Little Port Walter Field Station
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Little Port Walter Field Station |
Contact us:
Auke Bay Laboratories
Little Port Walter Marine Station
P.O. Box 2530
Sitka, AK 99835-2530
The Little Port Walter (LPW) Marine Station is a primary research unit of Auke Bay Laboratories located 110 miles south of Juneau, Alaska, near the southeastern tip of Baranof Island. LPW is the oldest year-round biological research station in Alaska and has been host to a wide variety of fisheries research projects since 1934. The station is located on U. S. Forest land in the Tongass National Forest and is accessible only by boat or floatplane.
Two families live at the station on a year round basis including a Fishery Research Biologist and a Research Laboratory Mechanic. Several other NOAA scientists periodically commute to LPW from TSMRI to conduct a variety of research projects. During peak seasonal periods up to 20 researchers and support staff may be living and working at LPW.
Sashin Creek with natural runs of pink, coho, and chum salmon, Dolly Varden char, and steelhead trout flows into the head of LPW Bay. Other numerous nearby lakes and streams are also available for salmonid experimentation. LPW is ideally suited for a broad range of studies on Alaska's estuarine and marine resources. Research facilities include an experimental hatchery with an array of freshwater and saltwater floating raceways and netpens. A gravity-fed piping system capable of delivering 900 gallons of fresh water per minute from Sashin Creek and a pumped pristine seawater system provides for multiple research options on fresh water and marine species. Wet laboratories include an incubation room and a behavior laboratory capable of detailed observation on species in fresh water, salt water, or simulated intertidal environments. These facilities are used to conduct a variety of fish rearing and controlled laboratory studies, some of which extend over a period of several years with anadromous salmonids.
Recent and current studies at LPW include hatchery and wild stock interactions of transplanted Chinook salmon from two distinct genetic lines, effects of crude oil contamination on survival and homing behavior of intertidal spawning pink salmon, ESA recovery research on steelhead involving comparisons with 70- year isolated steelhead derived rainbow trout in Sashin Lake, growth rates in marine corals, and habitat behavior and growth studies with juvenile rockfish. Research projects at LPW include cooperative programs with other NOAA laboratories, several universities, Alaska Department of Game and Regional Aquaculture Associations. LPW will celebrate 75 years of scientific contribution to the Nation's fishery resources in 2009
For more information about Little Port Walter Field Station contact Phil Mundy, phil.mundy@noaa.gov.
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