U.S. Department of Commerce / NOAA	/   OAR /  ERL / PMEL \  \ NMFS / AFSC / RACE/	FOCI
	Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigations

Ned Cokelet, Carrie Hadden, Al Hermann, Anne Hollowed, Art Kendall, Mark Koehn, Allen Macklin, Jeff Napp, Ron Reed, Phyllis Stabeno, Kurt Zegowitz (rapportuer)

• Allen Macklin has requested a brief annual report (Fiscal Year 1999) from Phase II SEBSCC researchers by September 18.  Reports should be a page or two in length, in electronic format, with a figure and/or table, and follow the requested format.

• Recently there was a Joint Announcement of Opportunity by the International Arctic Research Center and the Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research: Global Change Research in the Arctic. Funds totalling $4.5M were created by pooling the Center's money with Arctic Research Initiative money.  The proposal deadline is October 1, 1999, and research begins January 1, 2000, with a two-year duration, the second year contingent on continued funding.

• Pat Livingston had requested FOCI data to be included in the SAFE document. Allen Macklin and Bern Megrey have identified some indices to transfer to Pat, and have alerted the PIs responsible. If you have been notified by either Allen or Bern, please submit this information to Allen as soon as possible.

• The '99 FOCI Fall Lunchtime Seminar Series is currently seeking volunteers to make presentations. If you would like to give a talk, please contact Kurt Zegowitz.  The present schedule can be accessed through the SEMINARS link on the FOCI home page at http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/foci/.

• Art Kendall reported that NMFS will support additional runs of the Gulf of Alaska SPEM model for a number of years. This activity will aid recruitment studies.  Al Hermann said that state-of-the-art hardware has been ordered for this purpose. Phyllis Stabeno indicated that model runs will begin with the most recent year and work backward to 1976, the goal being to have results available as movies on the web and in other formats useful to PIs. Perhaps a meeting is necessary to discuss output formats. Animations for years already completed may be viewed on the web at http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/~dobbins/salxy40.html.  Eventually it would be advantageous to produce similar runs  for the Bering Sea.  Presently, the Bering Sea model is focused on the southeastern region, using ice as a forcing function along with tides, wind and subtidal action.  Anne Hollowed suggested that output from the Bering Sea model be compared with output from the OSCARS model as a test of the Megrey/Wespestad hypothesis of pollock recruitment in the eastern Bering Sea.

• AFSC FOCI is hiring a Post Doc to work on FOCI-related problems.  A number of candidates have applied.  Hopefully the position will be filled by October 1.

• LCDR Michele Bullock, Associate Director for Operations, PMEL, is leaving and will be replaced by LCDR Dave Mattens, NOAA.

 
• Art Kendall visited with Ocean Carrying Capacity (OCC) scientists at the Auke Bay lab in Juneau.  They are interested in meeting with FOCI scientists to discuss proposals to GLOBEC to look at salmon transiting from coastal to oceanic waters.

 
• For the third summer in a row, northern right whales  have been observed on the eastern Bering Sea shelf.  Bristol bay sockeye salmon are in the midst of an abundant run.

• GREAT PACIFIC - Jeff Napp: The Auke Bay Lab invited FOCI scientist Chris Baier aboard the Great Pacificto participate in a juvenile salmon survey along the western Alaska Peninsula.  Transects with SeaCat/CTDs, surface trawls, and bongos were run from 60-70 nm offshore inward to 5-10 nm offshore.   FOCI wanted to learn more about young pollock that could be found in the nearshore regions of Bristol Bay.  Chris Baier found that age-0 pollock was the dominant prey item in the stomach of salmon and other fish caught in the trawl.

• OSHORO MARU -  For the past 6 or 7 years the OshoroMaru has spent a week in late July sampling age-0 pollock on a grid located near the Pribilofs. Due to time and weather, only the core stations were sampled this year. It is too soon to compare age-0 pollock abundances with those from previous years, but the wide range of sizes indicated that quite a few cohorts were represented. This is a valuable time series, and FOCI may want to request resources to continue it should the OshoroMaru cease operations in the area.

• ALPHA HELIX - Phyllis Stabeno reported that the Helix is currently experiencing bad weather, and that is hampering their measurements of frontal structure. Scientists aboard found the water well mixed to a depth of 60 m with only a weak frontal structure.  When the weather improves, they will document frontogenesis. Flow along the west side of the Alaska Peninsula has been weak for much of the year.

• MILLER FREEMAN - The Freeman has completed its Bering Sea hydroacoustic work and is now in the Gulf taking pollock samples for genetic studies. Scientists have not caught as many fish as wanted and are looking for young specimens. This fall will see the last of the Pribilof habitat cruises, followed by a mooring cruise.

• Sattelite-Tracked Drifters - Phyllis Stabeno: Drifters have been deployed in February, April, May, June and July, mostly near Unimak Pass. This year's drifters indicate a vigorous Bering Slope Current with some eddying and very little onshelf flow. Four more drifters will be deployed during September.

• FOCI's Field Operations Leaders and Coordinator have received Project Description Forms (PDFs) from FOCI scientists interested in conducting field studies during FY 2000.  A draft field operations schedule will be constructed using these PDFs and ship availability as follows.
MILLER FREEMAN: 10 days in February, 40 days in the spring, 23 days in September

RONALD H. BROWN: 37 days in the spring, 23 days in September  (These days are still in flux, and include transit.)

ALPHA HELIX: July cruise to observe Bering Sea summer productivity

Anne Hollowed reported that there will be a vessel working on the east side of Kodiak in February, investigating forage space available to sea lions. Anyone interested in using this as a vessel of opportunity please contact Anne.

The next FOCI PI meeting will be held at 10 a.m., Thursday, September 9 , 1999,  in the Cloud Chamber (3/2065).  Please submit to Allen Macklin, no later than the day before the meeting, agenda items and fax-ready copies of figures or handouts that you intend to present at the next meeting.  Alternately, presentation materials may be posted on the WWW or e-mailed to remote participants before the meeting.

Mail corrections and addenda to the FOCI Coordinator.