Dispersal and Behavior of Adult Dolly Varden Char in the Arctic Ocean

Dolly Varden, a large anadromous char, is an important component of subsistence-based diets in Arctic Alaskan communities. While it is known that Dolly Varden may be broadly distributed in the Pacific Ocean during the summer, its distribution in the Arctic Ocean is unknown. Therefore, we attached Pop-up Satellite Archival Transmitting tags to Dolly Varden in northwestern Alaska to examine its oceanic dispersal and behavior. The tags revealed several dispersal patterns including a newly documented offshore occupancy of the Arctic Ocean and previously documented river residency, southerly alongshore dispersal, and movement to other rivers in Russia and western Alaska. While at sea, they dispersed up to 60 km/day and frequently occupied (>90%) relatively shallow water (<15 m).  Because of its occupation of the outer continental shelf of the Chukchi Sea, its ability to rapidly transit broad areas and its frequent occupation of shallow water, Dolly Varden in northwestern Alaska may interact with emerging human activities in the Arctic, such as hydrocarbon development and shipping.