it a popular scientific educational resource for Juneau Public Schools and the general public.

Little Port Walter Research Station

NOAA’s Little Port Walter Research Station (LPW) was established in 1934 and is the oldest year-round biological field station in Alaska. LPW is located on the southeastern side of Baranof Island, approximately 115 miles south of Juneau, Alaska, in a pristine and biologically strategic location on U.S. Forest Service land in the Tongass National Forest. Over the last 90 years, LPW has served scientists studying the ecology and evolution of Pacific salmonids, the effects of hatchery practices on genetic and life history diversity of salmon, rockfish behavior, coral growth rates, age and growth studies of groundfish, and the ecology of other marine organisms. This research has also included numerous government and stakeholder collaborators, university professors and graduate students, and interns from across the United States. Activities at LPW have contributed to several hundred publications, reports, and documents that improve our scientific understanding of marine resources important to Alaska and the nation. LPW’s Chinook salmon research also contributes to salmon management under the Pacific Salmon Treaty, specifically for stock assessment and the estimation of harvest rates for Southeast Alaska Chinook populations. Scientists at LPW are currently engaged in research that improves our understanding of sustainable aquaculture (salmon, oysters, kelp), salmon ecology and evolution, and transportation and bioaccumulation of chemicals in commercial fish stocks. LPW is also contributing to the development of transformative approaches to rapidly assess critical life history stages and energetic responses of marine fishes to climate change.


Advanced Technologies

NOAA Fisheries is a leader in the use of advanced technologies. Our scientists use a variety of technologies to study the marine environment and the species that call it home. 

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