Forage Fish Research
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Eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus). |
Forage fishes are of particular concern in Alaska because the decline
of these species is considered to be a potential cause of dramatic
declines in populations of
Steller sea lions,
fur seals, and
seabirds
during the past 20 years. Forage fishes are abundant, schooling fishes
preyed upon by many species of seabirds, marine mammals, and other fish
species. They provide important ecosystem functions by transferring
energy from primary or secondary producers to higher trophic levels.
Major forage fishes in Alaska include
juvenile walleye pollock, Pacific herring, Pacific sand lance, capelin, eulachon, and
Atka mackerel. Other species, such as
Pacific salmon juveniles,
are sometimes important (usually seasonally or locally). The North Pacific
Fishery Management Council has designated a special forage fish
management category to prevent directed fishing on some groups of forage
including: gunnels, lanternfish, sandfish, sandlance, smelts, stichaeids,
and euphausiids.
Most forage fishes are distinguished by schooling behavior,
relatively short life spans, and are locally abundant. Most species have
demersal eggs, but walleye pollock have pelagic eggs which are spawned
in deep water along the continental shelf. Other species spawn in
freshwater streams (e.g., Pacific salmon and eulachon), and some species
spawn in the shallow water along the beach (e.g., capelin, Pacific sand
lance, and Pacific herring.)
- GREGG, J. L., J. J. VOLLENWEIDER, C. A. GRADY, R. A. HEINTZ, and P. K. HERSHBERGER.
2012. Effects of environmental temperature on the dynamics of ichthyophoniasis in juvenile Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii). J. Parasitol. Res. Vol. 2011, Article ID 563412, 9 p. (.pdf, 1.05 MB). Online.
- GUSTAFSON, R. G., M. J. FORD, P. B. ADAMS, J. S. DRAKE, R. L. EMMETT, K. L. FRESH, M. ROWSE, E. A. K. SPANGLER, R. E. SPANGLER, D. J. TEEL, and M. T. WILSON.
2012. Conservation status of eulachon in the California Current. Fish Fish. 13:121-138.
- HOLLOWED A. B., S. J. BARBEAUX, E. D. COKELET, S. KOTWICKI, P. H. RESSLER, C. SPITAL, and C. D. WILSON.
2012. Effects of climate variations on pelagic ocean habitats and their role in structuring forage fish distributions in the Bering Sea. Deep-Sea Res. II 65-70:230-250.
- LIU, J. X., A. TATARENKOV, T. D. BEACHMAN, V. GORBACHEV, S. WILDES, and J. C. AVISE.
2011. Effects of Pleistocene climatic fluctuations on the phylogeographic and demographic histories of Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii). Mol. Ecol. 20(18):3879-93.
- Energetic Tradeoffs Between Foraging and Predation Risk in the Winter for Juvenile Pacific Herring in the Gulf of Alaska
By: J. J. VOLLENWEIDER, RON HEINTZ, MARY ANNE BISHOP, JORDAN T. WATSON Conference: Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2013 (2013 poster, .pdf, 4.46 MB) Online. - Growth and Energy Storage in Juvenile Pacific Herring from Prince William Sound
By: FLETCHER SEWALL, RON HEINTZ, JOHANNA VOLLENWEIDER Conference: Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, Jan 2013 (2013 poster, .pdf, 311 KB) Online.
- Related AFSC research program reports and activities: forage fish
- Steller Sea Lion Project Theme: Foraging
- Steller Sea Lion Project Theme: Fish Assessment and Fisheries
- Additional publications, posters, and reports.
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