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Spawning phenology and geography of Aleutian Islands and eastern Bering Sea Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus)

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Title Spawning phenology and geography of Aleutian Islands and eastern Bering Sea Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus)
Names Neidetcher, Sandra K. (creator)
Hurst, Thomas P. (creator)
Ciannelli, Lorenzo (creator)
Logerwell, Elizabeth A. (creator)
Date Issued 2014-11 (iso8601)
Note To the best of our knowledge, one or more authors of this paper were federal employees when contributing to this work. This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier and can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/deep-sea-research-part-ii-topical-studies-in-oceanography.
Abstract Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) is an economically and ecologically important species in the southeastern
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, yet little is known about the spawning dynamics of Pacific cod in
these regions. To address this knowledge gap, we applied a gross anatomical maturity key for Pacific cod
to describe temporal and spatial patterns of reproductive status over three winter spawning seasons:
2005, 2006, and 2007. Maturity status of female Pacific cod was assessed by fishery observers during
sampling of commercial catches and used to construct maps showing spawning activity in the Bering Sea
and Aleutian Islands. Most spawning activity was observed on the Bering Sea shelf and Aleutian Island
plateaus between 100 and 200 m depth. Data for those days when a high percentage of spawning stage
fish were observed were used to identify areas with concentrations of spawning fish. Spawning
concentrations were identified north of Unimak Island, in the vicinity of the Pribilof Islands, at the shelf
break near Zhemchug Canyon, and adjacent to islands in the central and western Aleutian Islands along
the continental shelf. The spawning season was found to begin in the last days of February or early March
and extend through early to mid-April. Variation in spawning time (averaging ~10 days between years)
may have been associated with a change from warm (2005) to cold (2007) climate conditions during the
study period. Our information on Pacific cod spawning patterns will help inform fishery management
decisions, models of spawning and larval dispersal and the spatial structure of the stock.
Genre Article
Topic Pacific cod
Identifier Neidetcher, S. K., Hurst, T. P., Ciannelli, L., & Logerwell, E. A. (2014). Spawning phenology and geography of Aleutian Islands and eastern Bering Sea Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus). Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 109, 204-214. doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.12.006

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