Research Projects
The PCCRC provides grants to faculty to improve knowledge about the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. Funding for the PCCRC is provided by members of the Pollock Conservation Cooperative, part of the At-sea Processors Association. It's not just about Pollock! While funding comes from the Pollock Conservation Coop, the research they fund is exceptionally diverse in terms of disciple, research theme, and focal species. Below you will find all current and completed research projects. If you have a specific interest you can search through projects using our database search. If interested in how the funds are allocated by discipline, research theme, or focal species have a look at our interacting funding graphic.
Current Projects
Toward Shipside Salmon Stock Identification
PI: Megan McPhee
Full Title: Toward shipside salmon stock identification: is nanopore sequencing accurate enough?
Research Goals: Investigate the potential utility of the MinION nanopore sequencing platform for shipside stock composition estimates of chum salmon bycatch.
Award: $70,993
Pollock growth and productivity in the northern Bering Sea
PI: Michael Litzow & Franz Mueter
Full Title: Assessing the potential for pollock growth and productivity in the northern Bering Sea.
Research Goals: This project will use statistical modeling to improve our understanding of the implications of changing climate conditions and demersal fish community structure for pollock growth and distribution on a north-south gradient.
Award: $122,494
Pollock roe and milt as anti-inflammatory bioactive peptides
PI: Quentin Fong & Christina DeWitt
Full Title: Development of Value-added Market Opportunities for Pollock Co-products: Screening of pollock roe and milt for bioactive peptides that have an anti-inflammatory effect to improve human health.
Research Goals: Explore the potential health value of bioactive peptides and hydrolysates derived from pollock roe and milt by conducting a preliminary screening for anti-inflammatory effects of roe and milt-derived peptides.
Award: $59,467
Zooplankton predation on first-year pollock
PI: Russ Hopcroft
Full Title: First-year pollock and their zooplankton predators in the northern Gulf of Alaska
Research Goals: Establish the relative magnitude of the three dominant predatory zooplankton components (Scyphozoans, Hydrozoans, Chaetognaths) in the Gulf of Alaska.
Award: $189,846
Value-added market opportunities for pollock co-products
PI: Quentin Fong
Full Title: Development of value-added market opportunities for pollock co-products
Research Goals: Nutritional investigations on milt and roe that will provide processors with the information needed to support value-added product development and market diversification.
Award: $134,567
Foraging behavior of "resident" killer whales
PI: Lorrie Rea
Full Title: Foraging movements and diving behavior of “resident”-type killer whales in the western and central Aleutian Islands – are killer whales competing with Steller sea lions and commercial fisheries as an important consumer of Atka mackerel?
Research Goals: Study "resident" killer whale foraging movements and diving behavior using satellite-linked tags. Conduct stable isotope analyses of existing killer whale and fish samples to assess, in particular, whether killer whales are a major consumer of Atka mackerel, and therefore a potential competitor with Steller sea lions and commercial fisheries in this region.
Award: $99,717
Pollock roe R&D
PI: Quentin Fong
Full Title: Developing alternative product forms for pollock roe
Research Goals: Develop alternative pollock roe product forms for markets in East Asia, including Hong Kong, China, Japan, Korea and elsewhere, using Asian and Asian-Americans in Kodiak and Washington State that favor traditional seafood dishes as proxy for prototype product development and testing.
Award: $68,877
Maternal foraging of northern fur seals
PI: Jennifer Burns
Full Title: Maternal foraging trip duration of northern fur seals as an index to prey availability in the eastern Bering Sea ecosystem
Research Goals: Monitor MFTD as an index of foraging conditions for northern fur seals in 3 colonies known to forage in 3 different oceanic domains around the Pribilof Islands: the middle shelf, outer shelf, and shelf break/basin.
Award: $149,956
Drivers of AYK Chinook salmon survival
PI: Milo Adkison
Full Title: Using a stage structured population dynamics model to determine key environmental and fishery-related drivers of AYK Chinook salmon survival
Research Goals: Tailoring and applying a pre-existing life stage-structured statistical population dynamics model to evaluate the direction and magnitude of influence that a range of hypothesized environmental factors have on realized survival for Chinook salmon populations in Western Alaska.
Award: $207,171
Interactions among groundfish predators
PI: Anne Beaudreau
Full Title: Developing an index of predation to improve the assessment of walleye pollock in the Gulf of Alaska and ecological interactions among arrowtooth flounder, Pacific halibut, and walleye pollock in the Gulf of Alaska
Research Goals: (1) quantify the distributions and spatial overlap of arrowtooth, halibut, and pollock in relation to demographic and environmental variables; (2) quantify diet composition, including the contribution of pollock prey, and diet overlap of arrowtooth and halibut in relation to demographic and environmental variables; (3) describe spatial and temporal variation in resource partitioning between halibut and arrowtooth to evaluate their potential for competition; and (4) determine whether relationships between spatial overlap and diet overlap are consistent across regions and spatial scales in the GOA.
Award: $201,516
Skate discard mortality
PI: Terrance J. Quinn II
Full Title: Determining short and medium-term mortality of discarded skates after longline capture
Research Goals: Investigate discard mortality as well as provide estimates, with handling regime in mind, of both short- and medium-term mortality.
Award: $140,598
Completed Projects
Listed below are all of the research projects that the PCCRC has funded and are completed. Projects are listed in reverse chronological order with a short description. If you would like to learn more about a particular project follow the 'Learn more' link to be directed to a full description with supporting materials. If you are looking for specific projects based on a subject or species, please consider using the searchable database.
~ 2017 ~
Movement, behavior, and predation on Chinook salmon in the Bering Sea
PI: Andrew Seitz
Full Title: Further examination of the movement, behavior and predation of Chinook salmon in the Bering Sea
Research Goals: Continuation of our study in which another 10 large, immature Chinook salmon (>60 cm) will be captured near Dutch Harbor and tagged with pop-up satellite archival transmitting tags.
Award: $212,683
Chum salmon genetic stock identification
PI: Megan McPhee
Full Title: Improved resolution of chum salmon genetic stock identification
Research Goals: Leverage previous work to identify a panel of ~500 informative genetic (SNP) markers that can be transferred across laboratory platforms to provide finer resolution of genetic stock identification of chum salmon from western Alaska.
Award: $167,633
~ 2016 ~
Gel enhancement of Alaska pollock surimi
PI: Quentin Fong
Full Title: Utilization of nano-scale fish bone for gel enhancement of Alaska pollock surimi and as Calpro injection marinade made from surimi fish protein for improved nutritional and eating quality of Alaska pollock fillets
Research Goals: Recover Alaska pollock fish bone and upgrade the value of this solid waste as a natural source of functional and nutritional nano-scale calcium for use in Alaska pollock fillet and surimi block.
Award: 124,941
~ 2015 ~
Decline in Pacific halibut size at age
PI: Gordon Kruse
Full Title: Environmental, ecological, and fishery effects on growth and size-at-age of Pacific halibut
Research Goals: Test hypotheses about (1) the effects of environmental and ecological variability on halibut growth, and to (2) quantify the implications of fishery effects, such as size-selective fishing, bycatch, and wastage on changes in size-at-age, which have implications on biological reference points used in the halibut stock assessment, as well as harvest policy.
Award: $76,618
~ 2014 ~
Freshness and nutritional value of Alaska pollock products and byproducts
PI: Quentin Fong
Full Title: Nutritional composition differences of Alaska pollock during and between Bering Sea A and B seasons
Research Goals: Determine the postmortem changes occurring to pollock fillets at time intervals of 0, 24, 48 and 96 hours between harvest and processing.
Award: $158,042
Shelf-stable pet treats from pollock skins
PI: Quentin Fong
Full Title: Shelf-stable pet treats from pollock skins
Research Goals: Two production processes, rolled and sliced, will be evaluated, for two blends of commercially available natural antioxidants and a control. The products will be evaluated for their nutritional value and shelf life with the goal of developing a pet treat product with a minimum shelf life of six months
Award: $96,757
Effects of Asian pink and chum salmon on Alaskan chum and Chinook salmon growth
PI: Megan McPhee
Full Title: Determining the effects of Asian pink and chum salmon on growth and maturation of Alaskan populations of chum and Chinook salmon in the Bering Sea
Research Goals: Conducting both a synthesis of existing data and novel analyses of growth indicators (insulin-like growth factor and scale data) to examine the potential role that Asian populations of pink and chum salmon negatively influence growth of western Alaskan populations of Chinook and chum salmon in the Bering Sea.
Award: $125,037
~ 2013 ~
Replacing ethoxyquin in fishmeal
PI: Charles Crapo
Full Title: Replacing ethoxyquin in fishmeal: Is it possible?
Research Goals: Investigate potential replacements for ethoxyquin from the range of natural antioxidants currently used in the food industry.
Award: $101,793
Steller sea lion reproduction and survival
PI: Jo-Ann Mellish
Full Title: Reproduction, survival and depredation of Steller sea lions from the declining western Aleutian Islands in relation to the stable eastern Gulf of Alaska region - Phase 2
Research Goals: This proposal to the PCCRC / NPRB is for Phase 2 of a 3‐phase project to determine reproduction, survival, and depredation in Steller sea lions in the western Aleutian Islands (WAI) in relation to the eastern Gulf of Alaska (eGOA).
Award: $190,765
Modeling multilayered fisheries management
PI: Gunnar Knapp
Full Title: Modeling biological and economic implications of layered management measures for Bering Sea groundfish fisheries
Research Goals: Develop and apply ecological and economic modeling tools for Bering Sea fisheries, by (a) building on NOAA’s current multi-fishery stock model by increasing its spatial and temporal resolution, (b) modeling fleet fishing choices based on costs and revenue opportunities, given ecological conditions and regulatory constraints; and (c) using the models to examine ecological and economic implications of alternative combinations of management regulations.
Award: $399,999
Vital rates in Russian Steller sea lions rookeries
PI: Russel D. Andrews
Full Title: The effects of variation in fishing restrictions and environmental conditions on vital rates of Steller sea lions from Russian rookeries with contrasting population trends
Research Goals: Review and critically evaluate literature, reports, models and hypotheses that relate to factors that could be affecting vital rates of SSL in the Commander and Kuril Islands. Determine the age specific vital rates for the Commander and Kuril rookeries for the period 2000-2012. Compile data on key environmental factors (e.g. oceanographic conditions such as SST, primary productivity, sea surface height anomalies) and fishing effort to go beyond the initial description of how vital rates vary for the Commander and Kuril Islands SSL rookeries.
Award: $180,083
Behavior of transient killer whales
PI: Russel D. Andrews
Full Title: Investigating the foraging and diving behavior of transient killer whales in the central and western Aleutians to determine predation on Steller sea lions
Research Goals: Describe transient killer whale foraging in the western and central Aleutian Islands, and test the hypothesis that they forage on squid in addition to marine mammals.
Award: $45,130
~ 2012 ~
Augmenting current Steller sea lions projects with additional field time
PI: Greg Walker
Full Title: Augmenting two existing Steller sea lion projects with additional field time
Research Goals: Assess the feasibility of using hip-based unmanned aircraft (UAS) to conduct Steller sea lion (SSL) surveys. Collect scat/spew samples over a larger section of the Aleutian Islands.
Award: $135,691
Skates injuries in longline fisheries
PI: Terrance J. Quinn II
Full Title: Codification and description of injuries sustained by skates caught as bycatch by the Bering Sea longline fleet
Research Goals: Describe injuries sustained and classify them into a system of discrete injury codes, following a methodology similar to previous studies conducted on Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis).
Award: $104,305
Walleye pollock maturity
PI: Gordon Kruse
Full Title: Variations in size of maturity of walleye pollock and implications on harvest strategies
Research Goals: Explore the maturation of eastern Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska pollock by analyzing maturity data collected by at-sea fisheries observers and from NMFS survey trawls throughout the spawning season over the geographic range occupied by these stocks. Evaluate the current visual key used to classify maturity stages using histology.
Award: $74,966
~ 2011 ~
Diet and nutrition in harbor seals
PI: Shannon Atkinson
Full Title: Evaluation of diet composition and plane of nutrition of free-ranging harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) from Tugidak Island, Alaska in warm and cool climatic periods.
Research Goals: Describe the diet of harbor seals from Tugidak Island from 2001 to 2009. Assess differences in diets of harbor seals during the breeding or molting periods. Compare the relative importance of prey species in diets calculated using two different calculation methodologies (ssFO and BioM). Calculate the nutritional profile of harbor seal diets utilizing the MIXIT-WIN program. Determine if dietary changes to prey contribution or nutritional profile correlate with oscillations in SST anomalies recorded in the waters surrounding Tugidak Island and throughout the Gulf of Alaska during this time series.
Award: $29,992
~ 2010 ~
Salmon initiative
PI: Milo Adkison
Full Title: Freshwater growth and survival in AYK Chinook salmon: maternal health, predation mortality, and the ultimate effects on stock productivity
Research Goals: Understanding of the processes that link freshwater conditions to recruitment from egg or spawning adult.
Award: $475,416
~ 2009 ~
Killer whale predation on juvenile Steller sea lions
PI: Jo-Ann Mellish
Full Title: Consummate and consumed predators: Assessing killer whale predation on juvenile Steller sea lions in the Gulf of Alaska
Research Goals: Directly quantify predation on juvenile Steller sea lions in the Gulf of Alaska.
Award: $15,000
Impacts of ocean acidification
PI: Jeremy Mathis
Full Title: Present and future impacts of ocean acidification on juvenile walleye pollock metabolic processes and growth rates
Research Goals: Does acidification show a significant effect on standard metabolic rate of larval Pollock? Which metabolic enzymes (PK, LDH, and CS) does ocean acidification significantly effect, and how? What is the current and future state of ocean acidification in the Gulf of Alaska and in the Bering Sea, particularly in areas of Pollock recruitment?
Award: $56,793
Feeding patterns and prey selection in juvenile pollock and cod
PI: Nicola Hillgruber
Full Title: Feeding patterns, prey selection, and potential dietary overlap of age-0 pelagic larvae and juveniles of walleye pollock and Pacific cod
Research Goals: Examine feeding patterns of pelagic late larval and early juvenile walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) and Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), collected in early summer of an exceptionally cold year (2008) on a large scale station grid ranging from Unimak Pass to the vicinity of St. Lawrence Island in the eastern Bering Sea.
Award: $92,038
Maternal investment impact on Steller sea lion pups
PI: Shannon Atkinson
Full Title: Impact of health and maternal investment on survival of endangered Steller sea lion pups
Research Goals: Determine if changes in maternal investment, body condition, and circulating hormone levels results in measurable changes in the health and survival of Steller sea lion (SSL) pups, as measured through the immune system.
Award: $66,609
~ 2008 ~
Fatty acid composition of forage species
PI: Alan Springer
Full Title: Fatty acid composition of forage species in the Bering Sea: variability and its effect on estimating predator diets using quantitative fatty acid signature analysis
Research Goals: Evaluate the magnitude of variability among seasons, years, and locations in FA composition of principal forage species supporting seabirds and marine mammals in the Bering Sea.
Award: $73,089
Purification of pollock oil
PI: Alexandra Oliveira
Full Title: Purification of pollock oil using short path distillation
Research Goals: Investigate the applicability of short-path distillation for the purification of commercial pollock oil, and human grade pollock liver oil.
Award: $84,266
Effects of long-term tracking on Steller sea lions
PI: Jo-Ann Mellish
Full Title: Assessment of the behavioral and physiological effects of long-term tracking methods in Steller sea lions
Research Goals: Evaluate the combined behavioral and physiological responses to hot- iron branding and surgical implantation of Life History Transmitters (LHX tags) in juvenile Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus).
Award: $17,775
Bering Sea temperatures and walleye pollock
PI: Mark Johnson
Full Title: Bering Sea temperatures and their relationship to walleye pollock fisheries: a feasibility study of year-round near-real time data acquisition
Research Goals: Conduct a feasibility test to determine the usefulness of near real-time temperature data from the Bering Sea to commercial fishers and fisheries managers.
Award: $68,900
~ 2007 ~
Causes of northern fur seal decline
PI: Alan Springer
Full Title: What is causing the northern fur seal decline? A literature review and critical analysis
Research Goals: Determine the cause of declines in northern fur seal declines.
Award: $53,770
Genetics and population dynamics in Pacific ocean perch
PI: Anthony J. Gharrett
Full Title: Combining genetics and population dynamics to improve management of Pacific ocean perch
Research Goals: Develop quantitative models that include information about dispersal, population dynamics, and exploitation and test the effects of different harvesting strategies, which will range from harvesting over the entire management area to harvests in a few limited areas within the management area.
Award: $235,014
Shark bycatch in the Bering Sea
PI: Vincent Gallucci
Full Title: Investigation of bycatch of sharks in the Bering Sea and their ecology
Research Goals: Investigates the demography and trophic ecology of salmon sharks and Pacific sleeper sharks caught as bycatch in Bering Sea pollock fisheries.
Award: $72,378
Walleye pollock condition
PI: Michael Castellini
Full Title: Walleye pollock stock distribution, growth, and condition in the Bering Sea
Research Goals: Determining methods to assess body condition of pollock. These data will provide easy-to-use tools to assess condition in pollock and secondarily, a data-set from which to measure future changes in body condition.
Award: $52,000
~ 2006 ~
Interactions between fishermen and Steller sea lions
PI: Gordon Kruse
Full Title: Local and traditional knowledge of the nature and extent of interactions between fishermen and Steller sea lions in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea
Research Goals: Reconstruct patterns of shooting prior to 1990, when shooting of sea lions to protect fisheries and gear became illegal, in order to evaluate the likelihood that such shooting played a substantial role in the decline.
Award: $90,000
~ 2005 ~
Predation on Northern fur seals in the Pribilofs
PI: Kate Wynne
Full Title: Predation on northern fur seals in the Pribilof Islands a baseline study
Research Goals: Collect baseline information about predation on fur seals in the near-shore region around the Pribilof Islands.
Award: $66,479
Changes in Steller sea lions skulls
PI: Andrew Trites
Full Title: Changes in Steller sea lions skull sizes: testing the nutritional stress and Killer Whale predation hypotheses
Research Goals: Skulls from Steller sea lions (1950s to present) that are housed by NMFS, the University of Alaska, and the California Academy of Sciences will be measured to determine whether body size changed as sea lions declined and whether the changes are consistent between the eastern and western Pacific.
Award: $45,850
Essential larval and juvenile fish habitat
PI: Brenda Konar
Full Title: Structure of nearshore fish assemblages in relation to varying levels of habitat complexity
Research Goals: Explore the possibility that nearshore kelp beds act as refugia for the larval and juvenile stages of commercially important fishes such as gadids and rockfish.
Award: $127,304
~ 2004 ~
DNA markers for chum salmon
PI: Anthony J. Gharrett
Full Title: Developing DNA markers for the analysis of chum salmon bycatch in Alaskan trawl fisheries
Research Goals: Develop new, cost-effective, and accurate genetic techniques to determine the origin of all chum salmon.
Award: $145,639
Metabolic performance of pollock
PI: Loren Buck
Full Title: Seasonal variation in the metabolic performance of walleye pollock and the influence of water temperature
Research Goals: Determine how the metabolic scope of walleye pollock is altered by seasonal physiological changes. Determine the extent that shifts in water temperature influence routine metabolic rate and swimming performance of walleye pollock. Correlate organosomatic indices of walleye pollock with changes in aerobic capacity & assess the use of organismal and plasma indices as bioindicators of fish condition in walleye pollock.
Award: $116,095
Food web dynamics in the Bering Sea
PI: Bruce Finney
Full Title: Food web dynamics-Bering Sea
Research Goals:
Award: $75,162
~ 2003 ~
Environmental predictors of pollock recruitment
PI: Brenda Norcross
Full Title: Environmental predictors of walleye pollock recruitment in the eastern Bering Sea
Research Goals: Develop statistical models linking walleye pollock recruitment in the eastern Bering Sea to climatic and oceanographic conditions at regional and larger spatial scales. Develop new environmental indicators that best reflect the potential mechanisms driving pollock recruitment.
Award: $42,836
Ecosystem monitoring through subsistence harvests
PI: Jo-Ann Mellish
Full Title: Ecosystem monitoring through the subsistence harvests of the Pribilof lslands, Alaska
Research Goals: Collaborate with subsistence hunters to collect biological samples from the subsistence harvest of marine mammals and seabirds on the Pribilof Islands. Provide opportunities to augment scientific knowledge with traditional knowledge and vice versa. Measure contaminant levels in multispecies tissue samples collected during subsistence hunting events, including marine mammals and seabirds.
Award: $58,800
~ 2002 ~
Fish assemblages near Steller sea lions haulouts
PI: Brenda Konar
Full Title: Shallow water nearshore fish assemblages around Steller sea lion haulouts near Kodiak, Alaska
Research Goals: Determine the abundance and composition of forage fishes around two Steller sea lion haulouts and two control sites. Concurrent habitat surveys were used to quantify substrate, macroalgae, and benthic invertebrate cover.
Award: $6,004
Jellyfish impact on food web
PI: Alan Springer
Full Title: Jellyfish impact on food web production and ecosystem structure in the southeastern Bering Sea
Research Goals: Understand the role of jelly fish in food web production and ecosystem dynamics in the southeastern Bering Sea.
Award: $14,091
Maturation in pollock
PI: Gordon Kruse
Full Title: An examination of the maturation of walleye pollock in the eastern Bering Sea in relation to temporal and spatial factors
Research Goals: Estimate spatial and temporal variability in the maturity size of walleye pollock in the eastern Bering Sea.
Award: $167,024
Producer cooperative organizations
PI: Gunnar Knapp
Full Title: Producer co-ops and producer organizations
Research Goals: Convene a workshop to discuss self-governing cooperatives in world fisheries.
Award: $25,000
~ 2001 ~
Killer whales and the decline of Steller sea lions
PI: Graham Worthy
Full Title: An investigation into the possible relationship between Killer Whale predation and the continuing decline of the Steller sea lions population
Research Goals: Describe the characteristics of killer whale blubber and skin, with the goal of further understanding the feeding ecology of this species, and in particular how killer whales might impact Steller sea lions. Assess the stable isotope signatures of killer whale skin samples to determine the trophic level at which killer whales are feeding. Analyze killer whale blubber samples using fatty acid signature analysis to determine whether killer whales are feeding on Steller sea lions.
Award: $20,899
Competition between Steller sea lions and fisheries
PI: Alan Springer
Full Title: Assessing the extent of competition between Steller sea lions and commercial fisheries
Research Goals: Evaluate the extent of space and time overlap between groundfish fisheries and Steller sea lions in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea.
Award: $55,999
Distribution of juvenile pollock
PI: Alan Springer
Full Title: Distribution of age-l and age-2 walleye pollock in the Gulf of Alaska and eastern Bering Sea: sources of variation and implications for higher trophic levels
Research Goals: 1) Examine the horizontal and vertical distribution of age-1 and age-2 walleye pollock in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) and eastern Bering Sea (EBS). 2) Relate observed patterns to predominant physical (temperature, salinity, latitude, longitude, bathymetry) and biological (prey availability, diet) characteristics, and 3) examine the implications of these results on birds and mammals.
Award: $59,426
Potential of fishing-induced declines in local pollock abundance: Phase I
PI: Terrance J. Quinn II
Full Title: Deployment of an acoustic data logger on commercial fishing vessels to evaluate the potential of fishing-induced declines in local pollock abundance
Research Goals: Conduct a “proof of concept” project to evaluate the feasibility of installing acoustic data loggers on catcher/processors in the eastern Bering Sea pollock fishery to study localized depletion of pollock.
Award: $288,058
Outlook for Russian pollock supply
PI: Gunnar Knapp
Full Title: Outlook for Russian pollock supply
Research Goals: What is the outlook for Russian pollock harvests in 2002? How can the American pollock industry assess the outlook for the future Russian pollock supply?
Award: $$15,982
Kvichak Bay sockeye smolt study
PI: Stephen Jewett
Full Title: Factors affecting nearshore survival and production of juvenile sockeye salmon from Kvichak Bay, Phase I: Important habitat, migration routes, and food resources
Research Goals: Provide detailed information not presently available on the migration of sockeye salmon smolt through Kvichak Bay. Identify key nearshore marine habitat and prey species preferred by sockeye salmon smolt.
Award: $23,826
Sinking particles and pelagic food webs
PI: Susan Henrichs
Full Title: Sinking particles and pelagic food webs in the southeast Bering Sea
Research Goals: Scientists used sediment traps to monitor the role of plankton and other particles in changes occurring in the oceanography of the Bering Sea.
Award: $33,079
Chinook salmon bycatch DNA
PI: Anthony J. Gharrett
Full Title: DNA analysis of the origins of Chinook salmon bycatch in Alaskan trawl fisheries
Research Goals: We are collaborating with Russian geneticists to obtain genetic information for Russian chinook populations and to examine the genetic divergence between those populations and North American chinook salmon lineages that represent much of the extant chinook salmon genetic diversity. We are quantifying genetic variation using both microsatellites and mtDNA to determine if there are markers that would assist in separating Russian salmon from North American fish in groundfish bycatches.
Award: $183,303
Quality of fish in Steller sea lions habitat
PI: Robert Foy
Full Title: Quality of commercial fish species in Steller sea lion habitat units
Research Goals: We are proposing to determine the seasonal quality of fish species around key SSL habitat so accurate models can be derived to understand the level of interaction with commercial resources.
Award: $55,709
~ 2000 ~
Do Steller sea lions at the Pribilofs have enough to eat?
PI: Alan Springer
Full Title: Do Steller sea lions at the Pribilofs have enough to eat? Evidence from diet and stress hormones
Research Goals: Correlate the nutritional quality of Steller sea lion prey with stress hormones found in sea lion scat.
Award: $86,380
Hydrographic data analysis
PI: David Musgrave
Full Title: Analysis of hydrographic data collected by the Pollock Conservation Cooperative in the Bering Sea
Research Goals: Analyze records of salinity and temperature collected on pollock fishing vessels in the southeastern Bering Sea during the 2000 and 2001 fishing seasons, to discover possible correlations between water mass structure and catch and bycatch data.
Award: $23,133
Markets for Alaska Pollock Products
PI: Gunnar Knapp
Full Title: Markets for Alaska pollock products
Research Goals: Description and analysis of markets for Alaska pollock products and creation of a database of historical and current pollock market information.
Award: $18,346
Validation of mortality transmitters in sea lion
PI: Markus Horning
Full Title: Validating the use of satellite-linked mortality transmitters in rehabilitated California sea lions
Research Goals: Testing the leading causal hypothesis for the decline (or failure of the population to recover), as well as to the analysis of seasonality in Steller sea lion dive efforts, mortality, and the relationship of these parameters to fishing activity.
Award: $60,460
Interactions among Steller sea lions, pollock, and herring
PI: John Goering
Full Title: Interactions among Steller sea lions, pollock and herring and an examination of variability associated with acoustic surveys of pollock
Research Goals: Examination of the effectiveness of the infrared scanner for study of Steller sea lion foraging behavior.
Award: $40,000
Capture and holding of transient juvenile sea lions
PI: Shannon Atkinson & Michael Castellini
Full Title: Capture and holding of transient juvenile sea lions
Research Goals:
Award: $34,000
Metabolic condition in Stellar sea lions
PI: Shannon Atkinson
Full Title: Thyroid hormones and plasma leptin concentrations during food deprivation and satiety: use as an index of metabolic condition in free-ranging Steller sea lions
Research Goals: Develop an index or tool for the assessment of metabolic condition in free-ranging Steller sea lions based upon circulating hormone levels.
Award: $51,388
