Explore Ocean Life in Alaska

There are tens of thousands of species that live in the waters off Alaska. These species are part of several large marine ecosystems (LME) off Alaska that support commercial, subsistence, and sport fisheries that give us food and jobs. These ecosystems are the Chukchi Sea, the Beaufort Sea, the Eastern Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska. It is the goal of our scientists to understand what drives these complex ecosystems off Alaska to ensure sustainable fisheries and to protect our marine mammals.

With so many species to possibly study the AFSC scientists focus mainly on those species impacted, directly or indirectly, by fishing effort. Find out about some of these species as you explore Ocean Life:

Crabs
Deep Sea Corals
Fish
Marine Mammals
Sharks
Skates

Throughout the Ocean Life section you may come across PDFs. You will require Adobe Acrobat Reader freeware.  Adobe also offers free tools for the visually disabled.