Nearshore Fish Assemblages in the Chukchi Sea near Barrow, Alaska

Information on fishes in coastal waters of the Alaskan Arctic is outdated or nonexistent, especially in areas targeted for oil exploration and increased transportation activities. To address this information gap, we sampled nearshore fish assemblages at six sites in the eastern Chukchi Sea near Barrow, Alaska, in August 2007, 2008, 2009 and in September 2009. At each site, fish were captured with two gear types: a beach seine in waters <5 m deep and a small bottom trawl at two depths (5 m and 8 m). Catch and species composition differed by gear type, among years, and within 2009. A total of 16,038 fish representing 20 species were captured in 24 beach seine hauls, and 3,109 fish representing 23 species were captured in 48 trawl tows. Beach seine catch was dominated by capelin (82%) and trawl catch was dominated by Arctic cod (56%). The next most abundant species captured by seine was Pacific sand lance and by trawl was slender eelblenny. Variability in catch and species composition within gear types can likely be attributed to differences in sea ice conditions and water temperature (range: 2 – 9 °C) among sampling periods and time of sampling in 2009. The nearshore environment of the eastern Chukchi Sea provides important habitat for many fish species and is very susceptible to disturbance such as increased beach erosion associated with the loss of sea ice. Because of potential development activities, and global climate change, long-term monitoring of nearshore fish assemblages in the Arctic is important for making informed management decisions.