Climate change is causing loss of sea ice in the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. As a consequence, marine ecosystems adapted to seasonal sea ice are retreating northward as ocean temperatures warm. Fifteen marine fish species have moved significant distances northward in the Bering Sea between 1982 and 2006 (Fig. 1). A recent small-scale survey documented five species never before documented for the Beaufort Sea (Fig. 2). Gray whale foraging locations have changed in response to reduced benthic prey in the northern Bering Sea (Fig. 3) and the calls of this species were detected near Point Barrow, Alaska during winter 2003-2004. Addressing these shifts is critical for fisheries management, because nationally important fisheries (>40% U.S. catch) are located primarily within the Bering Sea, and for successful co-management of marine mammals, which at least 30 Alaska Native communities depend on.

Bering Sea

Some commercially important species have shifted outside current survey areas in the Bering Sea and thus are incompletely monitored. Furthermore, several marine mammal species depend on sea ice and only limited baseline abundance information is available. NOAA needs to expand research to fill these gaps.

Current Research

• Distribution and movement (aerial surveys, satellite telemetry) of ice seals (2007-08)
• Abundance and distribution of fish and plankton (acoustic surveys) in relation to seasonal sea ice cover (2007-08)

Research Needs

• Monitor ocean conditions and fish, shellfish (acoustic, bottom trawl and surface trawl surveys), cetacean (acoustic and visual surveys) and ice seal (satellite telemetry) species.
• Assess whether spatial shifts are creating new biological communities, thus altering food webs and impacting vital rates (growth, maturity, and feeding) and movement.
• Forecast distribution and abundance of managed species and the economic and sociological impacts of LOSI on commercial and subsistence fisheries.

Chukchi and Beaufort Seas

NOAA does not routinely monitor and fish and shellfish species in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. While a large area of the Chukchi Sea has been surveyed, this effort has been sporadic (bottom habitat was sampled in 1990 and 1991 and pelagic habitat was sampled in 2007).Only one small area of the Beaufort Sea has been surveyed.

Current Research

• Abundance and distribution of fish in the Chukchi Sea (surface trawl, acoustics and oceanography) (2007) (Fig. 4)
• Abundance and distribution of nearshore fish near Point Barrow (beach seines, small bottom trawl) (2007 to 2009) (Fig. 5)
• Abundance and distribution of fish and shellfish in the Beaufort Sea (bottom trawl, acoustics, oceanography) (2008) (Fig. 6)

Research Needs

• Periodically monitor fish, shellfish and marine mammal species in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas where northward expansion of species is expected (Fig. 7).

Related Reports and Activities

• Habitat Research Team Ventures Into the Northern Bering Sea
  
  
• Review of Ribbon Seal Status
  
  
• Acoustic Measurements of Fish and Plankton in the Ice-Covered Areas of the Eastern Bering Sea
  
  
• Polar Ecosystems Program Prepares for Ice Seal Research Cruises
  
  
• Through-Ice Sampling Workshop
  
  
• Summer Field Season
  
  
• Ecosystem Indicators Update
  
  
• Abundance and Distribution Surveys for Ice Seals Aboard the USCG Healy and the Oscar Dyson, 10 April - 18 June 2007
  
  
• Telemetry of Ice Seals Captured During the USCG Healy and Oscar Dyson Research Cruises in the Eastern Bering Sea
  
  
• Acoustic Surveys in Ice-Covered Areas of the Eastern Bering Sea
  
  

• Implementation Plan for Loss of Sea Ice (LOSI) Program (.pdf, 1.91MB).
  
  
• Loss of Sea Ice Workshop
  
  
• A Current View of the Bering Sea Ecosystem and Climate
  
  
• Seattle Times Bering Sea Sea-Ice Research articles (Oct 2006)